‘You haven’t heard the last of her, far from it’ – Mary Lou McDonald says Michelle Gildernew will ‘bounce back’ from losing MEP seat

Voters headed to the polls last Friday to choose 949 local councillors, 14 MEPs and the country’s first directly-elected mayor. The party had hoped to significantly increase its number of councillors, but came back with just 21 extra seats. It increased its number of MEPs from one to two, but lost its sitting MEP Chris MacManus.

Speaking at the launch of Sinn Féin’s UK general election campaign, Ms McDonald said “we did not meet the scale of our ambition”.

“But just to be clear, we come from the election with more councillors, with more MEPs, with very solid footing and foundation, with the determination to reflect and learn and grow, to regroup.

“And here we are, we’re fighting this campaign. And when the general election comes south of the border, we will be a formidable force, and we will present again the solutions to the problems that bear down on people all across the island.

“We talked about them here: health, childcare, the cost of living, all of these things, giving our young people in particular, the chance that they deserve at home to build futures here, or if they’re away, to come back home.

“All of that we will do with this spirit of confidence, but also the humility to know that each election is different, and you never take a result or a vote for granted.”

She was speaking after Ireland ended a marathon count of election ballots, with the final European Parliament constituency declared in the early hours of Friday.

In that constituency of Midlands North West, outgoing Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus lost his seat, while running mate Michelle Gildernew, a former Northern Ireland MP, came sixth in the five-seater. “I am disappointed that she wasn’t elected,” Ms McDonald said.

Fianna Fáil doubled its presence in the European Parliament to four, with Fine Gael also on four – down one from its previous showing in 2019. Labour has one seat, the Independent Ireland party claimed one and two non-party aligned independents fill the remainder.

Dublin’s electorate selected Fianna Fail’s Barry Andrews, Sinn Fein’s Lynn Boylan, Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty and Labour’s Aodhan O Riordain. Ireland South elected Fine Gael’s Sean Kelly, independent Michael McNamara, Sinn Fein’s Kathleen Funchion and Fianna Fail’s Billy Kelleher and Cynthia Ni Mhurchu.

Left-wing independent Luke “Ming” Flanagan topped the poll in Midlands North West, with Fianna Fail’s Barry Cowen, Fine Gael’s Nina Carberry and Maria Walsh, and Independent Ireland candidate and former RTE correspondent Ciaran Mullooly, elected to the constituency.

Five MEPs have lost their seats: Mr MacManus, the Green Party’s Grace O’Sullivan and Ciaran Cuffe, as well as Independents, Mick Wallace and Clare Daly.

Results from the three elections have been seen as a political boon for coalition partners Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, while the largest opposition party, Sinn Féin, has initiated a review after performing well below its own expectations.

Fianna Fáil has emerged as the largest party in local government after all seats in Ireland’s local election were filled.

In the local elections, both main government parties attracted about 23pc of first preference votes, representing a slight drop on their 2019 result. Fianna Fáil had 248 seats on councils, with Fine Gael close behind on 245. Sinn Féin was on 102 while 186 seats were held by Independents.

Sinn Féin’s popular vote of 12pc in the local elections is a dramatic turnaround in fortunes for the main opposition party, which emerged from the 2020 general election on 24.5pc.

The Labour party is down one to 56 councillors, the Green Party’s support fell to 26 council seats while the Social Democrats’ share rose to 35. The number of Independent councillors has also increased.

The results have fuelled speculation that the Government may look to call a general election earlier than the current projected timeline of spring 2025. With the election of TDs to the European Parliament, there will be a need for several by-elections in the coming six months.

That has added to speculation that the Government may seek an earlier general election, rather than fighting several potential by-elections only months before the Dáil is dissolved.

However, the leaders of all three coalition parties have all said they remain committed to the government going full-term. Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said he and other Government leaders had not had a discussion on the holding of by-elections and added: “I certainly don’t fear by-elections.”