At just 24 years old, Mallow native Eoghan will be the youngest TD in the Dáil, and has the distinction of becoming the first elected Deputy to have been born in the 21st century, a fantastic achievement for a young man who had been in situ at Cork County Council for only a handful of months prior to his nomination.
It was a titanic and gruelling battle at the count centre on Saturday and Sunday, with many twists and turns as the vote transfers appeared to shift the momentum one way and then the other. It became apparent from relatively early on that it was going to be between Eoghan, Tony Fitzgerald (Fianna Fáil) and incumbent TD Mick Barry (Solidarity-People Before Profit) for the final seat, with the tension ramping up as each candidate below them fell by the wayside. Upon Fitzgerald’s elimination it became a winner-takes-all, down-to-the-wire fight, Kenny vs. Barry. At one particularly tense moment late on Sunday night, just one vote separated the pair. Ultimately, the votes went in Eoghan’s favour – but only just, as only 35 votes could separate the neck-and-neck duo. Just shy of 1am, celebrations could begin as returning officer Martin Harvey confirmed the results of the 17th count, that Eoghan had taken the final seat. There was more drama to come, however, as with the final figures so close, Mick Barry requested a recount. Counting began on Monday but with it becoming increasingly apparent that the result was not going to go in his favour, Barry conceded, finally confirming that Eoghan had claimed the final seat at the Solidarity TD’s expense.
Eoghan’s home town of Mallow came out in force for the secondary school teacher, giving him well in excess of 2,000 first preference votes and giving him a fantastic foundation for his election charge. Deputy Kenny said of his strong Mallow support, “there was a real desire within people over the last 10 weeks on the doorsteps in Mallow that it needed and wanted to keep a TD and a constituency office. We’ve been given that mandate now…I’m glad of the fact that I’m going to have a full-time fully staffed constituency office in Mallow town.”
There was further Mallow interest with the election of Independent Ireland’s Ken O’Flynn, who lives in Mallow and has an office in the town centre. The now-former Cork City councillor was elected on the 14th count, joining Deputies Thomas Gould (Sinn Féin), Pádraig O’Sullivan (Fianna Fáil) and Colm Burke (Fine Gael) as the Cork North-Central representatives in the 34th Dáil.
Deputy O’Flynn took to social media to thank his supporters upon his election, saying “I am truly humbled and grateful to have the support of the wonderful people of Cork North-Central. Your trust in me strenghtens my resolve to work tirelessly for both urban and rural Ireland. Together, we will continue to make a positive impact for all.”
In Mallow town’s former constituency, Cork East, meanwhile, Sinn Fein’s Pat Buckley and James O’Connor were re-elected. With David Stanton and Seán Sherlock opting not to seek re-election, there were two spots up for grabs, and these were duly occupied by Cllr. Noel McCarthy of Fine Gael, and Social Democrat councillor Liam Quaide.
In Cork North-West, Fianna Fáil duo Aindrias Moynihan and Michael were returned, along with Fine Gael’s John Paul O’Shea, the councillor getting over the line and being elected to Dáil Éireann at the third time of asking.
The Deputies, old and new, will travel to Leinster House for the first sitting of the 34th Dáil on Wednesday, 18th December.
For our extensive coverage of Election 2024, see pages 42-53.