European Elections: Candidates vying for seats in Midlands North West constituency

Counting continues in Castlebar in the Midlands North West Constituency. Tallies indicate that Luke 'Ming' Flanagan will top the poll and take a seat as will Mairead McGuinness (FG) and Matt Carthy (SF). There will be a tussle for the last seat among the three sitting MEPs Jim Higgins (FG), Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher (FF) and Marian Harkin (Ind) with Thomas Byrne (FF) also in contention.

Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy has topped the poll in Cavan and Monaghan, according to the tallies with almost 23% of the total vote in Cavan and over 50% in Monaghan.

The huge count, with votes from 15 counties, is taking place in The Royal Theatre in Castlebar with Fintan Murphy the returning officer there.

More than 700,000 votes are being counted with no results to be declared until counting is complete across all of the constituencies in Europe.

The new constituency of Midlands-North West reaches from the Dublin commuter belt to the North-West. It goes across 15 counties: Cavan, Donegal, Galway (City and County), Kildare, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.

There will be plenty of local interest in this election with Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy from Carrickmacross doing well in opinion polls and looking likely to take a seat and also Virginia man TJ Fay running in the race as an independent.

The candidates are:

Thomas Byrne (FF)

A former TD, Byrne lost his Dáil seat in Meath East in the 2011 General Election. He is currently the Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson on Public Expenditure & Reform. Byrne joins Pat ‘The Cope Gallagher’ on the Fianna Fáil ticket in this new constituency 

Matt Carthy (SF)

A member of Monaghan County Council since 2004 and Carrickmacross Town Council since 1999. He is a former Mayor of County Monaghan and previously acted as National Organiser of the Sinn Fein’s youth wing, then called Ógra Shinn Féin. 

Mark Dearey (GP)

Senator from 2010 to 2011. He was the Green Party candidate at the 2011 general election in the Louth constituency and received 4.7% of first preference votes but was not elected. Mr Dearey did not contest the 2011 Seanad election.

TJ Fay (Ind)

From Virginia in Co Cavan, Mr Fay unsuccessfully contested Dáil elections in 1997 and 2007. He polled 113 first preference votes in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency for the 2007 General Election. 

Mark Fitzsimons (Ind)

His Facebook page says he is fighting “Fighting Corruption, Bank Bail-outs, Austerity, Evictions, Fluoridation.” Environmental and cannabis campaigner, he is a first-time election candidate. Mr Fitzsimons is best known as the man who walked into a Dundalk Garda station in January with a quantity of cannabis, hoping to get arrested.

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (Ind)

A former Mayor of Roscommon, who was elected to the Dáil for the Roscommon-South Leitrim constituency in 2011, this is his second time to contest a European Parliament election. Mr Flanagan has been an advocate of turf-cutters, cannabis legalisation and a strong critic of the gardai. He is running on an anti-European Union platform.

Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher (FF)

First elected to the Dáil for Donegal South-West in 1981, Gallagher, a former Minister for State across a number of departments, has been an MEP since 1994. His nickname - ‘The Cope’ - was originally that of his grandfather, and refers to the family’s involvement in the Co-operative movement in Donegal.

Ben Gilroy (Direct Democracy)

Former Leader of Direct Democracy, Gilroy contested the Meath By-Election in March 2013, polling 1,568 first preference votes, a 6.5% share of the total. In November 2013, Mr Gilroy was arrested and brought before the High Court in relation to allege trespass on a stud farm in Naas, Co Kildare, over which receivers were appointed 

Marian Harkin (Ind)

Harkin topped the poll in the North-West constituency in the last two European elections. Unsuccessful when she stood in the European elections of 1999 in the old Connacht-Ulster constituency, polling 47,372 first preferences and just losing out to Dana for the third seat. A member of the European Parliament's Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group

Jim Higgins (FG)

MEP since 2004. Elected to the Dáil first in 1987, was re-elected in 1989, 1992 and 1997. Mr Higgins was recently been shortlisted for the MEP of the Year Transport award 2014. He has been shortlisted, 'in particular, for his report on ‘a strategy for an electronic toll service in Europe’, which was adopted by the European Parliament in June 2013

Lorraine Higgins (Lab)

Ms Higgins was appointed to the Seanad by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in May 2011 after failing to win a Dáil seat earlier that year. A barrister, practising on the western circuit, Higgins failed to win a seat in Galway East in the 2011 general election, when she secured over 3,500 first preference votes. Seanad Labour Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Mairead McGuinness (FG)

First elected to the European Parliament in 2004, she retained her seat in 2009, topping the poll on each occasion for the now abolished Ireland East constituency. Previous presenter of RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground.

Cordelia Nic Fhearraigh (Fís Nua)

Ms Nic Fhearraigh is a first-time candidate and a campaigner against septic tank, water and household taxes. She is a member of the Can’t Pay Won’t Pay (Cloch Cheann Fhaola) group which has been organising protests against austerity policies in recent years.

Rónán Mullen (Ind)

Mr Mullen was a vocal opponent of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill which was introduced in the wake of the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway University Hospital. Describes himself as an independent voice who believes in respect for life and support for the family.