Among the six candidates in the ‘Vote Left, Transfer Left’ alliance, Councillor Helen Ogbu emerged as the strongest performer from last week’s by-election.
She secured the highest vote share for her party in Galway West since 2011, when Labour achieved its best ever national result.
Labour has struggled since, burdened by the legacy of austerity during its coalition with Fine Gael, though the last general election showed modest signs of recovery.
Most notably, among the six left-wing by-election candidates, Obgu was the only one currently holding elected office – or to have previously won any kind of election at all. Sinn Féin’s Mark Lohan, and the Greens’ Niall Murphy, had both been co-opted onto the city council, but failed to retain seats on it.
This shows the value of incumbency, as elected office – even at a municipal level – gives a candidate the opportunity to build a reputation locally as a hard-worker tuned to constituents’ needs. Ogbu also ran a very strong campaign, attracting plaudits from across the political spectrum.
Social Democrats’ candidate Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich also performed respectably, finishing second among the left-wing candidates, and surviving until the final four before elimination.
Polling seven per cent, she more than doubled her party’s vote share from the last general election, though it was only slightly ahead of the six per cent achieved by the Soc Dems in Galway West in 2020.
In the city, the Social Democrats won an estimated 7.3 per cent according to tallies, well-behind Labour’s estimated 17.6 per cent.
Boosted by her status as a Gaeltacht woman, Nic Fhionnlaoich made significant inroads in Connemara South, taking 10.6 per cent – despite centre-left parties traditionally performing better in urban areas.
Curiously, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said she was unconcerned by Labour’s stronger performance, and told the Advertiser her party was satisfied with the result.
“Fair play to them,” she said. “Helen seems like a really, really strong candidate. Like I said, this is Míde’s first ever election, she hasn’t ran in the locals before, she’s not a sitting councillor.”
Nic Fhionnlaoich also said: “It’s about building on what we started in Galway West, and proving that there is space for this kind of politics, not just in the city, but also i gConamara agus amuigh faoin tuath [in Connemara and out in the countryside].
“I suppose we have three years to plan, and do that groundwork, but I’m really looking forward to the next set of local elections.”
If she contests her native Connemara South in the locals, Nic Fhionnlaoich will face a steep challenge. The seven strongest candidates faced a gruelling battle for five seats there in the last local elections, although the area has historically lacked strong, centre-left contenders.
Sinn Féin’s performance was close to disastrous, although the party’s performances in Galway have been notably inconsistent in recent years.
Mark Lohan polled an estimated 8.1 per cent in the city, and 5.2 per cent in rural areas, giving him an overall vote share of 6.7 per cent across Galway West. This is far below the substantial 13.5 per cent won by sitting Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell, when she topped the poll at the last general election.
The party has struggled in Galway in the past, securing just six per cent in the city, and under eight per cent in the county, during the 2024 local elections.
As reported in the Advertiser, a dispute amongst party members in Connemara South over Lohan’s lack of Irish — which led party leader Mary Lou McDonald to inaccurately claim he could speak the language to interview or debate standard — also damaged Sinn Féin’s momentum.
Independent Sheila Garrity largely failed to establish herself as the continuity candidate for Catherine Connolly, despite being key in the President’s campaign. Niall Murphy of the Greens, and People Before Profit’s Denman Rooke, also performed poorly, although they were never seriously in contention.
Interestingly, the six left-wing candidates collectively achieved 31.7 per cent of valid votes in the by-election. If a unified candidate had achieved this tally, this would have put them ahead of Fine Gael’s Seán Kyne on the second last count, and would likely have resulted in a victory for the left.
