08/06/2009

Socialist Party Win Oust Sinn Fein For Third Seat

Former TD for Dublin West Joe Higgins has won the third seat in the European Parliament elections in Dublin.

The Socialist party candidate beat the Fianna Fáil candidate and sitting MEP Eoin Ryan and closed out Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald for the third seat.

The Socliaist party candidate was elected on the seventh count following the redistribution of transfers from Ms McDonald.

It was suspected that Ms McDonald would be in a battle for the third and last seat in the Dublin constituency with Fianna Fail's Eoin Ryan. However, she was eliminated before him and her transfers helped get Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party elected.

Mr Higgins spent one month in Mountjoy Prison in 2003 over a protest against the non-collection of refuse in his constituency during the Anti-Bin Tax Campaign.

He was also prominent in a campaign in 2005 to bring Nigerian school student Olukunle Eluhanla back to Ireland, after being deported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

Ms McDonald came under major criticism during the run-up to the elections after her constituency HQ was found to be selling IRA memorabilia and merchandise.

Mr Higgins now joins Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell and the Labour Party's Proinsias de Rossa who was elected on the sixth count following the elimination of Patricia McKenna.

Martin McGuinness said Ms McDonald had performed "heroically" in a constituency reduced by one seat.

"Mary-Lou McDonald put up a valiant struggle in a constituency which was reduced from a four-seater to a three-seater," he said.

(DW/JM)

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