THERE WILL BE no Fine Gael TD in Wexford for the first time in 91 years, after the party was pipped in the four seat constituency.

It’s a blow to the party in a constituency which has seen it hold seats throughout much of the history of the state thanks to high-profile former TDs and ministers such as broadcaster Ivan Yates.

At this weekend’s election count, Fine Gael was squeezed out by its former candidate and now Independent Verona Murphy, who topped the poll. Fianna Fáil’s James Browne, Sinn Féin’s Johnny Mythen and George Lawlor of Labour filled the remaining seats.

Some Fine Gael insiders in the county believed that its two-candidate strategy backfired, as neither of its Enniscorthy councillors – Cathal Byrne and Bridin Murphy – were able to take any of the four seats available.

Of the two, Byrne found himself in front and relying on his running mate’s transfers – but to no avail.

Byrne told The Journal that there had been a “lot of discussion on whether running two candidates in a four-seater was the right strategy”, with some believing it needs to go for just the one party option next time.

Some local Fine Gael campaigners said that was what unfolded was “almost identical” to what happened to the party in Waterford in 2020, when it split its vote with two candidates and got nobody elected. This time around, it ran one candidate – senator John Cummins – who was comfortably elected.

The defeat was put down to a number of factors. It was one of the constituencies where an incumbent TD, former minister Paul Kehoe, was standing down.

The constituency was also redrawn, resulting in the northern end – from the outskirts of Enniscorthy northwards to Gorey – being used to form the new Wicklow-Wexford constituency.

However, there will still be a Fine Gael TD still within the wider county boundaries, but in the newly formed Wicklow-Wexford constituency. Brian Brennan, who resides in Gorey, took a seat with ease.

Other members of the party hovering around the count centre on Sunday felt that Byrne needed an extra 1,000 first preferences to stand any chance of catching Labour’s Mayor of Wexford George Lawlor, but he had no luck.

Another issue cited was the pressure it was putting on canvass teams, dividing their manpower between two candidates, during what some described was a tough campaign due to the time of year and short evenings.

Both Byrne and Murphy thanked their supporters on social media this evening.

Thank you to the 7,439 voters of Wexford who lent me their vote in this election.

Tonight I finished in 5th place with 7,439 votes and on this occasion was not able to clinch the 4th seat. 1/- pic.twitter.com/9XJSq7pcKH

— Cathal Byrne (@CathalEByrne) December 1, 2024

“Naturally I’m disappointed but I’m so grateful to everyone who came out and voted for me by giving me their number one or their preference vote,” Byrne said.

“My journey in politics began just over five years ago when I was elected to Wexford County Council and I never expected at 33 years of age to be contesting my first Dail election. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

History

The party’s successful history in Wexford stretches back to it getting two TDs at the 1937 general election, but some in Wexford point to the party history going back further.

Fine Gael’s predecessor party Cumann na nGaedheal had held a seat through Osmond Esmonde, who held what was known as a ‘baronetcy’ denoting loyalty to the crown forces in England. Osmond’s son John and grandson Anthony later held a seat for Fine Gael in Wexford until the late 1970s.

The Esmonde family defected and joined the original Sinn Féin, working as diplomats to gain recognition in the early days of the Irish state.