It’s shortly before 10 pm in the Hyde Centre, and Michael Fitzmaurice has stormed back into the Dail.
There were 12,002 reasons to smile for ‘Fitz’ when the first count result was announced just before 9 pm. He had topped the poll in style, elected on the first count.
There was a flurry of activity here from around 7 pm onwards. Given the scale of their votes in earlier tallies, poll-topper Michael Fitzmaurice and Claire Kerrane and Dr Martin Daly all knew that they were destined to cross the winning line. A round of media interviews began.
All three are delighted, humbled and gracious. It’s a massive milestone for Dr Daly, who has just admitted that being elected a TD has been a lifetime ambition, one he says he kept to himself for a long time. Speaking glowingly of Fitzmaurice and Kerrane, the Ballygar man thanked his canvassing teams and supporters for the great campaign which has led to this success. He also paid tribute to Senator Eugene Murphy, wishing him well in his future endeavours.
Revealing, with a smile, that Dr Daly is his GP, Michael Fitzmaurice hailed his canvassing teams, who had done so much great groundwork in recent weeks. He was thrilled and humbled with the size of his vote, particularly as he was down a few thousand votes due to constituency boundary changes.
Deputy Fitzmaurice made it clear that Independent Ireland are very much up for being part of the next Government (should that opportunity present itself). But there will be a price, and that price will be series of packages that enhance the lives of people in rural Ireland.
Claire Kerrane is speaking to the media as I write. She and Martin Daly have both just exchanged words of congratulations. “Your name kept coming up when we knocked on doors” Dr Daly said. “People said you were doing the work”.
Now all three will set about continuing to ‘do the work’ for the people who have placed their faith in them.
