The leaders of Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail are facing a significant internal backlash in the wake of poor results in the Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections.
In Dublin Central, Daniel Ennis, the Social Democrats’ candidate, raced ahead of Sinn Fein’s Janice Boylan, Ennis taking nearly 20 per cent of the first-preference vote in a coup for his party.
In Galway West, Sinn Fein’s candidate, Mark Lohan, was not in the mix and trailed behind both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail as counting continued into the evening.
Sinn Fein’s candidate for Dublin Central, Janice Boylan, was joined by the party leader Mary Lou McDonald for the by-election countJustin Farrelly/RollingNews/Photocall Ireland
The picture was similarly grim for Micheál Martin. The performance of John Stephens in Dublin Central marked a historic electoral low for Fianna Fail. Stephens was eliminated on the second count in the RDS with 1,120 votes, or 4.2 per cent of the first-preference vote.
Fianna Fail also faced disappointment in Galway West, where Cillian Keane trailed behind other candidates with 8.8 per cent of the first-preference vote.
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While Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Fein president, and Martin both maintained there was no immediate threat to their leaderships, the internal mood in the two parties was bleak on Saturday.
Two Sinn Fein parliamentarians who did not want to be identified said they believed significant changes would have to be made to avoid another electoral defeat in the general election. “It has to be a wake-up call. Otherwise we are screwed,” one member of the parliamentary party said. Some within Sinn Fein believe the party needs to revert to a “core left” stance.
Counting continued into the evening for the Galway West by-electionNiall Carson/PA Wire
Asked about McDonald keeping her post, a second Sinn Fein source said they were unsure of the path ahead and did not believe the party leadership could “spin” the results in any positive light.
At the RDS, McDonald was defiant in terms of her position, despite earlier admitting that “today was not our day”. She denied that her leadership was in peril, saying “pressure is for tyres”, and argued that by-elections were a “peculiarity”.
“By-elections are by-elections. I would humbly suggest to you that when the general election comes, watch and see how we perform then,” she added. “Let me say on the leadership question, because I know this is something you are very keen to question us about, there is only one way to become the leader of Sinn Fein and that is at our annual ard fheis. There is not an alternative route. I am the leader, I will lead on. The job of a leader is that you are there on the good days and the bad days.”
The taoiseach also denied that his leadership was at risk. At the Galway West count centre he admitted it was “a poor result, no question about that”, but pointed towards “difficulties in that particular constituency”.
When asked about two cabinet ministers, Jim O’Callaghan and James Lawless, announcing their interest in becoming future leaders of the party, he argued this was a positive step because when he took over the party in 2011, very few wanted to step up to the plate.
One Fianna Fail TD said there would be “serious anger” in the party over the results in the by-elections.
“The result in Dublin Central is deplorable and the fact we didn’t get into double digits in Galway West is very poor,” they said. “The party can’t accept that. We can’t have a change in taoiseach on the eve of the European presidency — we have a duty to the country — but I do feel like there will be serious conversations in the new year. Micheál is certainly helped by the fact that no one is standing up to replace him now.”
Darragh O’Brien, also viewed as a leadership contender, said Martin’s leadership was “absolutely not” in question.
The Independent Ireland candidate Noel Thomas, left, with TD Michael Collins at the count in GalwayNiall Carson/PA Wire
However, the fact that Seán Kyne, a former Fine Gael TD, exceeded expectations to be in the hunt for a seat in Galway West — alongside the independent Noel Thomas and potentially Labour’s Helen Ogbu — has inflamed anger among Fianna Fail backbenchers.
“It goes to show that Fianna Fail in particular is taking a hit in government,” one said.