Two female TDs for Carlow (and very nearly a third), as Catherine makes history

CO CARLOW has elected two female TDs to be a strong voice for the county in Dáil Éireann – and was desperately unlucky to miss out on a third.

There were scenes of elation in the early hours of Monday morning as Fine Gael’s Catherine Callaghan and Fianna Fáil’s Jennifer Murnane O’Connor secured their place among the five seats up for grabs in the Carlow/Kilkenny constituency.

Newcomer Catherine made history by becoming the first female on the Fine Gael ticket in this constituency, topping that with a phenomenal performance which saw her take Carlow/Kilkenny’s second seat.

Catherine’s compelling political story began with her losing out at the local elections by a single vote, to six months later taking her place in national politics.

Fianna Fáil’s Jennifer Murnane O’Connor not only successfully retained her seat with Carlow’s highest first preference vote but also played her part in Fianna Fáil’s best result in the country, winning an incredible three seats from five, alongside John McGuinness and Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere.

It was heartbreak for Bagenalstown native Áine Gladney Knox of Sinn Féin, who lost out to her running mate, Kilkenny’s Natasha Newsome Drennan, by just 132 votes for the fifth and final seat.

The marathon two-day count concluded shortly after 4am on Monday morning, running across 16 counts, where transfers not only based on political ideology but geography were absolutely crucial.