Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane (32) has been returned to the Dáil, securing the second seat in the Roscommon-Galway constituency. Receiving a ringing endorsement of her impressive first term in the Dáil, she has picked up substantial votes in almost all of the constituency’s 124 ballot boxes in both rural and urban areas.

Involved with the party since her late teens and a qualified secondary schoolteacher, Ms Kerrane is one of Sinn Féin’s rising stars and its spokesperson on children, integration, equality and youth.

From Tibohine, just outside Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, Ms Kerrane is from a family of six. Her father is a farmer and her mother a local primary school principal.

Measured, and a hard worker locally, she will hope that her role within Sinn Féin will continue to grow.