The race has run its course in Galway West, and Hildegarde Naughton has become the final TD elected in Galway.
The Fine Gael TD took the final seat in Galway West on the 13th count, defeating her party colleague Seán Kyne in the final run, with Kyne now losing his seat.
There’s little surprise in this final outcome, as Naughton already held a 1,500 vote lead on Kyne going into this count.
With the only transfers up for grabs being the roughly 2,400 surplus of Catherine Connolly, it would have take a near miracle to turn that outcome around.
Naughton ultimately finished with 9,519 votes, below the quota but well ahead of Kyne’s 7,574 as she received almost twice as many transfers from Connolly.
This means that four of Galway West’s five TDs have been re-elected to their seats, with the only new addition being Mairéad Farrell of Sinn Féin.
Farrell performed extremely well for her first run, especially after losing her city council seat in 2016, coming in second place.
Also returned to their seats were Eamon Ó Cuív (FF), Noel Grealish (Ind), and Catherine Connolly (Ind).
Galway West was the final constituency in Galway to report its results, with Galway East finishing among the fastest in the country yesterday, and Roscommon-Galway winding up earlier this afternoon.
