They say that going to a wedding is the making of another, and in politics, one election is often the creation of another.
Political parties are already turning their thoughts to a by-election in Galway West to fill Catherine Connolly's Dáil seat, which must be held within six months of her inauguration as the tenth President of Ireland at Dublin Castle on 11 November.
After the parties of the left united behind Ms Connolly in the Presidential Election, much speculation will centre on whether those same parties can work together again to inflict another wound on the Government parties.
President-elect Connolly has urged the parties who supported her to allow their newfound collegiality to continue. However, senior Sinn Féin TDs David Cullinane and Matt Carthy refused to be drawn yesterday as to whether their party would adopt the same approach again.
Labour Leader Ivana Bacik said "it was too soon" to discuss strategy for the by-election. But, without a united approach, as many as seven candidates of the left could potentially run against each other to succeed Ms Connolly and risk splitting their newly solidified vote.
Galway West is a vast constituency stretching out to Clifden in the west and taking in Galway city as well as places such as Oughterard and Bearna.
In last year's General Election, the five seats went to Fianna Fáil's John Connolly, Fine Gael's Hildegarde Naughton, Sinn Féin's Mairéad Farrell, Independent Noel Grealish, and Catherine Connolly.
There was only one change on the 2020 General Election, with John Connolly taking the seat held by his retiring party colleague Éamon Ó Cuív since 1992.
Fine Gael took the highest vote share in the 2024 General Election with 18.8% of the vote. Senator Sean Kyne is the frontrunner to be the party's pick.
The Maigh Cuilinn man initially won a Dáil seat in 2011, beating Catherine Connolly to the final seat by just 17 votes. He lost the seat in 2020 and lasted long into the count last year.
Galway City Cllr Eddie Hoare is another mentioned for the party. The former Galway footballer garnered a strong vote in last year's local election and enjoyed a high-profile stint as Mayor of Galway in 2023-24. Fine Gael strategists will likely ponder whether Cllr Hoare's Bushpark base might be too close to Minister Naughton's stronghold in Barna and homestead in Oranmore.
Éamon Ó Cuív said in recent weeks that he might be minded to come out of retirement and reclaim his Fianna Fáil seat in Galway West. However, he later clarified in a podcast with Tuairisc.ie that he was only joking.
Senior party sources suggest the party will pick between Senator Ollie Crowe, Cllr Alan Cheevers and Cllr Cillian Keane. Senator Crowe took 8.6% of the vote in the 2020 General Election and was tipped for a seat before he was swept aside by the Sinn Féin surge.
Cllr Cheevers represents the eastern side of the constituency and alleged he was put under pressure to withdraw from the selection process for last year's General Election. Cllr Keane was just 23 when elected in last year's local election in Athenry-Oranmore. Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige is deemed unlikely to run after her ill-fated general election attempt.
Government parties have a dismal record in by-elections - winning three times from 26 attempts over the last 30 years. Two of those wins - Fine Gael's Gabrielle McFadden and Helen McEntee - came after the deaths of their sister and father respectively.
Independent Ireland's Noel Thomas was narrowly denied a seat in last year's General Election after taking 9.5% of the vote.
The Conamara councillor resigned from Fianna Fáil after facing disciplinary action for comments he made in the wake of a fire that destroyed the Ross Lake House Hotel in Rosscahill in December 2023. The hotel was earmarked for the housing of international protection applicants.
However, Cllr Thomas needs to prove he can pull substantial votes beyond his Conamara base for him to be successful.
Sinn Féin's Mairéad Farrell topped the poll here in last year's General Election - and with the party experiencing an uplift in the polls again, this might be a huge opportunity. Councillor Aisling Burke is the party's sole seat on Galway City Council. However, she's based in Ballybane, which is close to Deputy Farrell's base.
Independent Mike Cubbard is seen by some local observers as a potential frontrunner in this contest. The current Mayor of Galway, from Westside, usually garners his vote from the left. He's contested General Elections in Galway West without success since 2011. However, his chances may look a lot different without Catherine Connolly to contend with. He took almost 20% of the vote in last year's local elections.
Another Independent candidate of the left could be Cllr Eibhlín Seoighthe. She garnered 3.6% of the vote as a Social Democrat candidate in last year's General Election. However, she resigned from the party in July days after the party ended its suspension of Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes.
Cllr Seoighthe said she resigned "because internal party politics were beginning to affect my work life, politics and my personal life". She's from Shantalla - Catherine Connolly's homeplace - and was also a prominent presence beside Ms Connolly as she canvassed Galway City on the final weekend of the campaign.
This has prompted some observers to wonder whether she might be the 'Catherine Connolly' candidate in the by-election.
Should the Social Democrats run a candidate, Cllr Alan Curran seems the likely candidate.
Labour held a seat in Galway West from 1982-2016 and the party may pick between sitting Councillors Helen Ogbu and Nial McNelis. Cllr Ogbu took 3.3% of the vote in last year's General Election but Labour figures might argue this contest would be different without Catherine Connolly.
Former Green Party Chair and Senator Pauline O'Reilly could be poised to run. Ms O'Reilly was critical of her party's decision to endorse Catherine Connolly for the Presidential Election. People Before Profit ran Maisie McMaster in the last general election.
Independent Minister Noel Grealish has three Councillors aligned to him on Galway City Council while his brother is a councillor on Galway County Council. However, it's unclear whether he may put forward any of this quartet.
One potential wild card might be businessman Declan Ganley. Mr Ganley was prominent in the campaign encouraging voters to spoil their votes, with almost 13% of voters ultimately spoiling their ballot. He's based in the neighbouring Galway East constituency, but might be tempted to run here should he feel there is sufficient momentum behind him following the record 213,738 spoiled votes on Friday.
All in all, a fascinating contest awaits by the banks of the Corrib.
