2021 Dublin Bay South by-election

2021 Dublin Bay South by-election
← 2020 general election 8 July 2021
Turnout34.7%
 
Ivana_Bacik_2021_(cropped).jpg
James Geoghegan in 2021.jpg
Lynn Boylan in 2021.jpg
Nominee Ivana Bacik James Geoghegan Lynn Boylan
Party Labour Fine Gael Sinn Féin
First preferences 8,131 7,052 4,245
Percentage 30.2% 26.2% 15.8%
Final count 13,382 9,235 5,237
 
Byrne
Deirdre Conroy in 2021.jpg
Gerard Mannix Flynn.jpg
Nominee Claire Byrne Deirdre Conroy Mannix Flynn
Party Green Fianna Fáil Independent
First preferences 2,157 1,247 879
Percentage 8.0% 4.6% 3.3%
Final count 2,985 1,402 1,181
 
Durcan
Tóibín
Purcell
Nominee Sarah Durcan Mairéad Tóibín Brigid Purcell
Party Social Democrats Aontú People Before Profit
First preferences 849 740 759
Percentage 3.2% 2.8% 2.8%
Final count 1,111 958 818
First-preference votes by local election area
TD before election

Eoghan Murphy
Fine Gael

TD after election

Ivana Bacik
Labour

A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann constituency of Dublin Bay South in Ireland on Thursday, 8 July 2021, to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy.[1] The by-election was won by Senator Ivana Bacik of the Labour Party.[2]

Bacik was able to overcome low poll numbers nationally for the Labour Party[3] as well as defy attempts by Fine Gael and Sinn Féin to define the by-election as an ideological showdown solely between the two of them.[4][5] In stark contrast to Labour's success, the by-election was also noted for the disastrous result suffered by Fianna Fáil, with a number of publications declaring it the single worst election result in the party's tenured history.[5][6][7][8]

Fifteen candidates were nominated, ten from political parties and five independents. The electorate was 72,302.[9]

The polls closed at 22:30 on Thursday 8 July. The Irish Times predicted that the final turnout figure would be no more than 40%, and contrasted that with the 52% turnout in Dublin Bay South at the last general election.[10] The count showed a turnout of 34.7%, which was higher than some predictions, and exceeded the 26% turnout at both the Dublin Fingal and Dublin Mid-West by-elections in 2019.[11]

  1. ^ Bray, Jennifer. "Dublin Bay South byelection to be held on July 8th". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  2. ^ "LIVEBLOG: Labour's Ivana Bacik tops poll in Dublin Bay South and set to take Dáil seat". TheJournal.ie. Dublin. 9 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  3. ^ "The Irish Times view on the Dublin Bay South byelection: Ivana Bacik triumphs". The Irish Times. Dublin. 9 July 2021. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference IrishTimes_OpinionPollAnalysis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Pogatchnik, Shawn (9 July 2021). "Housing crisis spurs opposition win in Irish by-election". politico.eu. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ireland Elects worst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Taoiseach not concerned was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference CorkBeo Worst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Press Release – Dublin Bay South Bye-Election". Dublin City Returning Officer. 16 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  10. ^ McGee, Harry (8 July 2021). "Dublin Bay South: Turnout up in Sinn Féin stronghold but reportedly down elsewhere". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference rte-2021-07-08-polls-close was invoked but never defined (see the help page).