| Electorate | Seats | Total Poll | Turnout | Valid Poll | Spoiled Votes | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83236 | 4 | 53251 | 64% | 52806 | 445 | 10562 |
Left Right
| Candidate | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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8264 | 8290 | 8347 | 8416 | 8548 | 8875 | 9254 | 9880 | 11035 | |
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7171 | 7296 | 7401 | 7484 | 7593 | 8312 | 9099 | 9647 | 11558 | |
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6949 | 7124 | 7394 | 7486 | 7780 | 8674 | 8986 | 9916 | 11803 | |
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5358 | 5437 | 5572 | 5969 | 6776 | 6861 | 7681 | 8175 | 8457 | 8639 |
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4594 | 4635 | 4730 | 4824 | 4986 | 5081 | 5553 | 6216 | 6432 | 6781 |
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4406 | 4425 | 4479 | 4565 | 4718 | 5688 | 5779 | 6203 | ||
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3461 | 3495 | 3520 | 3532 | 3573 | |||||
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3244 | 3327 | 3460 | 3531 | 3834 | 4191 | 4596 | |||
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3145 | 3280 | 3365 | 3515 | 4104 | 4132 | ||||
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1999 | 2176 | 2586 | 3237 | ||||||
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1635 | 1692 | 1813 | |||||||
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1386 | 1570 | ||||||||
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806 | |||||||||
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241 | |||||||||
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147 |
Fianna Fáil
The daughter of ex-junior minister Michael Ahern, Barbara comes to the poll with a strong political pedigree. The 34-year-old has previously worked as a tax advisor and accountant and has been based in Gibralta for the past two years.
Fine Gael
Biochemist Tom Barry is one of two sitting Fine Gael TDs in Cork East hoping to retain his seat after winning election in 2011. He is married to Dr Kathy Kane and the couple, who live in Mallow, have three children. He set up his own agribusiness and has served on a number of Oireachtas committees, though his time in Leinster House may be recalled for the ‘Lapgate’ controversy when he pulled his party colleague Áine Collins onto his lap during a late night debate on abortion in 2013. He subsequently apologised for his actions and offered to resign from the party.
Renua Ireland
Senator Paul Bradford has contested six general election contests – but 2016 will be his first as a Renua Ireland candidate. The form Fine Gael stalwart lost the party whip, along with his wife Lucinda Creighton, in 2013 when they voted against the government on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. He then helped form the new Renua Ireland party with Ms Creighton. He was the youngest person to ever be elected to Cork County Council in 1985 and followed that up by becoming the State’s youngest ever senator two years later.
Sinn Féin
The Sinn Féin candidate in the East Cork constituency has been a PRO for the Let’s Get Together Foundation, a non-profit suicide prevention group which works in the local community.
Independent
Local tattoo artist Paddy Bullman is a three time election candidate, having failed previously to secure a seat in the 2011 general election and the 2014 local election. A Youghal native, he is an active anti-austerity campaigner and is associated with the People's Convention (CPPC). Aside from abolishing Irish water, Mr Bullman wants to see the introduction of citizen referendums to decide state policy.
Independent
A first-time general election candidate, Ross Cannon unsuccessfully contested the 2014 local election for the Fermoy ward. A local activist, he is heavily involved in the Mallow Says No campaign, which opposes water charges, and is an advocate for the revitalisation of rural communities. Previously he ran for election under the Rural Resettlement banner.
Social Democrats
Ken Curtin left Fianna Fail to join the Social Democrats after his disappointment with the party's support for the same-sex marriage referendum. The former secretary for Cobh and constituency PRO had been a leading figure during the campaign.
The Green Party
Anti-Austerity Alliance
Ciara Leonardi Roche is one of the youngest candidates in the general election at 22 years of age. The mother of one from Cobh has been selected as the Anti-Austerity Alliance's candidate after just more than year's memembership of the party having been involved with a number of community groups in East Cork.
Independent
Mary Linehan Foley had been a councillor for Fianna Fail since 1999 but left the party to be elected as an independent in the last local election, winning the last seat in the constituency. The mother of five represented Youghal for much of her time as a councillor but may struggle to get votes from other towns in the constituency.
Fine Gael
Former Labour party stalwart Noel McCarthy switched his allegiances to Fine Gael in November last year leaving the party with one councillor in the whole the county and city. The councillor topped the poll during the 2014 local elections while standing in the Fermoy ward for Cork County. McCarthy runs an off-liecence in the town originally comes from Cobh having studied in Cork Institute of Technology.
Independent
Cork councillor Kieran McCarthy (55) is running as an Independent in the general election following his expulsion from Sinn Féin in June 2015. First elected to Cork County Council in 2014, this will be his first attempt at securing a Dáil seat. Alongside working towards abolishing water charges, Mr McCarthy believes that a strong Independent voice is needed for Cork to promote the county’s interests at a national level.
Fianna Fáil
The Fianna Fáil councillor, who is the son of former minister of state Ned O’Keefe, performed well in the local elections in 2014 and was elected at the first count, coming in just behind Noel McCarthy. His family’s political experience is strong as his father held a seat here as a TD for almost 30 years. However, this time may not be as easy for the farmer and businessman as Michael Ahern’s daughter Barbara is also running on the Fianna Fáil ticket.
Labour
Having first been co-opted onto Cork County Council following his father Joe’s election to the Dáil, Sean Sherlock then replaced his father once again when following his retirement before the 2007 election. He then followed up that success by topping the poll in Cork East in the 2011 contest and was elected on the first count – something which had not been done since 2002.Deputy Sherlock was appointed Minister of State for Research and Innovation in 2011. In 2014, he took up another junior ministry role in the Department of Foreign Affairs. He is from Mallow and married last year.
Fine Gael
David Stanton was a woodwork and technical drawing teacher as well as a career guidance counsellor in St. Colman’s Community College in Midleton before he was elected to the Dáil in 1997. He has successfully defended his seat in all three subsequent contests and picked up over 10,000 first preference votes in 2011. He is the chairman of the Oireachtas Justice committee and previously in opposition in Leinster House has served as Fine Gael party spokesperson across a number of portfolios. He is married and has four children. He lives in Midleton.
