Constituency Profile:
There has been a significant boundary change here since 2007, with a population of 3,376 in the area to the north of Carrick-on-Shannon transferred into this constituency from Roscommon-South Leitrim.
The population of the constituency in 2006, taking account of this boundary change, was 74,228 with roughly 80% living in Co Sligo and about 14,000 people from the Manorhamilton, Drumshanbo and Kinlough areas of Leitrim making up the remainder. Sligo has over 18,000 residents.
After many years of population decline, North Leitrim witnessed significant population growth. Sligo’s population also grew in the same period. However, Leitrim is now the Irish county most affected by 'ghost estates'.
There have been some job losses in the area: GlaxoSmithKline announced that it would be shedding 250 jobs at its Stiefel Laboratories in Sligo in 2009, Tiscali cut 160 jobs in the same year, while there have also been jobs cuts at Sligo General Hospital.
Note: This constituency was created just before the 2007 General Election
Constituency Boundaries: There has been a significant boundary change to this constituency since 2007. (See above)
2007 Quota: 9,984
Number of seats: Three
2011 Candidates
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Declan Bree - Independent
A Labour Party TD from 1992 to 1997, Bree left the party in 2007 in protest at the pre-election pact with Fine Gael and other differences with the leadership.
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Dick Cahill - Independent
Based in Ballymote, Cahill is a first-time Dáil candidate. He contested the 2009 local elections as an Independent but did not win a seat.
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Veronica Cawley - Independent
A Labour Party Councillor since 1999, Cawley quit the party after failing to secure the nomination for this election.
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Michael Clarke -
A publican from Dromore West who was previously a member of Fianna Fáil, Clarke is a first-time Dáil candidate.
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Michael Colreavy - Sinn Féin
A member of Sinn Féin since 1979 and Leitrim County Council since 1999, Colreavy is a first-time Dáil candidate.
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Johnny Gogan - Green Party
A candidate in the local elections of 2004 and 2009, Gogan is a first-time Dáil candidate. He is the founding editor of the Film Ireland magazine and a former Director of the Irish Film Board.
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Alwyn Love - Independent
A first-time Dáil candidate, Love is a former member of the Labour Party for whom he ran unsuccessfully in the 2009 local elections.
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Marc MacSharry - Fianna Fáil
Son of Ray MacSharry, former Fianna Fáil Finance Minister, he has been a Senator since 2002. A first-time Dáil candidate, Micheál Martin recently appointed him the Party's Spokesperson on Tourism and Arts.
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Tony McLoughlin - Fine Gael
A member of Sligo County Council since 1985, McLoughlin previously contested the old Sligo-Leitrim constituency in 1981. He is a nephew of Joe McLoughlin, a TD from 1961 to 1979.
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Gabriel McSharry - Independent
Leitrim-based McSharry has twice contested local elections as a Labour Party candidate. He left the party in 2006.
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Susan O'Keeffe - Labour Party
A journalist and broadcaster, O'Keeffe's story on the Irish beef industry in 1991 led to the setting up of the Beef Tribunal. O'Keeffe was Labour's unsuccessful candidate for the North-West constituency in the 2009 European election.
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John Perry - Fine Gael
A TD since 1997, Perry is Fine Gael's Spokesperson on Small Business.
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Eamon Scanlon - Fianna Fáil
First elected in 2007, Scanlon spent two years outside the parliamentary party in opposition to the withdrawal of cancer services from Sligo General Hospital. He returned in time to propose and vote for Éamon Ó Cuív in the recent party leadership election.
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Sitting TDs: John Perry (FG), Jimmy Devins (FF), Eamon Scanlon (FF)
TDs not seeking re-election: Jimmy Devins (FF)
General Election 2007:
This constituency was reduced to three-seats in 2007 due to the major boundary revision.
2002 poll-topping independent, Marian Harkin, decided not to contest so she could focus on her role as an MEP. With the other outgoing TD for the old Sligo-Leitrim constituency, Fianna Fáil’s John Ellis, following his base in South Leitrim out of the constituency, the sitting TDs for both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael seemed almost guaranteed to keep their seats.
2007 proved most successful for Fianna Fáil with Eamon Scanlon taking a massive vote throughout both Leitrim and Sligo and topping the poll, while sitting party TD Jimmy Devins got through without reaching the quota.
Fine Gael TD John Perry was regarded as being assured of a seat and was elected fairly comfortably on the fifth count.
Fine Gael was only just behind Fianna Fáíl in vote share overall but Michael Comiskey of Fine Gael ended some 1,400 votes behind Mr Devins in the race for the final seat.
Sean McManus of Sinn Féin took 11.7% of the vote, while Labour’s Jim McGarry took 3.9%.
2007 Turnout: 70.1%
Oireachtas Constituency Information
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