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Backfired
Mick Wallace finds his old Wexford vote has collapsed on his return to Irish politics
The businessman’s vote plummetted by approximately 6,000 first preferences since he last stood in Wexford.
MICK WALLACE’S RETURN to Irish politics is set to backfire as the Wexford man has seen his old vote collapse in the county.
The first count in the Wexford constituency saw Wallace receive 1,615 first preferences – just 3% of the overall vote.
It’s a stark contrast to when Wallace last stood in Wexford in 2016, when he got 7,917 votes with an 11% share of the vote.
Today’s vote has put him far behind TDs from other parties on the left side of the spectrum – Sinn Féin and Labour – and he’s further behind Fianna Fáil’s James Browne.
The former property developer topped the poll when he was first elected to the Dáil in 2011 and was re-elected in 2016 before he left his seat to be elected to the European Parliament in 2019.
Wallace lost his seat in Brussels in the European Parliament elections held in June of this year.
The 69-year-old has yet to appear at the count centre this weekend.
Result of first count in #Wexford
— Eoghan Dalton (@EoghanDalton) November 30, 2024
Quota: 10,502. Four seats.
Verona Murphy Ind 11,340
James Browne FF 8596
Mythen SF 7633
Lawlor Lab 7228
Cathal Byrne FG 4891
Codd Aontu 3775
Murphy FG 2997
Sheehan Ind 1623
Wallace Ind 1615 @thejournal_ie
Wallace has seen the support he had under the Independents4Change party banner plummet, with the emergence of Verona Murphy in Wexford politics seemingly eroding some of his old vote.
Sinn Féin’s emergence as a challenger for an anti-government vote has also likely played a role in decreasing Wallace’s base. It only found a breakthrough here in 2020 after Wallace had been elected to Europe as an MEP.
Some observers also believe the redrawing of the boundary for this election – removing the northern end of the county – harmed his prospects.
It has resulted in Wallace also currently sitting eight votes behind Michael Sheehan, a New Ross councillor who defected from Fianna Fáil in recent weeks to stand as an Independent.
Wallace has been a member of the Independents4Change political party since his time in the Dáil and his colleague Clare Daly, who also lost her seat in the European Parliament, is too seeking a return to the Dáil in Dublin Central.
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