Constituency: Kildare South

Medical doctor Cathal Berry pulled off a feat in the 2020 general election where he knocked out sitting Fianna Fail TD Fiona O’Loughlin and gave Portarlington its first Dáil seat in almost a century. Portarlington in East Laois was then annexed to Kildare South, but it has been retrieved for the new Laois constituency this time around. Berry doesn’t appear daunted, however, as he now lives in Kilcullen and his long service with the Defence Forces has earned him strong support.

Melissa Byrne came to attention last summer as one of the two young candidates caught up in a nail-biting count in the local elections. After four recounts, Ms Byrne, who celebrated her 25th birthday in the count centre, conceded to 18-year-old James Stokes of Sinn Féin, who went on to lose out to an Independent. Despite the nerve-jangling experience, she’s back, speaking for Generation Rent and struggling families and calling out poor planning in service provision and infrastructure. Her first foray into politics was as a student activist, organising anti-abortion campaigns.

One of two Independent Ireland candidates in Kildare South, William Carton narrowly missed out on a council seat in last summer’s local elections, clinging on to the last count before being eliminated. He is based in Ballytore in the east of the county and works in Kildare County Council’s roads division, stressing his pride in working in a field that serves the public.

Anthony Casey wants more border controls, to lead Ireland out of the EU, to champion a “second Gaelic revival” and to “take back our country”. Immigration is the theme that runs thickly through his campaign although there are also references to improving healthcare, tackling climate “alarmism” and cracking down on repeat offenders. A family man from Athy he fronts a podcast and online channel that likes to air conspiracy theories and he lists as his first election pledge as “to protect and secure the community from impending threats by becoming an accessible liaison between local people and their Garda station”.

Robert Cosgrave has a long involvement with the Socialist Party has been an active campaigner on national issues including abortion rights and water charges. He is currently strongly involved in the Ireland-Palestine Solidary Campaign, and says he wants to work against far right groups.

First-time candidate Edel Doran lives near Nurney in the middle of the constituency, just a 20 minute drive from her running mate, William Carton. A frontline community healthcare worker, she is placing a strong focus on care services for the elderly and vulnerable members of society and the challenges for the broader healthcare system.

Martin Heydon has held a seat in Kildare South since his first general election attempt in 2011, regaining, as it was seen, the seat previously held by Fine Gael giant Alan Dukes. Local to the area with a strong background and education, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture with special responsibility for research and development, farm safety and new market development. Regarded as a safe pair of hands in the party, he was chair of the parliamentary party for four years up to his ministerial appointment and is a sometimes mooted as a future party leader.

Tom McDonnell is part of Eire Saor and was successful in taking the last seat on Kildare County Council in his first attempt in last summer’s local elections. A self-employed builder, he has been outspoken about “uncontrolled immigration” and made headlines after securing his council seat when he lamented that Irish women didn’t “breed” enough. He was recently ordered by the district court to pay compensation to the owner of a house in South Dublin after being convicted of criminal damage to the property in a dispute over work carried out on the home.

Primary school teacher Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh was elected to Kildare County Council on her first attempt last summer but is hungry for the bigger arena. Her appetite doesn’t appear to have been dulled by the acrimonious exit of her party colleague Patricia Ryan in early October. She told local media that nothing had happened between her and Deputy Ryan who she did not know very well, and she just wanted to get on with her election preparations. A fluent Irish speaker, she has been treating fellow councillors to more than just a cúpla focail in the council chamber and is pushing to have at least the odd council meeting conducted solely as Gaelige.

Fiona O’Loughlin was a casualty in the 2020 general election when she lost her seat to newcomer Cathal Berry. Election to the Seanad helped the wilderness years pass more easily, however, and she became deputy leader of the house, Fianna Fail spokesperson on education and chair of the Oireachtas Women’s Caucus. She’s back to try to reclaim a Dáil seat now, having been quick off the mark once the local elections were out of the way last June to declare her intention to seek the party nomination. Ms O’Loughlin previously served as a town councillor, county councillor and mayor in her native Kildare.

While running as an Independent, Leanne O’Neill is part of the non-registered political grouping, Eire Saor, which also includes Tom McDonnell who is also running in Kildare South. She missed out on a council seat in last summer’s local elections where she sought to highlight issues around housing, homelessness, crime, drug use, the closure of small businesses and stretched local services.

An elected member of Kildare County Council since 2019, Chris Pender will be trying to ensure the Social Democrats retain a seat somewhere in Co Kildare as party co-founder, Catherine Murphy, is not seeking re-election in neighbouring Kildare North. Heavily involved in community life, he works in the social and sports centre that is home to many Newbridge groups, is a director of the Newbridge Family Resource Centre and involved in the regional drugs and alcohol task force. With a heavy social media presence in a medium he is clearly comfortable with, he has been very busy setting out his stall and encouraging engagement. One to watch.

What precisely happened to precipitate the ugly divorce between Patricia Ryan and Sinn Fein may never be known but one issue she referred to in her less-than-fond farewell was her wish to publicise illegal encampments on The Curragh. She said she was ordered to remove social media postings on the matter and was effectively being censored. She complained that other local representatives were raising the issue despite its sensitivities, making it look like she was unwilling to address a difficult subject. Whether she’ll be rewarded at the ballot box for taking a stand or punished for abandoning the party will make for an interesting count.

Born in India, raised in Kenya, resident in Kildare - and destined for the Dáil? Pharmacist Monaa K Sood is giving it a go for the Greens and despite being a newcomer to politics, she’s hoping 20 years in Kildare has given her the local insights and connections to garner support. She’s standing on the familiar issues affecting life in a largely commuter belt area – housing, transport, childcare, healthcare – but she’s also playing to her strength as a member of the country’s very large and unrepresentative born-abroad community. “Ireland has changed so much in the last 20 years. It’s so much more cosmopolitan. But I didn’t see the political system change,” she says.

Son of former Labour TD, Jack Wall, Senator Mark Wall is the never-say-die candidate, having run unsuccessfully for the last two general elections and returning now for another bite at the cherry. He was first elected a county councillor in 2009 and has been busy on the local front since then, before going on to secure election to the current Seanad where he became Labour’s spokesperson on defence. However, it is clear he sees regaining a seat for Labour as his duty after the huge disappointment of failing to carry on the family and party name in 2016.