All-Ireland winner and Minister for State Jimmy Deenihan has an impressive inter county GAA career behind and will be banking on a fighitng spirit to keep his seat in the newly-devised Kerry constituency. The minister with responsibility for the Diaspora was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1987 and topped the poll last time out in 2011 when he took 27pc of all first preference votes. But changes by the boundary commission mean six TDs will now slug it out in the new five seat constituency. Deenihan was Arts Minister until July 2014.
| Electorate | Seats | Total Poll | Turnout | Valid Poll | Spoiled Votes | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 112,751 | 5 | 79,749 | 70.73% | 79,273 | 476 | 13,213 |
Vote Distribution
Left Right
Count Results
| Candidate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
20378 | ||||||||||
|
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9991 | 13826 | |||||||||
|
|
9674 | 10381 | 10520 | 10608 | 10661 | 10872 | 10999 | 11223 | 11396 | 12545 | 14050 |
|
|
9458 | 10098 | 10214 | 10321 | 10364 | 10418 | 10490 | 10583 | 11722 | 12184 | 12964 |
|
|
8156 | 8642 | 8719 | 8764 | 8957 | 9005 | 9137 | 9242 | 9495 | 11955 | 12792 |
|
|
6489 | 6827 | 6872 | 6901 | 6944 | 7168 | 7257 | 7326 | 7630 | 7849 | 9779 |
|
|
4813 | 5011 | 5036 | 5067 | 5093 | 5281 | 5356 | 5601 | 5877 | 6139 | |
|
|
4348 | 4893 | 5012 | 5032 | 5081 | 5114 | 5172 | 5252 | 5392 | ||
|
|
1236 | 1364 | 1380 | 1487 | 1529 | 1536 | 1589 | 1674 | |||
|
|
1011 | 1050 | 1059 | 1085 | 1123 | 1135 | 1222 | ||||
|
|
981 | 1046 | 1058 | 1129 | 1161 | 1169 | 1261 | 1429 | |||
|
|
776 | 817 | 827 | 836 | 854 | ||||||
|
|
716 | 769 | 780 | 801 | 886 | 900 | |||||
|
|
635 | 690 | 707 | 752 | |||||||
|
|
464 | 491 | 505 | ||||||||
|
|
147 | 155 | 158 |
On the Ballot
One of two sitting Fine Gael TDs in the new Kerry constituency, Brendan Griffin lives in Keel on the Dingle Peninsula with his wife Roisin. He was elected a councillor in 2009 and before that served as a parliamentary assistant to Jimmy Deenihan – now his running mate in Kerry. He topped the poll in Kerry South in 2011 taking more than 8,000 first preference votes though the boundary changes indicate Deputy Griffin is in a real fight this time as six TDs contest for just five seats. He is also noted for taking the 'Ice Bucket Challenge' craze to new heights after starring in a reworked verison of Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'.
The flat-cap wearing Kilgarvan native took up from where his father left off when Michael Healy Rae won the third and final seat in the Kerry South constituency in the 2011 general election following Jackie Healy Rae’s retirement. He was elected to Kerry county council in 1999 and increased his vote in 2004. In the Dáil, he has remained an Independent TD and outside the technical group who share speaking rights. He has particularly outspoken on issues like rural isolation and called for permits to allow for those in rural areas to drink and drive. The motion was rejected.
Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris is the party’s sole candidate in the new Kerry constituency where six sitting Dáil deputies are battling it out for five seats. He is a long-timeparty member and has also been arrested and convicted for his membership and activities with the IRA prior to his election as a Kerry county councillor in the 1999 local elections.Martin Ferris waselected a TD in 2002 and has held his seat in the two subsequent general election run offs. He is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for Agriculture and for the Marine.
As political dynasties go, the Springs of Kerry are among the best-known in Irish political life. Arthur Spring goes into Election 2016 occupying the seat previously held by his uncle and former Tánaiste Dick Spring, and before him Arthur’s grandfather Dan. Arthur Spring studied third level at Dublin Institute of Technology and then the Jonkoping International Business School, in Sweden. He was then elected to Kerry county council and Tralee town council. In 2011, he contested his first general election and took 20pc of all first preference votes. He won the second seat of the three on seventh count.
Former mayor of Tralee Grace O'Donnell, is to run on the Fine Gael ticket along with two sitting two TDs in the newly merged Kerry north and south constituency. She lost her position as mayor after failing at the 2014 local elections.
Councillor John Brasill was elected to Kerry County Council in 1999 on his first attempt. The pharmacist who runs a business in Ballyteigue is married with three children. He has twice previously sought but narrowly lost the nomination to run for the Dáil.
Norma Moriaty was first elected to Kerry County Council in 2014 and will stand for general election for the first time this year.
Michael fitzgerald is a resident of Castlegregory. Using experience as an English language teacher in Germany he and another teacher started a language school which has since brought several thousands of students to Ireland. Fitzgerald aims to maximise the potential for Kerry to benefit from green, renewable technologies, to help establish a sustainable environment and economy for future generations.
After joining the camopaign against water charges, Brian Finucane became a member of People Before Profit and established the party's Listowel branch. Finucane campaigned with PAYE workers to protect existing right of access to state pension.
Founder member of the Tralee Says No anti bank bailout campaign be standing as an independent candidate in the Listowel Electoral Area at the local elections in May. Michael O'Gorman, a stonemason and married father of two from Bedford, Listowel is also a founder of the Kerry Save Our Woods environmental campaign.
Killarney Water protester Kevin Murphy will be running as an independent candidate and is supporting the Right2Change policy principles which have grown out of the Right2Water movement.
Henry Gaynor is a worker with Kerry Ingredients, a food company and part of the Kerry Group, this is his first time running for any election. He is an active anti-austerity campaigner. The 52-year-old father of two was a member of the Tralee/Ballyhea Says No group.
Renua's Donal Corcoran is a self-employed worker from Tralee, this is his first time running for election. He has previously raised money for Renua and has been a supporter of the party since its launch.
A brother of outgoing TD Michael Healy-Rae and a son of former TD Jackie Healy-Rae, Danny Healy-Rae is facing his first general election campaign as he steps forward as an Independent. Elected to Kerry County Council in 2004, after being co-opted a year earlier, Cllr Healy-Rae has consistently polled high in the Killarney ward in the last three local elections. A popular figure in Kerry, the local publican says he was motivated to run for a sit in the Dáil due to the retirement of outgoing TD Tom Fleming – whose decision not to run again for office leaves east Kerry with no TD.
Independent candidate Mary Fitzgibbon (46) is making her second attempt at securing a Dáil seat, having run unsuccessfully in the 2011 general election. A lecturer at IT Tralee, she teaches nursing and healthcare sciences. Among her priorities are protecting the 8th Amendment, revitalising rural communities, and ensuring that vital public services are protected and properly resourced. Ms Fitzgibbon also supports the abolishment of USC, property tax and water charges. As an Independent, she believes she can better represent the interests of Kerry than those elected TDs bound by a party whip.