Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy Secures Seanad Seat After Stormont Role
Conor Murphy, Sinn Fein’s minister, wins a Seanad seat, aiming for Irish unification and a northern perspective in the Oireachtas.
Conor Murphy, Sinn Fein, Seanad, Northern Ireland, Dublin, Oireachtas
Dublin: Conor Murphy has won a seat in the Seanad. He took one of the nine spots on the industrial and commercial vocational panel. The results were confirmed early Monday morning.
Murphy, the outgoing economy minister, plans to bring a “northern perspective” to the Seanad. He aims to use this role to support Sinn Fein’s push for Irish unification.
Other panel members include Aidan Davitt, Mary Fitzpatrick, and Ollie Crowe from Fianna Fail. Fine Gael’s Garrett Kelleher and Linda Nelson Murray also secured seats.
Counting for the Seanad elections is ongoing at Leinster House. Former Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell was among those who did not win a seat.
Three other vocational panels have already been filled. The agricultural and labour panels each have 11 seats, while the cultural and educational panel has five.
The final vocational panel count will be for the administrative panel, starting at 10 am on Monday. A total of 111 candidates ran for the 43 available seats.
On the cultural and educational panel, Sinn Fein’s Pauline Tully and others won seats. Outgoing senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee from Fianna Fail did not get re-elected.
In the agricultural panel, four Fine Gael candidates won seats, along with several from Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein.
On the labour panel, former Sinn Fein TD Chris Andrews and his colleague Maria McCormack secured seats. Other seats went to candidates from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and Labour.
Former junior government minister Anne Rabbitte missed out on a seat on the labour panel.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin will appoint 11 senators. Counting for the university constituencies has already been completed.
In the Trinity/Dublin University constituency, independent senators Lynn Ruane and Tom Clonan were re-elected. Katherine Zappone, a former children’s minister, did not win a seat.
Incumbents Michael McDowell, Ronan Mullen, and Alice Mary Higgins were re-elected on the NUI panel. Most of the public cannot vote in the Seanad elections.
The electorate for the vocational panels includes TDs, outgoing senators, and local authority councillors. Graduates from NUI institutions and Trinity College vote for university panel seats.
The final 11 Seanad seats will be appointed by Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Senators debate and amend legislation proposed by the Government.