The return of an old face and the arrival of a new one were among the stories of the Donegal constituency. Fianna Fáil’s Pat the Cope Gallagher proved age is just a number when he returned a seat for his party at 76 years young having lost his seat back in 2020.
He will be joined by his party colleague and outgoing Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue. The two experienced Fianna Fáil campaigners will be joined by newcomer Charles Ward from the 100% Redress Party who campaigned on the defective blocks issue which has blighted the county.
However, Sinn Féin also wrote another memorable local election chapter as they took the first two seats in the county. Pearse Doherty romped home after the first count while his party colleague Pádraig Mac Lochlainn also strolled in after the second count.
The big loser, despite a brave fight, was sitting Independent TD Thomas Pringle. For a long period it looked as if Pringle may snatch the last seat. However, major transfers from Fine Gael’s Nikki Bradley to McConalogue brought him home ahead of the Killybegs man.
Fine Gael had a campaign to forget after the retirement of former Minister for education and Gaeltacht Joe McHugh left a hole in their party. Its two chosen candidates, Senator Nikki Bradley and Kilcar businessman John McNulty did not set the ballot boxes on fire and were eventually eliminated.