How it started ...
This was a changed constituency for this election, with an expanding population, it moved from four to five seats. It also expanded to include some areas from Kildare South.
The big political consideration was the retirement of poll-topping Social Democrat leader Catherine Murphy. Was her vote a personal one or could she leave a legacy to the Social Democrats?
The question was complicated by a split over candidate selection, with the chosen Social Democrat candidate Aiden Farrelly, facing competition from SD Councillor Bill Clear who quit the party to run as an Independent.
For the other parties the additional seat opened up the prospect of adding to last time's finish of 1 SD, 1 SF, 1 FF and 1 FG.
Fianna Fáil ran a two candidate strategy, while Fine Gael went with a more risky three candidate pitch.
Counting in Kildare North proved to be painfully slow but the first count, when it came, set the scene for the outcome. Three things became apparent.
One, the Social Democrat vote held up, with Aiden Farrelly coming second scoring an impressive 7,611 votes. His competing 'SD’ candidate Bill Clear was far behind, albeit with a substantial 2,906 votes.
Secondly, Fianna Fáil’s strategy worked, with James Lawless topping the poll while running mate Naoise Ó Cearúil cleared more than half a quota at 5,872.
Finally, Fine Gael were in trouble, with only Joe Neville making into the top five scoring zone with barely half a quota.
The first count order was FF, SD, SF, FF, FG and it barely moved throughout the 12 counts.
Father of the Dáil Bernard Durkin was in difficulty from the off. When Fine Gael’s third candidate Evie Sammon’s votes were distributed in Count 8, Durkin’s fate was sealed.
He later criticized the three candidate strategy but was sanguine about losing his seat.
Joe Neville did overtake Naoise Ó Cearúil in that count but it made little difference to the outcome.
Sinn Féin’s Réada Cronin was never in trouble and the party seems to have a secure seat in the constituency.
How it ended ...
