General Election 2024: Profile of the hotly-contested Carlow-Kilkenny constituency

Carlow-Kilkenny

Outgoing TDs: Kathleen Funchion (SF) now MEP, John McGuinness (FF), Jennifer Murnane O’Connor (FF), Malcolm Noonan (GP), John Paul Phelan (FG) – retiring

A total of 20 candidates are vying for five seats. Traditionally, this constituency has been dominated by a strong Fianna Fail and Fine Gael vote, usually making up the lion’s share of its TDs.

It has also tended to return four Kilkenny-based TDs and one Carlow-based.

One of the big talking points coming into this election is the new constituency change - around 6,400 voters in North Kilkenny have been transferred into the new North Tipp-Northwest Kilkenny constituency.

There’s no doubt, their absence will be felt by some of these Kilkenny-based candidates who have traditionally relied on a big vote there.

For more Carlow-Kilkenny General Election news and updates, click the image below to go to the General Election section on carlowlive.ie 

There is also a big push in Carlow to ‘Vote Carlow’ and get two TDs over the line, and with the constituency change, there may now be a strong opportunity.

Stalwart John McGuinness is aiming to retain his seat, held since 1997. If successful, he would be the longest-serving of the current group, with Fine Gael’s John Paul Phelan deciding not to contest the election.

Hoping to win Phelan’s seat is Inistioge-based local councillor Michael Doyle, first elected in 2014. Also on the Fine Gael ticket is Cllr David Fitzgerald, who unsuccessfully contested in 2016 but is now more established and may have a clearer field this time. In Carlow, the party is running Catherine Callaghan.

Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere is another Kilkenny councillor looking to make the step up to Dáíl Eireann. Fresh from a season managing the Kilkenny Camogie team, it will be his first time to contest a General Election, after topping the poll in his area in the 2024 Local Elections. Jennifer Murnane O’Connor has established a solid base in Carlow for the party and will be looking to continue her success.

Malcolm Noonan of the Green Party won his first Dáil election 2020, elected on the tenth count at the expense of the late Bobby Aylward (FF). He went on to be appointed a minister of state, and has made a number of significant funding announcements and innovations in his nature/heritage portfolio. Will he have done enough to hold the seat?

Sinn Fein were the big story of the last election. Kathleen Funchion topped the poll with a massive 17,493 first preference votes. The scale of the vote could not have been predicted, and many voters were no doubt voicing anger at Government parties.

Things have changed, however, and not only is Funchion - now an MEP - not running for a Dáil seat, but Sinn Fein had a poor showing in the local elections six months previous. They returned just one of four candidates in Kilkenny, and elected two councillors in Carlow. Both candidates running - Aine Gladney Knox, and Natasha Newsome Drennan - are relative newcomers, with Newsome Drennan among those to miss out on a council seat in June.

Labour’s Sean O’hArgain is hoping to make an impact in his general election outing, fresh from winning a seat on the council in June. Labour were wiped out in 2016 and failed to recover in 2020; O’hArgain he will be hoping the party’s slow revival locally can continue.

Patricia Stephenson is a new candidate for the Social Democrats. She brings youth and energy, and hopes to persuade constituents of the alternative voice she offers.

Disruptor Eugene McGuinness, brother of sitting TD John McGuinness, has decided to throw his hat in the ring after successfully taking a seat in two different local elections. An outspoken independent candidate, he is hoping to make inroads in a wider area now.

He’s joined by other independents, including John O’Leary, economist Tom Healy, and Luke O’Connor, who previously ran for the Irish Freedom Party but has since split from them; the IFP instead opting for Orla Donohoe.

Aontu have put forward Gary O’Neill, and David Egan from Johnstown, Bennekerry in Carlow is running for Liberty Republic.

The big issues in Carlow-Kilkenny are a microcosm of larger national trends: Housing, healthcare, the economy and cost of living.

Employment is strong in Kilkenny, and the past year has seen some significant job announcements, particularly in the tech sector and other multinational operators.

The problem is that despite hundreds of jobs, the pace of new housing construction is far off.

Rent has risen astonishingly - up more than 50% in four years, and the lack of rental supply is hammering workers, many of whom have good jobs but simply can’t find anywhere to live.

House prices have also soared.

There is also discontent that Kilkenny was ‘passed over’ in the SETU establishment, with Carlow and Waterford seeing significant investment in their campuses. Recent announcements regarding the location of the new veterinary college in South Kilkenny, and a new College of Further Education to be established in the city may alleviate some of this.

In terms of hyper-local issues, there remains considerable frustration in Kilkenny over the lack of progress in completing the ring road that has been an ambition going back generations. With the scale of development ongoing to the west of the city - including housing and several new schools - traffic is only going to get worse until this is addressed. All candidates generally profess to be for completing the ring road; none have managed to progress it in recent years.