Mark Little
Prime Time

It contains some indication of which segments of the population the various parties and candidates draw their strength from.

Sinn Féin candidates polled strongest among the unemployed. The candidate in Dublin, Mary Lou McDonald, got 14.7% of the first preference vote, according to our exit poll, but she got 32.4% of the long-term unemployed voters.

Sinn Féin also did very well among single men, particularly in Europe South where
Toiréasa Ferris got 13.7% of vote, according to our poll, but 22% of the votes of single men. Go figure!

Mark Little
Prime Time

I’ve been going through some of the wreckage of the election and I thought I might share some rough observations.

To begin …

One of the striking things about this election is the divide between urban and rural voters. This may always have been the case, but there is evidence from this election that the divide is getting more pronounced and more consequential for the next few years in our political life.