Funchion ‘hopeful’ of winning SF seat back as Ireland South count continues

Sinn Fein TD and MEP candidate Kathleen Funchion has said that she is “very hopeful” she will be elected to the Ireland South constituency.

The roughly 715,000 EU election ballot papers at Nemo Rangers GAA Club in Cork went through a lengthy “sub-sort” before the actual count began.

Ireland’s electoral system of proportional representation means that a candidate must reach a quota to be elected.

The announcement of first count result had been expected by lunchtime on Monday, but is now expected closer to 9pm.

Based on the size of ballot piles stacked in the sports club’s hall, Fine Gael’s Sean Kelly and Fianna Fail’s Billy Kelleher will be re-elected as MEPs.

But several rounds of further counting – after eliminated candidates’ votes are redistributed – will be needed before the final three seats for the 10-county constituency becomes clear.

Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara, who was vocal in his opposition to the two defeated March referenda; will likely take the third seat.

In a battle for the fourth and fifth seats are Ms Funchion; Fianna Fail candidate Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, co-host of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest; outgoing MEP and ex-Co Wexford TD Mick Wallace; and Green Party MEP Grace O’Sullivan.

Ms O’Sullivan said on Sunday the prospect of holding on to her seat “feels like it’s slipping away” but appeared to come back into contention on Monday and is considered very ‘transfer-friendly’.

Mr Kelly’s running mate, John Mullins, said that there was an opportunity for the government to get a third seat in Ireland South.

Ms Funchion said that transfer votes will be “a key part” of how the count plays out.

“I have been in several elections and have had really good days and really bad days in count centres,” she said.

“So I’m always very, very cautious when it comes to it. We have to see the first count and unusually there has been no tally because it’s a European election.

“I would be hopeful, very hopeful. But I do think, as we’ve seen throughout so many of our local councils over the weekend, transfers are a key part of it, and you could think you’re doing great and all of a sudden there’s a surplus or section of transfers that you didn’t foresee.

“I think one thing that I have found very interesting just from my own engagement at local level with tallies is transfers, in general, there’s no pattern now I will say.

“We have had a really good transfer rate for Sinn Fein and that has gotten some of our people over the line locally. I would expect that we’ll have a really good transfer between myself and Paul. But it’s still early days in terms of the seat. Hopefully the first count will be soon and we’ll have a little bit of a clearer picture.”

Independents4Change MEP Mick Wallace said “life is too short to be worrying” when asked how he is feeling about his prospects of being re-elected.

Asked if he is performing better or worse than in the last election, he said: “Ah no, I did much better the last time.

“I got over 81,000 first preferences, I’ll only get about 50,000 this time. But the fact that Sean and Billy and Michael McNamara got such big scores, it means the rest of us are on lower numbers.

“We’re competing with each other, we’re not competing with the two lads who are already in. We’re really just concerned about whether we can stay ahead of the people that are close to us.”

With most of the 949 council seats filled, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have held steady at 23% of first preference votes, with main opposition party Sinn Fein behind on just 11%.

Of Ireland’s 14 MEPs, Fianna Fail is expected to increase its number of MEPs from two to three.

Speaking at the count centre at Nemo Rangers GAA Club in Cork on Monday, Mr Kelleher said that Micheal Martin’s leadership, the strength of the organisation and the “critical importance” of centrist politics were behind the party’s performance.

He said that Irish voters had rejected “populist, anti-migrant groupings” and moved back to the centre.

There had been concern that a wave of rhetoric around immigration and climate change, seen across the EU, would be repeated in Ireland’s local and European elections on June 7.

But the coalition government parties – Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party – have performed better than expected based on early results.

“The public looked at others and rejected them resoundingly, both in terms of the very populist anti-migrant groupings on the right, but equally Sinn Fein as well in terms of their simplistic views to complex problems,” Mr Kelleher said.

“I think it was a very interesting election because there was a debate around the whole issue of the extremes on left and right and where the centre would reside in modern Irish politics.

“I think that was answered emphatically yesterday both in the local elections and also the European elections, where people looked at the alternatives and wanted to go back to the centre.”