Ireland’s European constituencies have been reduced from four to three, with the effect that the counties which comprised the now abolished East constituency have been divided between the old North-West and South constituencies.
Midlands-North West is a new constituency in more than name.
It bears little comparison with anything that went before, sprawling as it does across 15 counties of Connaught, Ulster and north Leinster: Cavan, Donegal, Galway (City and County), Kildare, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.
This new constituency reaches from the Dublin commuter belt, which experienced strong population growth and development during the boom years, to the North-West, many parts of which were largely bypassed by the frenzy of those years.
The sheer size of this constituency has forced all the main parties to re-think electoral strategies and, more so than usual, to bring geographical considerations to bear on candidate selection.
Mairead McGuinness could be seen to be in a strong position to retain her seat, but if Fine Gael are to secure two of the four seats, outgoing MEP Jim Higgins from Mayo will have to expand his electoral base.
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan has polled well in the run-up to this election, leaving him in a strong position to win a seat.
Fianna Fáil's decision to run two candidates could backfire on the party, with the incumbent Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher expressing unease at the decision to give him a running mate in Senator Thomas Byrne.
Independent Marian Harkin topped the poll the last two votes, but it will be interesting to see how she deals with the sheer geographical size of the new Midlands-North West constituency.
A total of 14 candidates will be vying for four seats in Midlands North West.
Fianna Fáil – Thomas Byrne
A former TD, Byrne lost his Dáil seat in Meath East in the 2011 General Election. He is currently the Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson on Public Expenditure & Reform. Byrne joins Pat ‘The Cope Gallagher’ on the Fianna Fáil ticket in this new constituency
Sinn Fein – Matt Carthy
A member of Monaghan County Council since 2004 and Carrickmacross Town Council since 1999. He is a former Mayor of County Monaghan and previously acted as National Organiser of the Sinn Fein’s youth wing, then called Ógra Shinn Féin.
Green Party - Mark Dearey
Senator from 2010 to 2011. He was the Green Party candidate at the 2011 general election in the Louth constituency and received 4.7% of first preference votes but was not elected. Mr Dearey did not contest the 2011 Seanad election.
Independent – Mark Fitzsimons
His Facebook page says he is fighting “Fighting Corruption, Bank Bail-outs, Austerity, Evictions, Fluoridation.” Environmental and cannabis campaigner, he is a first-time election candidate. Mr Fitzsimons is best known as the man who walked into a Dundalk Garda station in January with a quantity of cannabis, hoping to get arrested.
Independent - TJ Fay
From Virginia in Co Cavan, Mr Fay unsuccessfully contested Dáil elections in 1997 and 2007. He polled 113 first preference votes in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency for the 2007 General Election.
Independent - Luke 'Ming' Flanagan
A former Mayor of Roscommon, who was elected to the Dáil for the Roscommon-South Leitrim constituency in 2011, this is his second time to contest a European Parliament election. Mr Flanagan has been an advocate of turf-cutters, cannabis legalisation and a strong critic of the gardai. He is running on an anti-European Union platform.
Fianna Fáil - Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher
First elected to the Dáil for Donegal South-West in 1981, Gallagher, a former Minister for State across a number of departments, has been an MEP since 1994. His nickname - ‘The Cope’ - was originally that of his grandfather, and refers to the family’s involvement in the Co-operative movement in Donegal.
Direct Democracy - Ben Gilroy
Former Leader of Direct Democracy, Gilroy contested the Meath By-Election in March 2013, polling 1,568 first preference votes, a 6.5% share of the total. In November 2013, Mr Gilroy was arrested and brought before the High Court in relation to allege trespass on a stud farm in Naas, Co Kildare, over which receivers were appointed
Independent - Marian Harkin
Harkin topped the poll in the North-West constituency in the last two European elections. Unsuccessful when she stood in the European elections of 1999 in the old Connacht-Ulster constituency, polling 47,372 first preferences and just losing out to Dana for the third seat. A member of the European Parliament's Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group
Fine Gael – Jim Higgins
MEP since 2004. Elected to the Dáil first in 1987, was re-elected in 1989, 1992 and 1997. Mr Higgins was recently been shortlisted for the MEP of the Year Transport award 2014. He has been shortlisted, "in particular, for his report on ‘a strategy for an electronic toll service in Europe’, which was adopted by the European Parliament in June 2013
Labour Party – Lorraine Higgins.
Ms Higgins was appointed to the Seanad by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in May 2011 after failing to win a Dáil seat earlier that year. A barrister, practising on the western circuit, Higgins failed to win a seat in Galway East in the 2011 general election, when she secured over 3,500 first preference votes. Seanad Labour Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Fine Gael – Mairead McGuinness.
First elected to the European Parliament in 2004, she retained her seat in 2009, topping the poll on each occasion for the now abolished Ireland East constituency. Previous presenter of RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground.
Fís Nua - Cordelia Nic Fhearraigh
Ms Nic Fhearraigh is a first-time candidate and a campaigner against septic tank, water and household taxes. She is a member of the Can’t Pay Won’t Pay (Cloch Cheann Fhaola) group which has been organising protests against austerity policies in recent years.
Independent - Rónán Mullen
Mr Mullen was a vocal opponent of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill which was introduced in the wake of the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway University Hospital. Describes himself as an independent voice who believes in respect for life and support for the family.
