SF's Rose seals first seat in Mayo as Aontú hopes surge
Sinn Féin Rose Conway-Walsh has sealed the first seat in the Mayo constituency after exceeding the quota of 11, 812 after the sixth count.
She attracted 546 from Castlebar independent candidate Stephen Kerr to guide her over the line on 11,963.
First elected a TD in 2020 following a term in An Seanad, the Belmullet-based representative can look forward to returning to her party's front bench, underlining the status within the organisation.
She was lifted high into the air at the TF Royal Theatre by family and friends as they celebrated her poll-topping performance, a wonderful show of confidence in her work over the past number of years.
"I will continue to work on behalf of the people of Mayo.
"I will never let them down. There are so many issues that need to be addressed across Mayo, including homelessness, long waiting lists for health services and disability services, issues in regard to law and order on the streets of our towns, villages and rural communities.
"I will be a voice for all those people and I will be an effective one."
She expressed the disappointment over the low turnout in Mayo - 63.5% - and called for the age at which people can vote to be changed to 16.
In regard to the formation of the next government, she said she was totally opposed to exclusionary politics - a clear signal to the two other main parties that they should engage with Sinn Féin in the aftermath of the election.
The other key development of the sixth count is the placing of Aontú candidate, Councillor Paul Lawless, in a prime position to take a seat, probably the fifth and final one.
The Knock-based representative now stands in seventh position of the remaining nine candidates with 6,576 and looks to on course to take the final seat ahead of Independent Councillor Patsy O'Brien, Mark Duffy (FG) and Lisa Chambers (FF).
The favourites to win the second, third and fourth Mayo seats are Alan Dillon (FG), Dara Calleary (FF) and Keira Keogh (FG), respectively.
It will represent a remarkable success story for Ms. Keogh, a prodigy of retiring Mayo TD Michael Ring, who missed out on a seat in last June's local election.
But the community of west Mayo have made it abundantly clear it wants to retain a TD in the area - albeit in somewhat unexpected style.
AS IT STANDS IN MAYO AT 11 A.M. ON SUNDAY
Quota – 11,812
1. Rose Conway-Walsh (SF) - 11,963
2. Alan Dillon (FG) – 11,205
3. Dara Calleary (FF)- 9,192
4. Keira Keogh (FG) – 7,502
5. Patsy O’Brien (Ind) – 6,654
6. Mark Duffy (FG) – 6,584
7. Paul Lawless (Aontú) – 6,576
8. Lisa Chambers (FF) – 6,412
9. Gerry Murray (SF) – 4,091