How it started ...
Kildare South has two new TDs. One of them, Sinn Féin's Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh, is very new to electoral politics.
The primary school teacher was newly elected as a councillor to Kildare County Council in June and is currently Sinn Féin's only representative on the council.
She was thrilled with her win.
"I'm absolutely honoured and privileged to be chosen by the people of Kildare South," she said, minutes after her victory was declared.
Another first-time TD for the constituency will be Mark Wall, an outgoing senator.
As his election was announced he was joined by his father, Jack Wall, previously a long-serving Labour Party TD in the county.
"I think this is probably the proudest moment he's had," said Mark Wall, who had unsuccessfully contested two previous Dáil elections.
"He has been a constant advisor at the end of a phone. On a bad day in politics, you can always ring Jack and work something through," he added.
But what about the person who came in fourth place, so near and yet so far in what was effectively a three-seater due to the fact Fianna Fáil's Seán Ó Fearghaíl was automatically returned as he is the sitting Ceann Comhairle.
For a while in the count it looked as if outgoing Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O’Loughlin would win back the seat she lost in 2020. But it wasn’t to be.
No disappointment, however, for Fine Gael’s Martin Heydon. He topped the poll, holding a seat he first won in 2011.
"There is no greater honour in politics than to be elected by your peers in your home community, in your home county," he said.
A Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture in the outgoing government, Mr Heydon is seen as a contender for a full Cabinet position - if his party returns to government.
He declined to be drawn on whether he would be requesting a particular ministry, but he clearly believes that Kildare needs a full Cabinet position, which it has not had since Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McCreevy was Minister of Finance.
How it ended ...
