Constituency: Waterford

A native of the Comeragh district of Waterford County, the current Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler TD, has been an avid Fianna Fáil representative for more than a decade having first been elected to Waterford City and County Council in 2014. It was 2016 when Minister Butler contested in the General Election for the first time and as the only Fianna Fáil candidate, she topped the poll with the 10,603 votes. Despite her continued election success in 2020, it was a tougher fight for her to retain her seat as the ticket was shared with Eddie Mulligan. The majority of Mulligan’s votes (1,219) were transferred to Butler when distributed in the third count, leaving her to contest closely against Independent Matt Shanahan.

Having previously run in the General Election in 2020 and Local Elections in June 2024, the London native, but Waterford-based GP, has added himself to the ticket again to contest as an Aontú representative.

Independent candidate Frank Conway, a resident of Portlaw-Kilmacthomas, is an economics and finance lecturer in SETU Waterford. He is adamant he can make improvements to the “deteriorated” Comeragh district, as he stated it’s due to a “lack of funding” which has resulted in “an under-delivery of projects.” Mr Conway has based his campaign on promises to demand a nursing home for the Comeragh district, roads and footpaths to be properly maintained and more controversially, an inquiry into Covid vaccines and to highlight concerns around unvetted and undocumented immigrants.

Having previously served on the Labour Panel for the Seanad as a Sinn Féin representative, it was in 2016 when David Cullinane was first elected to Dáil Éireann. He made history in the Waterford constituency in 2020 General Election as he topped the poll with the highest ever amount of votes, 20,596. However, some recall the controversy that followed where a clip of Cullinane was shared on social media platforms of him using the phrases “up the Ra” and “Tiocfaidh ár lá” which would be strongly used in support of the Irish Republican Army. An apology was issued by the re-elected TD and since then, the now 50-year-old has taken on the duty of Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Health.

Son of the former TD Maurice Cummins, it’s fair to say that Senator John Cummins has shown persistence in his efforts towards sitting at the Dáil. The Fine Gael candidate has been consistent in pushing for the progress of SETU courses, particularly veterinary, and resources to benefit third-level students across the south east. Having only one Fine Gael candidate in the upcoming election should benefit the current Senator as in 2020 it was very much a split vote between Cummins and his Fine Gael colleague, Damien Geoghegan, who continues to represent the party at local level. There was a share of 8.5% and 8% of votes in the 2020 General Election for the two candidates, respectively.

Despite this being the People Before Profit candidate’s first election, Patrick Curtin has political experience as he was elected as the Student Union President of SETU. Mr Curtin is vocal in his position with the political party and states openly on his social media platforms that as “the elections are fast approaching, this is the time to end the 100 year rule of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and build a left alternative.”

Attempting to make his way into the political field recently with the Local Elections in June, Aaron Joyce tried to create a space in Waterford for those who believe in activism as the founder and leader of “Ireland’s Voice – Guth na hÉireann” and considers himself to be a public speaker on issues regarding housing and immigration. The Local Elections saw Mr Joyce pick up the third-fewest votes in the Dungarvan constituency with a total of 131 first preference votes and an overall 136 votes, with elimination in the fourth count.

A native of Butlerstown, Mr Mangan is an activist for climate and housing. He’s a founder of CATU (Community Action Tenants' Union) Waterford, and he also founded the eco-socialist political party, Rabharta.

This Sinn Féin councillor is a first-time General Election candidate and has a focused interest on bringing additional services to the west of the county while making city services more accessible. Although it’s the first time Sinn Féin has run a second candidate in Waterford, Cllr McGuinness is not shy of the campaign trail and has been involved with Sinn Féin as a local Councillor since the 2019 Local Elections, being successful in taking a seat with Waterford City and County Council on his first attempt. Cllr McGuinness, who has been a member of Sinn Féin since 2001, was confirmed as a General Election candidate for the upcoming election very shortly after his success in the Local Elections, which highlights the confidence that the party has in him.

Initially elected to Waterford City and County Council in 2019, Ó Cathasaigh went on to represent the Green Party at a national level in 2020 and the Tramore native has been vocal about issues such as protecting the Waterford coastline, supporting women in politics and highlighting educational needs of children with his informed background as an experienced teacher. Ó Cathasaigh is proud to promote a greener approach to living, not only nationally but also within Waterford and therefore is a strong believer in having public transport available to all – which makes the North Quays development a desirable project for the Green Party candidate.

A native of the city who has come home to contest the election in the Waterford constituency, this former Councillor is another who has shifted political affiliation. From being a Green Party Councillor since the ’90s (elected to Dublin City Council while studying in Trinity College Dublin), Sadhbh O’Neill is now a General Election candidate for the Labour Party. The previous Labour seat in Waterford was won by Ciara Conway in 2011 but she failed to hold onto it in the 2016 election. This highlighted a massive decline in support for the Labour Party at that time as Conway was the only candidate in 2016, compared to 2011’s campaign which saw strong support for Seamus Ryan. O’Neill will be the sole Labour candidate for the upcoming election.

Mr O’Neill is a former member of An Garda Síochána and strongly advocates for road safety, having been commended in 2011 for the creation of his website www.ThinkSafetyDriveSafely.com. He’s now self-employed in a joint cleaning business with his fiancé.

A well-known businesswoman across city and county, Councillor Mary Roche has made a name for herself over the years for her championing of local businesses as she served as a former Director of Waterford Chamber of Commerce and is proud to be from Ireland’s oldest city. With a nail-biting ending to the local elections, Cllr Roche was re-elected but this time her political affiliation was history-making as there is now a Social Democrat representative on Waterford City and County Council. Cllr Roche at local council meetings is vocal about various issues and has often spoken out in the chamber to address urgent matters that other representatives shied away from.

Matt Shanahan’s political career kicked off in 2019 when he contested the Local Elections as an Independent and had a landslide win into the seat at Waterford City and County Council in the City East district. There was a margin of at least 500 first preference votes between Shanahan and the next candidate. In the 2020 General Election, Shanahan received a significant amount of transfer votes in the second count from poll topper and Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane, however, with two Sinn Féin candidates in the race this time around, it may not be the case that the transfers will be as positive for Shanahan who has been extremely vocal on the issue of Waterford Airport in his time as a TD.

As a former candidate in both the 2016 General Election and 2024 Local Elections, John Walsh of the Irish People is no stranger to the ballot paper and continues to put his name forward for the upcoming election despite receiving just 225 votes in June. Mr Walsh has been vocal about his views on previous national topics such as the 8th Amendment where he previously said: “I will oppose the removal of the Pro-Life 8th Amendment, which guarantees the equal right to life for all.” Additionally, some of his other concerns include how the establishment of a 24/7 Cardiac Care Cover in the University Hospital Waterford should be supported, which is on the agenda of many candidates.