The leader of the Social Democrats, Holly Cairns, has described the bye-elections in Dublin and Galway as "monumental" for her party.
Last night, their candidate Daniel Ennis became the newest member of the 34th Dáil after his success in Dublin Central.
Holly Cairns said taking that seat, allied with the party's showing in Galway West, showed people were looking for an alternative and looking at the Social Democrats to provide that.
Speaking at the count centre in Salthill, she said people were looking for a type of politics that had the courage of its convictions.
"We never equivocate on issues… And I think people know where we stand," she said.
Watch: 'People looking to Social Democrats for alternative'
Ms Cairns said her party was determined to build on electoral successes and will be doing all it could to increase its support base ahead of the next General Election.
Asked about the poor results for Sinn Féin in both bye-elections, she said she felt that party "may be at a cross roads with a number of issues… I think they need to figure out where they are going".
While emphasising the need for parties of the left to coalesce on issues, she played down the drop in support for candidates of the left in the Galway West bye-election, when compared with the 2024 General Election.
Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil
All of the political parties have been assessing their performaces in the two bye-election contests.
It has been a bruising weekend for Sinn Féin. Reacting to the poor results, Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly said that leader Mary Lou McDonald will lead them into the next General Election.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week In Politics, Deputy O'Reilly said that at the party's recent Ard Fheis, members made their decision "loud and clear" that Ms McDonald was their leader and will lead the party into the next election.
"She is the best person for the job by a mile."
Ms O'Reilly said Sinn Féin will have a review after this electoral contest, as they do with every electoral contest and look at their strategy and campaign.
Fianna Fáil minister Timmy Dooley said the party is still weak in certain parts of the country, like Dublin Central and Wicklow, and there is work to do.
"But by and large right across the country we have been really successful thanks to Micheál Martin and his leadership."
The Fianna Fáil minister commended his candidate Cillian Keane in Galway West but the party is counting the cost after John Stephens failed to reclaim his expenses in Dublin Central after a historically low vote.
Galway West battle
In Galway West, Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said his party's bye-election results represent "an important moment of renewal and growth".
In a statement, he added: "Governments generally don't win by-elections... Today, I am hoping we in Fine Gael can buck that trend and get Seán Kyne into the Dáil."
Also in that Galway race is Independent Ireland's Noel Thomas. Party leader Michael Collins said his party was once accused of not being transfer-friendly, but "I think we're proving today that we are transfer friendly".
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics, he said Independent Ireland is a centre party which is what the country is missing.
They need to align with others with a similar ideology, he said, but are "very focused on building our own party".
"I think from the feedback we're getting throughout the country I think we can do that."
He added that the new party is sending a serious message to people that "Independent Ireland is open and is a new party".
Analysis
As the dust settles on what Social Democtats Holly Cairns leader has hailed a "stunning result" for Daniel Ennis in Dublin Central, all political parties will note just how transfer friendly he was during yesterday's count.
The former League of Ireland footballer started off 555 votes ahead of his nearest challenger - Sinn Féin's Janice Boylan - on the first count.
By the end of play, his lead over Ms Boylan stood at 4,263 votes.
Transfer patterns show how the Dáil's newest TD attracted votes from all over.
He accrued around a third of the Labour Party's Ruth O'Dea votes upon her elimination but also roughly the same number from the Government candidate, Fine Gael's Ray McAdam.
On the final count, the Green Party's Janet Horner gave the Social Democrats a whopping 68.7% of her vote.
Interestingly, Sinn Féin's largest transfer came from Independent Gerard Hutch - with 37% of his votes going to Janice Boylan.
The Social Democrats have proven transfer friendly before, with Eoin Hayes leapfrogging two contenders for the final seat in Dublin Bay South in the 2024 General Election for instance.
But that transfer magnetism has grown again and could be a significant factor in the next General Election.
