Constituency: Wexford

James Browne was elected to Dáil Éireann in the February 2016 general election as a representative of Wexford and re-elected in the 2020 general election. In 2020 he was appointed Minister of State Department of Justice with responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice. He has served as the Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Mental Health, leading initiatives to reform mental health services in Ireland, including the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2018 and served on the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Mental Healthcare. He was also involved in the creation of the new Women’s Refuge in Wexford.

Cathal Byrne is a councillor from Ballyhogue, Enniscorthy, who graduated from Trinity College Dublin with an Honours degree in Law and Business and also completed a Masters in Law. He qualified as a solicitor in 2020. He has retained his local seat since his first election in 2019 and topped the poll with the most votes in the Enniscorthy LEA, 2,275, in the June 2024 local election. Deeply rooted in the community, he is a board member for historic 1798 National Rebellion Centre and acts as the Leinster Council Delegate on the Wexford GAA County Board. He takes pride in having been consistently active on the ground assisting and supporting the public, local business, farmers and community and voluntary organisations.

Having topped the poll in Rosslare in the local elections, Wexford councillor Jim Codd will hope to capitalise on his popularity by gaining a seat in the Dáil on November 29. First elected to the local council in 2019, the Aontú councillor ran unsuccessfully for the Dáil the following year but has since been re-elected to Wexford council and is the current cathaoirleach of the Rosslare district. A strong advocate for rural Ireland, the Taghmon-native has been vocal on homelessness, the poor condition of regional roads, and increasing tourism in Wexford during his time in office. A schoolteacher at Bridgetown College by trade, he has also spoken out about the contents of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) programme in recent months.

The current Mayor of Wexford, George Lawlor has served as a councillor for some 20 years, topping the poll on numerous occasions. The Wexford town native has long been a close ally and friend of veteran TD and former Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin, serving as his parliamentary assistant for a number of years. Mr Lawlor’s ambitions for the Dáil have been no secret. He contested the 2019 by-election for the seat vacated by Mick Wallace, but ultimately lost out to Fianna Fáil's Malcolm Byrne. As a result of the enduring support for his friend and colleague Brendan Howlin, it was beginning to feel like Lawlor would never get the nod to contest a general election. He was playfully dubbed “the Prince Charles of Wexford politics”. However, just as Prince Charles took his seat on the throne as King, Lawlor will be hoping to slip into the seat vacated by Howlin after 40 years in politics.

First time candidate Peadar McDonald decided to join the Green Party as he wanted to be involved in protecting Ireland’s unique natural environment. He believes that more urgent action and funding is needed to support people and businesses to adapt to more sustainable ways of living and working. Accepting that making changes to how we live won’t be easy, he is focused on providing more public transport, reducing waste and use of fossil fuels, and varying the use of our invaluable land. He says more local link bus services will reduce carbon emissions and believes organic farming and forestry planting will provide regular income for landowners, support nature restoration, improve water quality, and reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere. From a housing perspective, Mr McDonald says vacant land purchased by councils in towns or villages could provide a range of accommodation solutions including social and affordable homes, housing for the elderly and for people with special needs.

A former president of the Irish Road Hauliers Association, Verona Murphy’s career in politics began under the banner of Fine Gael. She was selected by the party to contest the 2019 by-election for the Dáil seat vacated by Mick Wallace and would finish in third. During this campaign, there was a rift with the party over controversial comments made around direct provision centres and immigrants coming into the country. It culminated in her being de-selected by Fine Gael for the 2020 election. However, Ms Murphy would have the last laugh as in 2020 she was elected to the third of five Wexford seats as an independent. In the interim, Deputy Murphy has grown her brand significantly, not least of all by launching the Wexford Independent Alliance in this year's local election – something which saw five of 12 candidates elected. Since then, the outspoken TD says that she’s been the subject of damaging “rumours” circulating in local political circles.

Bridín Murphy was re-elected to Wexford County Council in 2024 and is the current cathaoirleach of the New Ross district. She lives in Clonroche with her husband and two daughters, having grown up on her family’s strawberry farm, Boro Valley Fruit Farm, where she continues to be a director. Bridín has a masters degree in social work and has worked in the areas of mental health, care of the elderly and child protection. She served as treasurer for the Irish Association of Social Workers until 2024. If elected, she says she will prioritise the enhancement of our education system through investment in schools and universities, supporting the vulnerable in society through social services, and advocating for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

At 21 years old, Jason Murphy was the youngest candidate on the ballot paper for the local elections back in June. Running the Rosslare District, the Lady’s Island native and The National Party candidate endured a difficult day at the count centre attracting the lowest vote in the county, with just 125 first preference votes. Despite this, he hasn’t been put off by the experience and has confirmed his intention to run for Dáil Éireann. A big focus of Mr Murphy’s campaign surrounds migration, stating that Ireland needs to “house Irish, not the world”. He also states that Ireland is “under threat from mass migration”. The young Wexford man also vows to put a focus on the environment and “protecting our beaches, forests and fields”.

Johnny Mythen lives in Enniscorthy with his wife Barbara and has always been involved in his local community. He is a Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála for the Wexford constituency since the 2020 general election. He was elected TD for Wexford in 2020 with a record vote of 18,717 first preference votes. An ESB worker for many years, he was active in the Unite Union and was part of its national negotiating team. Representing his county and making Wexford a better place for everyone to live and to grow up in is something which motivates his political activism.

Micheál Martin’s announcement of former FIFA assistant referee as a running mate for Minister of State James Browne set the cat among the pigeons on the Wexford political scene. Ms O'Neill had run in June’s local elections under the banner of Independent TD Verona Murphy's Wexford Independent Alliance. Less than six months later, Ms O'Neill has confirmed that she will run against her former mentor as a Fianna Fáil candidate. She’ll be desperately hoping to improve on her showing in the local elections, which saw her attract just 368 first preference votes in a competitive Wexford Borough District. Having come in for some criticism for choosing to run for one of the main parties, Ms O’Neill will be hoping to win the public over on the doorsteps with promoting women in sport and a drive towards equality a key area of concern for her.

Jackser Owens is an Independent councillor from Enniscorthy who has been vocal regarding his stance as an Independent, stating that he works for the people and not parties. High on his agenda is to secure essential funding for mental health services, create more housing, and to sit down with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to discuss desperately needed flood relief for the town. He previously worked as a safety traffic warden for St Aidan’s primary school for ten years, and is currently demanding that the council hire a replacement to ensure that young children safely attend school. At the local election in June, he received the fifth seat with 1,675 votes.

A newcomer to the political world, this will be a second election experience for Wexford town man Stephen Power, who he ran in June’s local elections under the banner of The Irish People. Despite the apparent growth of immigration as a topic, one of the major principles of The Irish People Party, Mr Power endured a fairly torrid time, attracting just 145 first preference votes and becoming the first candidate eliminated in the competitive Wexford Borough District. Part of this may have been down to a lack of any social media presence, posters, attendance at local events or visible canvassing in advance of the election. Regardless, Mr Power returns for the general election, this time running under the banner of the National Alliance – an amalgamation of The National Party, Ireland First and The Irish People – which puts immigration issues at its core.

A few short months ago, the notion of veteran councillor Michael Sheehan departing Fianna Fáil would've been inconceivable. However, after the party snubbed the councillor of 25 years in favour of FIFA ref Michelle O’Neill as a running mate for Minister of State James Browne, he decided to go it alone and declare as an independent candidate for the upcoming election. Cllr Sheehan contested the last general election for Fianna Fáil and managed 4,366 first preference votes, but it wasn’t enough to secure one of the five Wexford seats. In the local elections, back in June, again running as a Fianna Fáil candidate, Cllr Sheehan managed 1,291 first preference votes which saw him take a seat ahead of general election rival Bridín Murphy of Fine Gael. Cllr Sheehan has pushed the importance of having a TD from New Ross, stating that it's been two decades since someone from the town has stood in the Dáil.

People Before Profit candidate Martina Stafford has been an activist and organiser for years on issues such as cost of living, housing and gender-based violence. A musician, the Wexford woman has worked as a carer for people with intellectual and physical disabilities and says a key issue for her in this election will be the crisis in care for children with autism and people with disabilities. Ms Stafford has also campaigned on LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights, anti-racism and Palestinian solidarity and wants to push for an end to the US military use of Shannon airport.

Former TD and MEP Mick Wallace left it late to announce his candidacy in the 2024 General Election. The Wellingtonbridge man confirmed he would be staking a claim for one of four Wexford seats less than 24 hours before the deadline. Mr Wallace was elected to Dáil Éireann on two previous occasions, topping the poll on his first outing in 2011. In 2019, he ran for the European parliament and took a seat in Ireland South. However, in June of this year, he failed in his re-election bid. While he describes himself as “an outsider” to take a seat, the outspoken Wexford man and former property developer says that he won’t be engaging in “parish pump politics” and instead will be a “national parliamentarian” for Wexford, a county he says “hasn’t been particularly well-served” in the past.