Philip Ryan
Dublin Central is a constituency full of big players in the world of Irish politics. Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe calls the constituency his home as does Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
The other two sitting TDs – the Social Democrats’ Gary Gannon and the Green Party’s Neasa Hourigan – are also prominent politicians with a national profile. The constituency boundary takes in the south inner city and stretches west to Cabra and north to Drumcondra. The electorate is a mix of settled working class communities along with an increasing number of gentrified middle-class neighbourhoods.
It was a Fianna Fáil stronghold while Bertie Ahern was a TD and Dublin’s most well-known Independent Dáil deputy Tony Gregory had a strong electoral base in the constituency for more than two decades. Former TD Clare Daly may shake-up things up after she announced her candidacy after losing her seat as an MEP in the summer.
Meanwhile, Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has also been linked with a run in the constituency.
Current TDs (four seats)
Paschal Donohoe (FG), Mary Lou McDonald (SF), Neasa Hourigan (GP), Gary Gannon (SD)
Who could make gains?
McDonald topped the poll in the 2020 general election with 35pc of the vote. She ran on her own on that occasion, but has added long-time Sinn Féin councillor Janice Boylan to the ticket this time. It is unlikely they will both be elected, but McDonald’s seat should be safe despite the controversies her party has been engulfed in over recent months.
Gannon’s profile helped double the number of Social Democrats councillors on Dublin City Council in the local elections, which gives him a very good base to ensure he returns to the Dáil. Fine Gael also gained extra seats in the locals and Donohoe will be hopeful for a return to Leinster House after overseeing a record “giveaway” budget.
The final seat is the one that’s up for grabs. The Green vote is down, which could make re-election for Hourigan difficult. Labour have struggled to fill Joe Costello’s shoes since he left national politics, but Marie Sherlock will hope to be in the mix.
Fianna Fáil selected Mary Fitzpatrick, who will be attempting to win a seat in Dublin Central for a fifth time. She has a decent base vote, but will need a good national campaign from Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin to take a seat. Daly’s involvement in the race is certainly one to watch.
Are there any boundary changes that could be crucial?
After some humming and hawing, the Electoral Commission decided not to make any adjustments to the constituency boundary despite the population in Dublin Central increasing by 12pc since the last review.
On the Ballot
Janice Boylan
Sinn Féin
Ms Boylan has been elected to Dublin City Council three times in a row after the summer’s local elections. She is a long time ally of her party leader Mary Lou McDonald but had public falling out with the party two years ago which saw her threaten to quit the party. However, she resolved her differences following a meeting with Ms McDonald and was a surprise addition to the party’s general election ticket.
Clare Daly
Independents 4 Change
The former MEP who lost her seat in the European Parliament decided to make a surprise entry in Dublin Central where she never stood before. Daly was first elected to the Dáil in the 2011 as a Socialist Party TD. However, she later resigned due to what the Socialist Party described as her “political connection” with developer Mick Wallace who had been accused of falsifying Vat returns. She was re-elected to the Dáil under the Independents4Change banner before successfully running for Europe alongside Wallace. They both lost their seats this summer following controversies surrounding their views on Russia.
Paschal Donohoe
Fine Gael
Fine Gael’s economic guru has defied speculation and is running for fourth term in the Dáil. He is a former Finance Minister and a current a Public Expenditure Minister. He was director of elections for Fine Gael’s last general election which saw the party lose a significant number of seats.His political career has been relatively controversy free apart from a Sipo investigation into a businessman Michael Stone using his staff to help with Mr Donohoe’s recent most election campaigns. The controversy resulted in Mr Stone resigning from the Land Development Agency.
Mary Fitzpatrick
Fianna Fáil
The 2024 General Election will be the Fianna Fáil senator's fifth attempt to get elected to the Dáil. Dublin Central hasn’t had a Fianna Fáil TD since the Bertie Ahern-era and Fitzpatrick has struggled to fill the gap since the collapse in the party’s vote following the financial crash. She is the Fianna Fáil housing spokesperson in the Seanad and has campaigned strongly on anti-social behaviour in the city. She immigrated to the US in the eighties where she worked as a sales and marketing director.
Gary Gannon
Social Democrats
Gary Gannon has steadily built up his profile in the constituency over recent elections. He is aiming for a second term as a Dáil deputy. Mr Gannon’s election chances were buoyed by a strong local elections showing for the social democrats with ten candidates securing a seat on Dublin City Council. He is the party’s spokesperson education, arts, social protection, foreign affairs and defence. He previously served on Dublin City Council and was part of Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan’s political organisation in the North Inner City.
Neasa Hourigan
The Green Party
The Green Party TD is aiming for a second stint in the Dáil after an eventful first term. Ms Hourigan has regularly found herself at odds with her own party over the last five years. This included voting against entering into coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and supporting a bid to oust Green Party leader Eamon Ryan. Ms Hourigan refused to support the government on three critical votes during the Coalition’s Dáil term. Two of the votes related to housing and tenants rights and the third was linked to the governance of the national maternity hospital. She ran unsuccessfully to become the party’s deputy leader when Catherine Martin announced she would be stepping down.
Gerard Hutch
Independent
The veteran criminal (61) described himself as a consultant when he officially registered to become an Independent candidate. 'The Monk' is one of Ireland’s most notorious criminals who was recently before the Special Criminal Court where he was accused of orchestrating the Regency Hotel murder which sparked Ireland’s biggest gang war. However, he was found not guilty. He was subsequently arrested in Spain on money laundering charges. He was given bail of €100,000 and cited his bid for the Dáil as one of the reasons for being released from custody.
Andrew Kelly
Centre Party of Ireland
Mary Lou McDonald
Sinn Féin
The Sinn Féin leader is aiming for her fourth term as a TD. She has led Sinn Féin since Gerry Adams stepped down as leader in 2018. She led her party to its biggest ever success after the 2020 General Election. Ms McDonald previously secured a seat for Sinn Féin in the European Parliament in 2004. Before standing for Sinn Féin, Ms McDonald was a member of Fianna Fáil. In recent weeks, she has been forced to defend her leadership and her party after a number of controversies.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin
People Before Profit-Solidarity
The second time general election candidate is a musician who led the recent campaign against plans to knock down the Cobblestone Pub in Smithfield. He is also a member of the Unite Against Racism movement and has campaigned against direct provision accommodation for asylum seekers. He ran unsuccessfully in the 2020 General Election and the recent local elections. He has two albums and a song called ‘My Lovely Leo’ which is about the former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar appearing to him in a dream.
Marie Sherlock
Labour
This will be Ms Sherlock’s first run at a general election after being successfully elected to the Seanad’s labour panel after the 2020 vote. The cork native, who has worked in the European Parliament and with workers union Siptu, was also elected to Dublin City Council in 2019. She is the Labour Party’s spokesperson on employment affairs, arts, culture, media and the Gaeltacht.
Ian Noel Smyth
Aontú
This will be Mr Smyth’s third time running for the Dáil. His first attempt was back in 2016 when he ran as a Green Party but decided to run for Aontú in 2020. He is a father of four who lives in Cabra and works as an architect. His Aontú profile says he is active GAA through involvement with Whitehall Colmcilles GAA Club and as a senior level referee. He is also a member of his local swimming club.
Malachy Steenson
Independent
Until he became a Dublin City Councillor this year, Mr Steenson ran unsuccessfully in a number local and national elections. His success in the summer’s local elections was on the back of far-right and anti-migrant rhetoric. However, he previously ran for the far-left Workers Party. He also had links to Republican Sinn Féin. He is anti-abortion.
