Pearse Doherty is the Finance Spokesperson for Sinn Féin and TD for Donegal. He served as the party’s first Senator when he was elected onto the Agricultural Panel in 2007. Following this he was elected a TD for the first time in the 2010 Donegal South West by-election. He subsequently topped the poll in the general election of 2011 which followed. Mr Doherty is a keen advocate of the Irish Language and the development of the Gaeltacht regions. He is currently a director of Donegal Charity Shop, Chairperson of the Phádraig Mhícheáil Airt Committee, a member of the GAA and involved with the local scouts group. He and his wife Roisín have four young sons.
| Electorate | Seats | Total Poll | Turnout | Valid Poll | Spoiled Votes | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117,675 | 5 | 73,957 | 62.85% | 73,303 | 654 | 12,218 |
Vote Distribution
Left Right
Count Results
| Candidate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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12533 | ||||||||||||
|
|
10300 | 10305 | 10330 | 10524 | 10870 | 11053 | 11190 | 14600 | |||||
|
|
10198 | 10203 | 10362 | 10504 | 10694 | 10941 | 11160 | 11267 | 11398 | 11832 | 13138 | ||
|
|
8412 | 8414 | 8443 | 8704 | 8795 | 8965 | 11016 | 11040 | 11061 | 11784 | 12469 | ||
|
|
6220 | 6239 | 6247 | 6498 | 6689 | 7389 | 7522 | 7617 | 7722 | 8491 | 9642 | 9888 | 10082 |
|
|
5742 | 5743 | 5773 | 5893 | 5961 | 6008 | 6032 | 6567 | 8509 | 9143 | 9716 | 9852 | 9898 |
|
|
4136 | 4138 | 4142 | 4183 | 4377 | 4420 | 4456 | ||||||
|
|
3724 | 3724 | 3739 | 3986 | 4166 | 4288 | 4463 | 4497 | 4540 | ||||
|
|
3580 | 3585 | 3601 | 3752 | 4034 | 4319 | 4524 | 4650 | 4790 | 5864 | |||
|
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2831 | 2832 | 2838 | 2934 | 3133 | 3244 | |||||||
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1914 | 1917 | 1921 | 1981 | |||||||||
|
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1836 | 1842 | 1848 | 1983 | 2057 | ||||||||
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982 | 982 | 989 | ||||||||||
|
|
428 | 442 | 443 | ||||||||||
|
|
397 | 402 | 407 | ||||||||||
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70 |
On the Ballot
Padraig Mac Lochlainn was first elected as a TD in 2011 when he topped the poll in Donegal North-East. He previously served on both Donegal County Council and Buncrana Town Council. He was the first person of a traveller background elected to the position of TD. He is currently Sinn Féin's 26 County spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Defence and is Chairperson of the Oireachtas Public Services Oversight and Petitions Committee. He has twice served as Mayor of Buncrana in 2005-06 and 2010/2011 and has served once as Deputy Mayor of Donegal 2010/2011.
Charlie McConalogue is the current Fianna Fail spokesperson on Education and Skills and was elected for the first time during the 2011 General Election in the Donegal North-East constituency. His areas of interest include the development of roads, broadband and a sustainable health service. He formerly served as Fianna Fail’s Spokesperson on Children and served on Donegal County Council from 2009 to 2011. This included a term as Deputy Mayor.
Joe McHugh has been a TD since 2007 and is Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with Special Responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources. The Fine Gael man was a teacher by profession teaching in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and in the United Arab Emirates during the 1990’s before turning to politics. He was elected to Seanad Éireann in 2002 and served as Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Community, Rural, Gaeltacht and Marine Affairs from 2002-2007. Mr McHugh is married to former Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright and the couple have three children.
Thomas Pringle was elected as a TD for the first time in the 2011 General Election when he famously unseated then incumbent Tanaiste Mary Coughlan of Fianna Fail. Mr Pringle served as a councillor from 1999 to 2011 in Donegal having represented Sinn Fein from 2004-07 but ceased representing the party to become an Independent candidate again.
Pat ‘the cope’ Gallagher has had several stints in Dail Eireann, first winning a seat in 1981 which he held until 1997, his second term coming from 2002-09. He was a MEP between 1994 and 2002, and from 2009 until losing his seat narrowly in 2014. During his time in the Dáil, he has held various portfolios including Minister of State Marine, Gaeltacht, Environment, Health and Transport.
Councillor Niamh Kennedy (46) topped the poll in the Donegal electoral area when she won a seat on Donegal County Council following the 2014 local elections. A community activist with a focus on health, the Killybegs native announced in 2015 she would be contesting the next general election as a member of the Independents Alliance. She was a member of Killybegs Community Council when it negotiated with the HSE to prevent the downgrading of Killybegs Community Hospital.
Activist Tim Jackson (26) is a first time election candidate and is running on a clean up politics platform. A native to Ballybofey his campaign advocates cutting TD wages and creating more transparency when it comes to expenses. He founded the Homes for Donegal charity, which raised more than €25,000 for building houses in central Africa.
Donegal councillor Gary Doherty (33) successfully defeated his seat in the 2014 local elections after he was co-opted onto council in 2013. A member of Sinn Féin since 1999, this is his first time running for a seat in Dáil Eireann. He lists among his priorities for government as abolishing water charges and working to keep young people from emigrating.
Green Party activist Paula Flanagan is running on a platform of reform for Local Government in her first ever general election. Having been involved in the community sector for more than 20 years, she works with a number of local organisations and specialises in community education. She has an Msc in Sustainable Development and specialises in community education.
Dessie Shiels (39) was elected as a Donegal county councillor in 2014 after a failed general election bid in 2011. A solicitor by profession, he is campaigning as an Independent candidate on a platform of restoring services to Donegal.
Paddy Harte (60) is running for election for the first time. He is the son retired Fine Gael TD Paddy Harte Snr and like his father he is running for Fine Gael. His brother Jimmy Harte was a Labour Senator. Paddy is a former business lecturer in Letterkenny Institute of Technology.
Independent candidate Michael Mooney is a self-employed anti-water charges activist. He is also involved with the group 'Donegal Against Debt And Repossession' who claim to have successfully stopped a number of families from being evicted in the county.
Elected as a Donegal county councillor for Labour in 2009, Frank McBrearty is now running as an Independent for the general election. A former Mayor of Donegal, Cllr McBrearty unsuccessfully ran as a Labour candidate in the 2011 general election. The Raphoe publican hopes to stand as an independent voice for the constituency, and says that his time as a local councillor has given him insight into what the people of Donegal need. Included in his priorities for office are improved roads, social housing and heath services.
At 85 years of age, councillor Ian McGarvey is the oldest candidate in the election. First elected to Donegal County Council in 2004 after a number of attempts, the Milford councillor unsuccessfully contested for a Dáil seat in the now defunct Donegal North East constituency on three occasions; in 1982, 2007 and 2011. Mr McGarvey has a special interest in the elderly, and attracted widespread attention when he described cuts to their care as a form of "euthanasia" in 2013.
Running under the Fis Nua banner, Cordelia Nic Fhearraigh is a long-time community activist and promoter of the Irish language. Originally from Belfast she now lives in Donegal and co-founded the environmental group Northwest Respect. This is her first-time running for general election, and she is campaigning for increased support for the Irish language and the abolishment of Irish Water and other austerity measures.