Epic race for seats reached 12th count in Cork East

With four Dáil seats up for grabs in the Cork East constituency, things were looking tight from the get-go at the Mallow GAA Sports Complex as tally figures showed that Fine Gael’s first-time runner Mark Stanton, Sinn Féin’s incumbent Pat Buckley, and Fianna Fáil’s incumbent James O’Connor were in a three-way tie at the top, with 12% each of the first preference votes.

As time drove on and counts were declared, no candidate was deemed elected in the constituency until the 10th count on Sunday morning, which saw Mr O’Connor announced as the first candidate to secure a seat in Dáil Éireann.

Having exceeded the quota of 9,602 votes, Mr O’Connor, with 9,924 votes, was visibly emotional as he embraced family and friends during the announcement of his re-election.

“I’m delighted — I’m so grateful and humbled by everything that people have done for me,” he told The Echo.

“I want to say an enormous thank you to everybody who put their trust and faith in me again — it was a very tight race.

“Even though I’m only 27, I’m no longer the new kid on the block — I think that it’s been a big renewal election for us. It’s been a great success.”

While there was no candidate who reached the quota on the 11th and 12th count, all remaining seats were filled with Fine Gael’s Noel McCarthy, Sinn Féin’s incumbent Pat Buckley, and Social Democrats’ Liam Quaide.

Mr McCarthy said that he is “overjoyed” with his result, despite a slow transfer of surplus votes, which ultimately saw him over the finish line.

“I got a great response, and I’m delighted to represent the people of East Cork and to hopefully be a voice for the people, because that’s what they want — someone to fight for them,” he said.

Discussing his celebratory plans, Mr McCarthy said that he would be heading to The Wagon Tavern in Fermoy with a group of his long-term friends.

Entering into his third term as a TD for Cork East, Mr Buckley said he already has several people in mind that he wants to help once the next government has been formed.

“It’s surreal — I’m very humbled and honoured. It’s time now for me to repay the people who put their trust and faith in me, that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

For a first in political history for Cork East, elected on the final count by a hair’s breadth margin between him and Mr Stanton, Mr Quaide said that he was “pretty stunned” by the result.

“I wasn’t expecting this, there’s a bit of a sense of unreality at the moment, but I’m really delighted and excited,” he said.