An extraordinary 58% vote leakage from the West Clare Municipal District for candidates outside this area ensured Deputy Timmy Dooley, Deputy Cathal Crowe and Deputy Joe Cooney from East Clare were elected to the 34th Dáil last weekend.
Belfast-born Donna McGettigan, Sinn Féin, became the first Shannon-based candidate to be elected, which has ensured there is no Dáil Deputy from west of Tulla including Ennis and its environs with about 25,000 people.
Deputy Timmy Dooley topped the poll with an impressive first preference tally of 11,313, which was 3,550 higher than his performance in February 2020 when he lost out narrowly.
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East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.