Micheál Martin (55) is the leader of Fianna Fail. He was first elected to the Dáil in 1992 and has been returned by the people of Cork South Central in all five subsequent elections. He has topped the poll in the last three contests. In government, he has held the health, education, enterprise, and foreign affairs portfolios and in opposition he was the party’s spokesperson on education. He has been party leader since 2011 and led the party into the general election that year when Fianna Fáil suffered its worst ever election defeat, losing 57 seats. He is married to Mary O'Shea and lthey ive in Ballinlough with their children.
| Electorate | Seats | Total Poll | Turnout | Valid Poll | Spoiled Votes | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84,482 | 4 | 56,086 | 66.39% | 55,682 | 404 | 11,137 |
Vote Distribution
Left Right
Count Results
| Candidate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
11795 | ||||||||||
|
|
11346 | ||||||||||
|
|
7965 | 8180 | 8233 | 8241 | 8293 | 8303 | 8468 | 8527 | 8591 | 9315 | 10372 |
|
|
6986 | 7090 | 7122 | 7152 | 7257 | 7414 | 7524 | 7877 | 8366 | 8526 | 10653 |
|
|
6419 | 6498 | 6530 | 6532 | 6568 | 6582 | 6701 | 6727 | 6786 | 7843 | 9117 |
|
|
2417 | 2462 | 2478 | 2481 | 2504 | 2513 | 2574 | 2611 | 2685 | 2685 | |
|
|
2378 | 2423 | 2446 | 2454 | 2528 | 2583 | 2686 | 2869 | 3199 | 3356 | 3356 |
|
|
2064 | 2095 | 2108 | 2114 | 2183 | 2243 | 2364 | 2452 | 2930 | 3291 | 3291 |
|
|
937 | 954 | 960 | 976 | 1037 | 1492 | 1592 | 1882 | 1882 | ||
|
|
887 | 931 | 944 | 951 | 990 | 1014 | 1014 | ||||
|
|
869 | 885 | 891 | 941 | 1047 | 1107 | 1188 | 1188 | |||
|
|
795 | 810 | 815 | 829 | 880 | 880 | |||||
|
|
350 | 371 | 376 | 388 | 388 | ||||||
|
|
304 | 327 | 329 | 333 | 333 | ||||||
|
|
170 | 173 | 176 | 176 |
On the Ballot
Following the death of his father Hugh, a TD in Cork South Central, Simon Coveney (43) entered public life when he took his father’s seat in a by-election in 1998. He has held the seat ever since despite the fact he also served as a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007.He was appointed Minister for Agriculture in 2011 when Fine Gael and Labour went into government and added the Defence portfolio three years later. Minister Coveney previously revealed he was expelled from the prestigious Clongowes Wood secondary school when he was in Transition Year. He married long term girlfriend Ruth Furney in 2008.
Jerry Buttimer (48) has opted to remain in the Cork South Central constituency despite boundary changes resulting in his central support base of Bishopstown being moved to Cork North Central. A former city councillor and senator, Deputy Buttimer picked up over 7,000 first preference votes and was elected to the Dail in 2011 having tasted general election defeat in 2007. Prior to public life he was a secondary school teacher and adult education director. He is Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children and chair of Fine Gael LGBT. He was the first Fine Gael TD to public come out as gay.
Fianna Fáil Finance spokesman Michael McGrath is from Passage West and it was here that he got his first taste of political life when he was elected to the local town council in 1999. He was elected on the first count in the 2007 general election, picking up 9,800 first preference votes, and he held his seat four years later even as the Fianna Fail vote plummeted.He practiced as a chartered accountant and was formerly Fianna Fáil’s public expenditure spokesman. He lives in Carrigaline with his wife Sarah and family.
In 2007, Ciaran Lynch (51) took a seat for the Labour Party in Cork South Central for the first time since 1992. Deputy Lynch improved his vote in 2011 when he took the second seat in the constituency behind Micheál Martin. He is Labour spokesman on Housing and Local Government but will better known amongst the electorate for his chairing of the Oireachtas banking inquiry. He is married and has two children and is the brother in law of party colleague Kathleen Lynch.
Sinn Fein's Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (26) was elected on the first count in 2014 with over 2,500 first preference votes. The Carrigaline-Ballincollig councillor is a law graduate from UCC who was a Scout Leader and a member of St. Finbarr’s Hurling and Football Club. He has previously served as a Political Advisor to Sinn Féin TDs and Senators, and has served numerous terms on the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle.
Lorna Bogue (24) is the Green Party's spokesperson on Welfare and the former Chair of the Young Greens. She is a new candidate in Cork South Central. If elected she pledges donating €25,000 of her TD's wage per annum to community projects in the constituency.
Fiona Ryan (26) is a women’s rights and pro-choice campaigner in Cork and recently played a key role in bringing the abortion pill bus to Cork. She is standing for the Anti-Austerity Alliance after original candidate Rose Leadbetter stepped back from the candidacy.
Standing as a part of the Independent Alliance this general election, Mick Finn (45) has been a Cork City councillor since 2009. Following on from an unsuccessful run at the Dáil in 2011, Cllr Finn topped the poll for his ward in the 2014 local elections. A firm believer in the power of Independents, Mr Finn wants to see Irish Water scrapped, the reverse of cuts to home help and carers, and more power returned to local councils. He also wants to see mental health education emphasised in secondary schools.
A first-time general election candidate, Jim O’Connell (56) has worked with a number of protest groups throughout Cork, focused mainly on anti-austerity and social housing. He says he wants to work with people and put an end to water charges and property tax, as well as stop paying bankers' debts. Also a member of the Socialist Workers Party, Mr O’Connell was to see a more progressive tax system introduce, wherein higher earners shoulder more of the tax burden.
A first-time candidate, Michael Mohally is standing on behalf of the People’s Convention, a non-party movement that promotes a form of direct democracy. The father-of-five wants to eliminate the party whip and introduce legislation that would allow a constituency to recall (unelect) a TD.
Community activist and local social campaigner, Ciaran Kenneally is contesting his first Dáil election. A Turner's Cross native, Mr Kenneally has worked in the voluntary sector for past 6 years. He lists investing in Cork communities, cutting the county's 8,500 housing list, and ensuring adequate regional development as his top priorities.
Anti-austerity campaigner Elizabeth Hourihane (49) is standing on an anti-water charges ticket This is her second attempt at running for office, having been unsuccessful in the 2014 local elections as well as in a 2015 Carlow-Kilkenny by-election. Two years ago, Ms Hourihane (49) took a High Court challenge against the installation of water meters.
A Cork county councillor since 2014, Joe Harris (58) is calling for a national task force to tackle the country's mortgage, rental and housing problems. Brother to well-known journalist Eoghan Harris, the 58-year-old is currently vice-chair of the Douglas Carrigaline Ballincollig Municipal District. He lists support for those struggling with mortgages and high rents, and addressing Irish Water as among his priorities for office.
Founder of the People’s Convention, Independent candidate Diarmaid O’Cadhla (55) is campaigning for direct democracy and on issues such as housing and opposition to water charges. He unsuccessfully contested the 2011 general election and the 2014 local elections, running as an Independent both times. A business systems consultant for over 30 years, he believes that political parties are ill-suited to making State decisions due to “vested interests”.