2 weeks Ago By Faye Dorgan
LONG-TIME TD Willie O’Dea keeps a firm grasp on his seat in the Dáil, as he is elected in the sixth count with X votes for Limerick City. The first candidate to be elected in the City constituency, the Farranshone man claimed victory at approximately 11:30pm this Saturday, November 30. Upon being elected, Mr O’Dea said: “I feel absolutely fantastic, it’s been a long count and it took six to reach the quota and I suppose that’s because of the multitude of candidates.
” When asked if it would be his last time running for election, Mr O’Dea said he “never tries to anticipate the future”, but he did allude to writing a book, possibly on his life and fruitful career in politics. Watch this space! READ MORE: LIVE BLOG: General Election results from Limerick Despite being elected in the sixth count, it was a resounding win for the Fianna Fáil man, with tallies indicating that the 72-year-old would top the polls from early on. He said: “In politics, it's always a very good day when you top the poll.
“I canvassed from one end of the constituency to the other. I wasn't thinking of topping polls, I was just thinking of getting myself elected. “There are four seats, they all carry the same salary.
I was just thinking of getting one of those. Naturally, it's the icing on the cake to top the poll.” If Mr O’Dea serves the next four and a half years of the new Dáil term, he will be the third-longest serving TD in the history of the state, surpassing former Taoiseagh Enda Kenny and Seán Lamass.
Mr O’Dea represented Limerick East from 1982 to 2011 and Limerick City from 2011 to present, marking 42 years in politics. Three seats remain in the Limerick City constituency, with the seventh count getting underway on Sunday morning, as it is called a night here at Limerick Racecourse. It is predicted that Kieran O’Donnell of Fine Gael and Maurice Quinlivan of Sinn Féin will keep their seats and be re-elected, taking seats two and three of the constituency.
No City candidate made the quota of 8,435 to be elected in the first count, unlike Patrick O’Donovan in Limerick County, who took back his seat with ease with a 178 surplus. One thing Mr O’Dea said that concerns him, however, was “the low turnout” of voters. “I am disappointed with it.
Turnout nationally is down so far as I can ascertain. It's been slipping for the last 10 to 15 years. It shows an erosion in trust of democracy.
It's a dangerous trend. “Politicians from all sides of the house will need to do their utmost to correct that trend.”.
