Taoiseach congratulates Tom Clonan on Seanad election

ireland
Taoiseach Congratulates Tom Clonan On Seanad Election
Tom Clonan won the Trinity College seat following a lengthy by-election count. Photo: PA Images
Share this article

Jonathan McCambridge, PA

The Taoiseach has congratulated a disability rights campaigner who has been elected to the Seanad following a lengthy by-election count.

Tom Clonan won the Trinity College seat on the 16th count, edging out psychologist Maureen Gaffney.

Advertisement

The final result saw Mr Clonan gain 5,358 votes, with Ms Gaffney in second place with 5,198.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin congratulated Mr Clonan on his victory after what he described as a “very competitive race”.

He tweeted: “No doubt you will be a strong voice and advocate for disability rights in Seanad Éireann and I wish you every success.”

Advertisement

A number of well-known candidates had vied for the seat, including former Dublin lord mayor and Green Party councillor Hazel Chu and retired Irish rugby international Hugo MacNeill.

The by-election was triggered when Labour’s Ivana Bacik won a seat in the Dáil last year. She was last week confirmed as the new leader of the Labour Party following the resignation of Alan Kelly.

The total valid poll in the by-election was 13,418 from an electorate of just under 68,000 Trinity graduates.

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com