Here's what you need to know about the constituency of Dublin Central
Takes in: North city centre, Cabra, Phibsborough, Drumcondra, East Wall, Glasnevin
Total seats: Four
Current TDs: Mary Lou McDonald (Sinn Féin), Gary Gannon (Social Democrats), Marie Sherlock (Labour)
Vacancy: Due to the departure of Fine Gael's Paschal Donohoe.
Interesting because: The surprise announcement by minister for finance Paschal Donohoe last November that he was standing down as a TD to take on a new role in the World Bank in Washington has put a Government seat up for grabs in a constituency that is otherwise dominated by politicians of the left.
Mr Donohoe’s political protégée and current Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam, has the unenviable task of trying to hold the seat in a contest where, more often than not, the opposition win.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald could have brought a running mate with her in Dublin Central in 2020, such was the size of her vote. When she tried this in 2024, her colleague Cllr Janice Boylan did not succeed but stands a better chance in this one-horse race given the 23% share of the vote her party got her last time.
Gerard Hutch, who has been described by the Special Criminal Court as the head of the Hutch Organised Crime Group, came within touching distance of a seat here last time. He has said he will run again but his chances are reduced with just one seat available.
Social Democrats Cllr Daniel Ennis is also among the favourites to take this Fine Gael seat.
Lie of the land: Comprising parts of the north inner city including the traditional working-class neighbourhoods of East Wall and Cabra. It also contains more gentrified areas including Stoneybatter, the leafy suburbs Drumcondra and Glasnevin, along with the centrally located communities of Fairview and Phibsborough. It is an ethnically diverse area with a greater mix of socio-economic groups than some other constituencies.
Candidates so far: 10 (Nominations expected to close at midday on Friday 1 May)
Janice Boylan (Sinn Féin)
Daniel Ennis (Social Democrats)
Janet Horner (Green Party)
Gerard Hutch (Independent)
Ray McAdam (Fine Gael)
Ruth O’Dea (The Labour Party)
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin (People Before Profit)
Ian Noel Smyth (Aontú)
Malachy Steenson (Independent)
John Stephens (Fianna Fáil)
In the running:
Janice Boylan (Sinn Féin) grew up in the north inner city flat complexes of O’Devaney Gardens and Greek Street, but now lives in Donabate in north Co Dublin, due to what she says is the difficulty of finding affordable properties in her native area.
From a family of Moore Street traders, the 48-year-old worked in a number of jobs before becoming a councillor 12 years ago in 2014.
This is her second attempt at a Dáil seat.
Ms Boylan, who is a mother of three and grandmother of two, failed to win a seat in the 2024 General Election when she was the running mate of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
She fought off competition to contest the election from the scoliosis campaigner Gillian Sherratt, mother of the late Harvey Morrison, who was believed to be favoured by some in the party as the bye-election candidate.
She said the contest between them has not impacted her candidacy and that Ms Sherratt is now working on her election campaign.
Rent rises and the conditions in local authority housing, the increased cost of living and the difficulties children with disabilities and additional needs have accessing assessments and supports, are among the issues she is campaigning on.
She acknowledges that running in an area that has shown so much support for her party leader allows her to "bask in her light" and said her failure to secure a seat last time around gave her a "trial run" for this bye-election.
Ms Boylan said she is not "cocky" or overly confident about her chances on this occasion.
However, with the odds in her favour, could her fifth election campaign be the one to bear fruit for Sinn Féin in the shape of two seats in Dublin Central?
Daniel Ennis (Social Democrats) is from Dublin’s North Strand. He was a former League of Ireland footballer, operations manager in a shopping centre in Tallaght and volunteer with East Wall Bessborough Football Club before entering politics three years ago.
The 38-year-old father of two says an "emotional shift" following the death of a friend and the birth of his second child, prompted him to get involved in politics in 2023.
He first worked in the constituency for TD Gary Gannon before becoming a councillor in 2024 after his first election run.
He said he first learned in 2016, after the death of his father Geoffrey Ennis, that he had been involved in crime and had gone to prison in the early 90s.
However, he said his father subsequently "turned his life around", adding that his father’s story is not his own and that he is on his "own road".
Community safety, drug dealing, housing availability and standards, the cost of living and increasing support for sports clubs and facilities are among the issues he’s campaigning on.
Mr Ennis said he is not a betting man and as the bookies’ favourite, he takes nothing for granted but admits that he is encouraged by the good "vibes" he is getting on doorsteps and on social media and the name recognition he is experiencing outside his core support base.
A second seat here would be a major coup for the Social Democrats but would depend on getting votes from all parts of this socially diverse constituency.
Janet Horner (Green Party), from south Dublin, has lived in Dublin Central for more than a decade in the Phibsborough and Cabra areas.
She worked in the NGO sector in the area of global development, spending stints in Uganda, India and Palestine before returning home to work for Independent Senator Alice-Mary Higgins.
The 39-year-old also became involved in a number of political campaigns, such as Repeal and Marriage Equality and the re-election of former president Michael D Higgins.
In 2019, she was co-opted onto Dublin City Council to fill the seat vacated by the Green Party’s Ciarán Cuffe’s election to the European Parliament and she retained the seat in the 2024 local elections.
Climate and the current energy crisis, childcare places, issues facing children with additional needs, housing supports for renters, increasing cultural spaces in the capital and public safety in relation to problems like scramblers, are among the issues she has been discussing on doorsteps.
Trying to reclaim the seat lost by Neasa Hourigan in the 2024 General Election, which saw the Green Party’s representation at national level almost wiped out entirely, she said she’s encouraged by her party’s performance at local level in Dublin.
Her constituency colleague topped the poll in his local area and she came second in hers.
Ms Horner said this factor, along with the "very positive" reactions she said she’s getting on doorsteps, is "almost disconcerting". She somewhat attributes this to a focus on green issues amid the current energy crisis.
Securing a seat here could undo some of the damage to the Green Party in the last general election and would double its current Dáil representation.
Gerard Hutch (Independent), aged 63, grew up in Dublin’s north inner city in what he describes as an impoverished background.
He became involved in crime at an early age and was given the name 'The Monk’ by the media.
Mr Hutch denies being involved in a number of high profile crimes that he was associated with over the years but around the turn of the millennium he made a settlement with the Criminal Assets Bureau and was later involved in a number of businesses including driving a stretch limo during the Celtic Tiger era.
Following the 2016 Regency Hotel shooting, the Hutch-Kinahan feud claimed 16 lives, including his brother and two nephews.
Mr Hutch was charged with the murder of David Byrne but in 2023 he was acquitted by the Special Criminal Court, who described him as the head of the Hutch Organised Crime Group.
In 2024, he said he was running for a Dáil seat and surprised observers by coming close to taking the final seat in Dublin Central.
He received more than 3,000 first preference votes and came fifth overall with just 781 votes separating him from the eventual winner, Labour’s Marie Sherlock.
Although he normally spurns media interviews, earlier this year he told journalists at the launch of a play based on his life, that he intended to contest this bye-election and has produced a number of videos and messages on an Instagram account encouraging people to register to vote.
Ray McAdam (Fine Gael) was born in Co Cavan, grew up in the border area of Fermanagh, and has lived in the capital for more than two decades.
The father of one studied Philosophy and Political Science at Trinity College Dublin and became involved in Fine Gael there before going on to work for over 20 years as Paschal Donohoe’s constituency and parliamentary assistant.
A councillor for 17 years since 2009, he topped the poll in his local area in the last local elections, a first time for Fine Gael in the north inner city.
The 42-year-old is the current Lord Mayor of Dublin and has served ten of his 12 months in office.
Housing delivery, the regeneration of Dublin city, community policing, supporting city dwellers in the transition to electric vehicles by making the installation of charging points easier for house and apartment owners and dealing with e-scooter use in the capital are among the issues he’s focusing on in this campaign.
Holding the Fine Gael seat is regarded as a challenge in a constituency that is otherwise dominated by TDs of the left and in a bye-election competition that does not usually favour government parties.
However, part of his pitch is that if he is not elected, Dublin Central could be left without a government TD at a "time of volatility".
He also believes that support will come his way from those who "respect" the work that Paschal Donohoe did in the area.
But the question is, if cost of living and energy issues will be in the minds of those who supported the former minister for finance last time out.
Mother-of-three Ruth O'Dea (The Labour Party), from Dublin, lives in Drumcondra and describes herself as a long-time political feminist activist, whose involvement dates back to the X Case in 1992.
From a family of Labour activists, she worked for the domestic violence organisation, Women’s Aid, for more than a decade.
Her involvement in party politics began two years ago as a volunteer for Marie Sherlock’s general election campaign and she now works for the TD on constituency issues.
The 51-year-old was also involved in the now stalled project to get a permanent school building for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, which was located on Parnell Square and near where the stabbing that occurred before the Dublin riots in November 2023 took place.
This will be her first time running for election and she is focusing on issues such as the cost of housing and renting, the lack of special schools in the area for children with additional needs and supports for those students at second level, better integration in a constituency that is one of the most diverse in the country and dereliction in Dublin city centre.
Ms O’Dea accepts that a second Labour seat in this constituency is a big ask given the share of the Labour vote last time around and the fact that she is a first-time candidate.
However, she said the "positive" reaction and "recognition" of the work done by the party in the area has been encouraging.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin (People Before Profit) is a 36-year-old traditional folk singer and Gaeilgeoir from Dundrum in Dublin, who has lived in Stoneybatter in north Dublin for seven years.
He studied Psychology in Trinity College Dublin and it was during that time he became involved in socialist, left-wing politics, with a particular focus on mental health issues.
Since then, he has been balancing solo projects and playing with a number of bands, along with being a political organiser for People Before Profit.
He was involved in the high-profile campaign to save the Cobblestone Pub in Smithfield - famous for its trad sessions - from redevelopment.
He has contested three previous elections for the party, one in Dundrum, the other two in Dublin Central. In 2024 he came within 60 votes of securing a council seat and he went on to contest the general election that year.
The cost of living, including fuel and energy costs, the rise in local authority rents for council tenants, increasing artist spaces in Dublin city and improving the nighttime culture in the capital are among the issues he is campaigning on.
His party has struggled to make inroads in this constituency - even at a local level.
However, Mr Ó Ceannabháin points to what he describes as a different mood among the electorate than he experienced in both 2024 campaigns.
He said his party is encouraging people to vote left, and transfer left, in a drive for a fourth left seat in Dublin Central.
Ian Noel Smyth (Aontú) from Stoneybatter, who now lives in Cabra, has worked as an architect for a number of years.
He was originally a member of the Green Party and contested two elections for it before getting frustrated with the direction of the party.
The 56-year-old joined Aontú around 2020 and contested two more elections under that banner.
This will be his fifth election campaign and third attempt to secure a Dáil seat.
The rate of house building and the cost of living - in particular fuel and transport costs - are among the issues he’s focusing on during this campaign.
After a number of unsuccessful election runs, he said that he believes people will realise that he is "not going away" and he believes the recent fuel protests are a sign of a different level of engagement among voters going into this bye-election.
He also believes with the backing of a "hardcore social conservative vote" in the area and the "grassroots" approach of his party he stands a "real chance" at this contest.
Father, grandfather and great-grandfather Malachy Steenson (Independent) is from the North Strand was born into a Republican family. He owned a number of businesses before studying with the University of London’s External Programme for a degree in Law and a Masters in Criminology, before qualifying as a solicitor in 2009 and establishing his own practice.
The 63-year-old first ran for election for The Workers' Party in both the 2009 bye-election, prompted by the death of Independent Tony Gregory, and local elections held on the same day.
He contested a total of seven local, national and European contests before being elected as an Independent councillor in 2024.
A ten-year gap between runs came to an end following local protests outside a proposed IPAS centre in East Wall in 2022.
Immigration remains the focus of his campaign, as is the cost of living, energy and fuel, the volume of emergency accommodation located in the constituency and the drug and crime issues in Dublin city which he said there has never been a serious attempt to solve.
Mr Steenson said he does not believe he will get votes from the "gentrified" parts of the constituency because people there are "wedded to the woke liberal agenda".
However, he said that he will get support from those who are "fed up" with the current Government and from "right across the spectrum".
Father-of-two John Stephens (Fianna Fáil), aged 61, grew up in Glasnevin and now lives in Ashtown near the Phoenix Park, which was, until recently, part of the Dublin Central constituency.
A delivery boy and Dunnes Stores Manager in his youth, he’s worked in the Mater hospital for 25 yeas in the area of patient access.
His political involvement began as a child, dropping leaflets for Fianna Fáil in the time of Charles Haughey and George Colley.
Community activism followed and he campaigned for former taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the years that he dominated the Dublin Central constituency.
He ran for election in 1999 and 2004. On his third attempt, two decades later, and with the support on the ground of the former taoiseach, he was elected to Dublin City Council where he is the current Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin.
For this campaign, his focus is on measures to help reduce cost of living, crime prevention strategies and delivery of community facilities and tackling local issues like tree pruning.
After five unsuccessful attempts at taking a Dáil seat in Dublin Central, the decision by now Senator Mary Fitzpatrick - who had a famous falling out with Bertie Ahern over vote management in the constituency, not to contest this election - paved the way for this run, but attempting to recover the once substantial Fianna Fáil vote at a time the party is in government will be no easy task.
Mr Stephens hopes some of that will come from recovering some of the party's vote he believes was swept up by Paschal Donohoe’s presence in the constituency over the past decade and a half.
