General Election: How Donegal's five seats at Dáil Éireann were filled

Newcomer Charles Ward has secured a seat in the 34th Dáil, where he will be joined by the experienced Pat the Cope Gallagher, who reclaimed his seat in the Donegal constituency. 

Sinn Féin duo Pearse Doherty, who topped the polls as he did in 2020, and his running mate Padraig MacLochlainn got over the line on day one. Gallagher made it home on the 15th count, followed by Ward and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue of Fianna Fáil to fill the five-seater. 

For the first time since Daniel McMenamin and Michael McFadden were elected to the Dáil in 1937, Fine Gael are without a TD in Donegal. Joe McHugh, a former Minister for Education, confirmed in 2022 that he would not seek re-election.

Independent TD Thomas Pringle lost the seat he gained in 2011, with his vote - particularly in the south of the county -  impacted as Fine Gael ran John McNulty and Sinn Féin opted for a third candidate, Noel Jordan.

Ward, a native of Arranmore who lives in Drumkeen, was elected with McConalogue on count 16 with a total of 11,714 votes.  

“It’s a dream come true,” Ward declared. “This isn’t just a victory for me - it’s for every homeowner who has felt unheard and unrepresented. Families in Donegal deserve a voice in Dublin. They have one now, and I will ensure that their struggles and stories are heard where it matters most.”

Donegal was the only constituency in which Ward’s 100% Redress Party ran. The party was established due to the devastation caused by defective concrete blocks, with over 7,000 homes in the county affected, picking up four seats on Donegal County Council following June’s local election.

The confirmation came as returning officer Geraldine O’Connor announced the final results at around 1:40am on Monday at the Aura Leisure Centre in Letterkenny.

Sinn Féin’s deputy leader Doherty topped the poll in Donegal gaining 18,898 first preferences - exceeding the 12,771 quota. Doherty’s first preference represented 24.7% of the votes cast. 

On count two, Buncrana’s MacLochlainn retained his Dáil seat with a total of 9,799 votes, 12.71% of the first preferences cast. He then took 3,296 transfers from Doherty to surpass the quota. Following the tallies, Sinn Féin accounted for 42 per cent of the first preference votes. 

“Absolutely delighted,” Doherty said. “We had a seismic election four-and-a-half years ago where Sinn Fein took a massive vote. That has now happened again so it is clear that we are the people’s choice in Donegal. I am very humbled at the people who came out and gave me their number 1 vote right across Donegal. It’s fantastic.”

Gallagher, a Fianna Fáil candidate, claimed the third seat having been elected on count 15. The 76-year-old received 10,262 first preference votes and surpassed the quota with a total of 13,660 due to transfers. 

Fianna Fáil’s McConalogue was re-elected on count 16 with a total of 11, 683 votes to secure the fifth seat. Neither McConalogue nor Ward reached the 12, 771 quota.  Twenty candidates contested the General Election in the Donegal constituency. 

Independent candidates Arthur McGuinness and Vincent J Bradley were the first to be eliminated on count three. Next was Fianna Fáil’s Claudia Kennedy, followed by Independents Frank O’Donnell and Gerry McKeever by count six.

On counts seven and eight respectively,  the Irish Freedom Party’s Eamonn McGee and Kim McMenamin of The Irish People’s Party went out and count nine concluded the hopes of both the People Before Profit’s Carol Gallagher and the Green Party’s Nuala Carr. 

Niall McConnell, an Independent candidate, departed the scene on count 10, and Aontú’s Mary T Sweeney was next on count 11. Significantly, Ward gained 1,318 from Sweeney’s distributed votes.

By count 12, Fine Gael’s McNulty went out and was followed by Jordan of Sinn Féin. Nikki Bradley - also Fine Gael - was eliminated on count 14 before outgoing TD Pringle was the last to be eliminated on count 15. 

From an electorate of 131,306, the Donegal constituency had a turnout of 77,321 (58,89%), with 697 invalid papers to make a valid poll of 76, 624.