Sinn Féin agriculture spokesperson Martin Kenny has secured his re-election in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency in General Election 2024.
The four seats of the constituency were only filled across the final three counts, out of 13 counts in all.
At the 11th count, Fine Gael’s Frank Feighan, who led the race in the constituency since the start of the counting, was elected after surpassing the quota.
On the same count, former Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus was eliminated, and of his almost 7,000 votes to be distributed, over 5,000 went to his party colleague Kenny on the 12th count.
These votes propelled Kenny well over the quota, making him the second candidate to be elected.
The other two seats in the constituency were filled by Fianna Fáil’s Eamon Scanlon and independent Marian Harkin, the latter of whom has frequently contributed to Dáil debates on agricultural and rural issues.
Both of these two candidates were elected without reaching the quota.
Meanwhile, this general election has seen Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue retain his Dáil seat in Donegal.
Minister McConalogue was, along with one other candidate, deemed elected without reaching the quota after the 16th count, when the only remaining candidate below him, independent Thomas Pringle, was eliminated.
The final count saw the distribution of the surplus of the minister’s Fianna Fáil colleague Pat The Cope Gallagher, who was elected on the 15th count.
Between first preferences and transfers, Minister McConalogue attained 11,683 votes, meaning he polled in fifth place in the five seat constituency.
The first two seats in Donegal were filled by two Sinn Féin candidates – including Pearse Doherty – who were elected in the first and second counts.
It wasn’t immediately evident when the Donegal count started that Minister McConalogue would retain his seat. Over the course of the counting though, things gradually turned more favourable for him.