LAST UPDATE | 1 Feb 2025

AONTÚ HAS LANDED its first ever Senator for the party after Sarah O’Reilly was deemed elected on the Agricultural Panel of the Seanad this evening. 

The panel has now had its 11 seats filled, as counting to determine the 11 seats of the vocational Labour panel has begun. 

In a post to X, Aontú leader Peadar Toibín wrote: “Ladies and gentlemen, history being made today!! We present to you, our first ever Seanadóir. Sarah O’Reilly.

“What year; increased votes, TDs, councillors, and now a brand new Seanadóir. And of course, winning the referendums.”

O’Reilly is currently a councillor for Cavan-Monaghan.

Niall Blaney was the first senator to be reelected to the panel today, after the first four seats were filled yesterday. 

Blaney has served on the panel since 2020. His Fianna Fáil party colleague, Teresa Costello, was also elected to the panel this afternoon. The final five seats were filled this evening, finishing on count 24.

Eileen Lynch (FG), Sarah O’Reilly (AON), Paraic Brady (FG), Maria Byrne (FG), and P.J. Murphy (FG) joined the panel.

Yesterday, former Green Party TD Malcolm Noonan topped the poll on the Agriculture panel, exceeding the quota by over 11,000 votes.

Joanne Collins (SF), Victor Boyhan (IND), and Paul Daly (FF) also met the quota and were deemed elected on the same panel yesterday. 

Former Sinn Féin TD Pauline Tully was the first TD who had lost their seat in the general election in November to be elected to the Seanad yesterday, on the Cultural and Education Panel.

The Cultural and Educational panel of the Seanad was the first panel to have concluded counting and has elected its five senators: Pauline Tully (SF), Cathal Byrne (FG), Shane Curley (FF), Seán Kyne (FG), and Joe Conway (IND).

The two university panels concluded counting yesterday. On the University of Dublin panel, Aubrey McCarthy was elected and joined Independent senators Lynn Ruane and Tom Clonan, who retained their seats on the panel yesterday.

On the National University of Ireland (NUI) panel, the three incumbent senators were elected. Michael McDowell, Rónán Mullen, and Alice Mary Higgins are all Independents. 

Of the 60 seats available in the Seanad, 11 are to be filled by Senators appointed by the Taoiseach. The six seats available between the two university panels are determined by graduates of the institutes.

Of the 43 seats being contested in election on the vocational panels, 21 have been filled.