Aged 54, Tralee-based Norma Foley, a secondary school teacher, followed her late father Denis – ex-TD and councillor – into politics in Tralee.
Married to Denis Maguire, also a teacher, she failed to get a Dáil seat in 2007 as a running mate for Thomas McEllistrim in Kerry North. She had been a councillor since 1994.
Added to the ticket in 2020, a surprise addition in the single constituency of Kerry North, she unseated sitting Fianna Fáil TD John Brassil from nearby Ballyheigue, who was tipped for ministerial office.
Foley was elevated to the front bench as Minister for Education on her first Dáil outing.
Her vote in 2024 has increased since a half-quota performance in 2020, but she needed transfers to be elected.
Issues of controversy during her campaign included plans to spend €9 million on phone pouches and the sex education programme.
A long-standing apparent failure to act over the poor state of the county courthouse in Tralee town centre was also a talking point. On Thursday, the day before polling, a trial there was delayed after the lights went out and a consultation room was flooded.