A
by-election was held in the
Cork North-Central constituency of
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
on Friday, 29 November 2019, to fill the vacancy left by the election to the
European Parliament of outgoing
TD Billy Kelleher
Billy Kelleher (born 20 January 1968) is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency since July 2019. He is a member of Fianna Fáil, part of Renew Europe. He previously serv ...
of
Fianna Fáil.
The election was won by
Pádraig O'Sullivan, a Fianna Fáil member of
Cork County Council. Sheila O'Callaghan was co-opted to O'Sullivan's seat on Cork County Council following his election to the Dáil.
Three other by-elections were held on the same day, in
Dublin Fingal,
Dublin Mid-West, and
Wexford.
The Electoral (Amendment) Act 204 stipulates that a by-election in Ireland must be held within six months of a vacancy occurring. The
by-election writ was moved in the Dáil on 7 November 2019.
At the
2016 general election, the electorate of Cork North-Central was 81,609, and the constituency elected one
Fianna Fáil TD, one
AAA–PBP TD, one
Sinn Féin TD, and one
Fine Gael TD. The 2019 electorate was 85,524 (a 4.8% increase).
Among the by-election candidates were
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and former
MEP MEP may refer to:
Organisations and politics
* Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka
* Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka
* Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...
Colm Burke
Colm Burke (born 17 January 1957) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork North-Central since the 2020 general election. He previously served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 20 ...
; four
Cork City Councillors (Thomas Gould, John Maher, Oliver Moran and Fiona Ryan); Cork County Councillor
Pádraig O'Sullivan; and three unsuccessful candidates at the
May 2019 city council election (Sinéad Halpin. Thomas Kiely, and Finian Toomey). This was the first occasion
Aontú
Aontú (; "Unite") is an all-Ireland political party that was formally launched in January 2019, and operates in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ideologically, Aontú is opposed to abortion and combines elements of social con ...
(also contested
Wexford) and the
Social Democrats (also contested
Dublin Fingal and
Dublin Mid-West) contested by-elections.
In mid-November it was reported that Fine Gael's
Dara Murphy would be resigning his seat in the same constituency in December, to become deputy
chef de cabinet of
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...
Mariya Gabriel. ''
The Irish Times'' reported regret within Fine Gael that Murphy had not resigned sooner, which would have allowed one
single transferable vote by-election to fill both vacancies, increasing the likelihood that Fine Gael would have retained a seat.
Result
The number of votes to qualify for reimbursement of
election expenses was 3,179 (one-quarter of the quota), which was reached by O'Sullivan, Burke, Gould, and Maher.
See also
*
List of Dáil by-elections
*
Dáil constituencies
References
External links
Cork city returning officer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cork North-Central by-election, 2019
2019 Cork North-Central by-election
2019 in Irish politics
32nd Dáil
Dáil by-elections
Elections in Cork (city)
November 2019 events in Ireland