2014 European Parliament election in Ireland

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2014 European Parliament election in Ireland
Flag of Ireland.svg
  2009 23 May 2014 2019  

All 11 Irish seats to the European Parliament
Turnout1,701,942 (52.4% Decrease2.svg 5.2 pp) [1]
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Enda Kenny EPP 2014 (cropped).jpg
Gerry Adams 2015.jpg
Micheal Martin (official portrait) (cropped).jpg
Leader Enda Kenny [a] Gerry Adams Micheál Martin
Party Fine Gael Sinn Féin Fianna Fáil
Alliance EPP GUE/NGL ALDE
Leader since2 June 200213 November 198326 January 2011
Last election29.1%, 4 seats11.2%, 0 seats24.1%, 3 seats
Seats won
4 / 11
3 / 11
1 / 11
Seat changeSteady2.svgIncrease2.svg 3Decrease2.svg2
Popular vote369,120 [b] 323,300369,545
Percentage22.28%19.5%22.31%
SwingDecrease2.svg 6.8 ppIncrease2.svg 8.3 ppDecrease2.svg 1.8 pp

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Eamon Gilmore TD 2014 (cropped).jpg
Eamon Ryan 2020 (cropped).jpg
Socialist Party (Ireland) logo infobox.png
Leader Eamon Gilmore Eamon Ryan
Party Labour Green Socialist Party
Alliance S&D Greens/EFA GUE/NGL
Leader since6 September 200727 May 2011
Last election13.9%, 3 seats1.9%, 0 seats2.7%, 1 seat
Seats won
0 / 11
0 / 11
0 / 11
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 3Steady2.svgDecrease2.svg 1
Popular vote88,22981,45829,953
Percentage5.3%4.9%1.8%
SwingDecrease2.svg 8.6 ppIncrease2.svg 3.0 ppDecrease2.svg 0.9 pp

Irish Euros 2014 3.png

The 2014 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2014 European Parliament election and was held on Friday, 23 May 2014, on the same day as the 2014 local elections and two by-elections (Dublin West and Longford–Westmeath). [2] The election was conducted under the single transferable vote. Counting of the votes began on Sunday, 25 May [3] and continued until Tuesday, 27 May.

Contents

National and regional summaries

In contrast to a poor local election result, Fine Gael retained 4 seats, remaining the largest Irish party at a European level. Despite winning the largest number of first preference votes, Fianna Fáil lost 2 seats – a result of poor candidate selection and a reduction in the number of seats. The Labour Party, bearing the brunt of voter anger with the Coalition government, suffered a meltdown, losing all three of its seats, including its seat in Dublin which it had held since 1989. The Socialist Party also lost its sole seat. The big winners were Sinn Féin and Independents who won three seats each.

In Dublin, Lynn Boylan of Sinn Féin topped the poll and a tight four-way battle for the remaining two seats ensued between Brian Hayes of Fine Gael, ex-Labour MEP turned independent Nessa Childers, Fianna Fáil's Mary Fitzpatrick and the Green Party's Eamon Ryan. Hayes and Childers won with Hayes ahead of Ryan at the final count by a margin of 1,200 votes.

In South, both Brian Crowley of Fianna Fáil and Seán Kelly of Fine Gael were re-elected while first time candidate Liadh Ní Riada of Sinn Féin won a seat. The last seat was taken by Fine Gael Senator Deirdre Clune ahead of her party colleague Simon Harris.

In the new Midlands–North-West constituency, independent TD Luke 'Ming' Flanagan topped the poll while Mairead McGuinness of Fine Gael and Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy took the next two seats. Fianna Fáil's two-candidate strategy in the constituency backfired, with sitting MEP Pat "the Cope" Gallagher narrowly losing to independent Marian Harkin. For the first time, Ireland's delegation to the European Parliament had more women than men.

Constituency changes

The Constituency Commission made changes to the constituencies of Ireland so as to reduce the total number of MEPs from 12 to 11, due to the accession of Croatia to the European Union. [4]

The North-West and East constituencies were abolished. A new 4-seat constituency called Midlands–North-West was created. It comprised all the area of the previous North-West constituency, with the exception of County Clare which was moved to the South constituency; as well as the north Leinster part of the East constituency. [5]

The South constituency was increased in size by the addition of counties Carlow, Clare, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow. [5] and the number of seats increased from 3 to 4.

There were no changes to the Dublin constituency.

Results

2014-2019 European Parliament Ireland constituencies Ireland-European-Parliament-Constituencies-2014-2019.svg
2014–2019 European Parliament Ireland constituencies
Elections to the European Parliament in Ireland 2014
Party Euro party Euro group Party LeaderVotes [nb 1]  %+/–Seats+/–
Fine Gael EPP EPP Enda Kenny 369,12022.36.8 Decrease2.svg
4 / 11
Steady2.svg
Sinn Féin None GUE/NGL Gerry Adams 323,30019.58.3 Increase2.svg
3 / 11
3 Increase2.svg
Fianna Fáil ALDE ALDE Micheál Martin 369,54522.31.8 Decrease2.svg
1 / 11
2 Decrease2.svg
Labour Party PES S&D Eamon Gilmore 88,2295.38.6 Decrease2.svg
0 / 11
3 Decrease2.svg
Green Party EGP G–EFA Eamon Ryan 81,4584.93.0 Increase2.svg
0 / 11
Steady2.svg
Socialist Party EACL GUE/NGL Collective leadership29,9531.80.9 Decrease2.svg
0 / 11
1 Decrease2.svg
Direct Democracy Ireland NoneNoneJan Van de Ven24,0931.5new
0 / 11
Steady2.svg
People Before Profit Alliance EACL GUE/NGL None23,8751.5new
0 / 11
Steady2.svg
Catholic Democrats NoneNoneNora Bennis13,5690.8new
0 / 11
Steady2.svg
Fís Nua NoneNoneNone4,6100.3new
0 / 11
Steady2.svg
Independent 328,76619.88.3 Increase2.svg
3 / 11
2 Increase2.svg
Valid votes1,656,51897.3
Blank and invalid votes45,4242.7
Totals1,701,942100.0
11 / 11
1 Decrease2.svg
Electorate (eligible voters) and voter turnout3,245,34852.46.2 Decrease2.svg
Source: ElectionsIreland.org
  1. 1 2 3 First preference votes: Under Ireland's STV (Single transferable vote) voting system, voters number candidates in order of their preference, from Number 1 upwards. The candidate who is given a Number 1 by the voter is said to have received his (or her) first preference vote.

Post-Poll Alliance

EPP S&D ECR ALDE GUE/NGL G-EFA EFDD NI Flag of Ireland.svg
Total
4 (FG)1 (Childers)1 (FF/ Crowley )1 (Harkin)3 (SF)
1 (Flanagan)
11

Voting details

ConstituencyElectorateTurnoutSpoiltValid PollQuotaSeatsElectorate per SeatCandidates
Dublin 820,668358,9436,368352,57588,1443273,55612
Midlands–North-West 1,202,997663,70317,258646,445129,2904300,74914
South 1,221,683679,29621,798657,498131,5004305,42015
Total3,245,3481,701,94245,4241,656,5181131

Opinion polls

Candidate polling

Dublin

DatePolling agencySample sizeBoylan (SF)Hayes (FG)Childers (Ind)Fitzpatrick (FF)Costello (Lab)Ryan (GP)Smith (PBPA)Murphy (SP)Tallon (Ind)Darcy (DDI)Whitehead (DDI)Wise (FN)
26–28 AprilMillwardBrown/Sunday Independent [6] 50020%15%19%13%12%11%5%4%1%
1–2 MayRedC/Sunday Business Post [7] 50015%18%10%13%13%12%9%7%2%1%1%0%
13–14 MayMillwardBrown/Sunday Independent [8] 50023%22%13%11%10%7%6%7%1%
3–15 MayBehaviour & Attitudes/Sunday Times [9] 50019%16%11%12%7%11%10%9%3%0%1%1%
23 MayBehaviour & Attitudes/RTÉ Exit Poll [10] 100024%14%11%12%8%14%6%7%1%1%1%0%

Midlands–North-West

DatePolling agencySample sizeCarthy (SF)Byrne (FF)Flanagan (Ind)Gallagher (FF)Harkin (Ind)Higgins J. (FG)McGuinness (FG)Higgins L. (Lab)Mullen (Ind)Dearey (GP)Fitzsimons (Ind)Gilroy (DDI)Nic Fhearra (FN)Fay (Ind)
26–28 AprilMillwardBrown/Sunday Independent [6] 50017%16%12%9%12%11%11%4%3%2%3%1%
1–2 MayRedC/Sunday Business Post [7] 50014%8%14%9%16%10%16%5%6%2%0%0%0%
13–14 MayMillwardBrown/Irish Independent [11] 50019%9%15%10%12%6%13%5%5%3%1%1%0%0%
3–15 MayBehaviour & Attitudes/Sunday Times [12] 50014%9%17%8%12%7%21%5%5%1%0%1%0%0%
23 MayBehaviour & Attitudes/RTÉ Exit Poll [10] 100013%10%20%11%11%7%16%4%4%2%0%1%0%1%

South

DatePolling agencySample sizeCrowley (FF)Ní Riada (SF)Kelly (FG)Clune (FG)Harris (FG)Prendergast (Lab)O'Flynn (Ind)Godsil (Ind)Hartley (FF)O'Sullivan (GP)Van De Ven (DDI)O'Riordan (FN)Cahill (Ind)Heaney (CD)
26–28 AprilMillwardBrown/Sunday Independent [13] 50036%15%12%12%7%4%7%3%2%1%1%0%0%
1–2 MayRedC/Sunday Business Post [7] 50028%14%18%8%7%9%4%3%3%6%1%0%
13–14 MayMillwardBrown/Irish Independent [11] 50032%16%15%10%9%6%4%2%2%4%0%0%0%0%
3–15 MayBehaviour & Attitudes/Sunday Times [12] 50035%14%17%10%8%5%2%2%1%3%1%0%2%1%
23 MayBehaviour & Attitudes/RTÉ Exit Poll [10] 100026%17%12%9%7%5%5%1%5%5%1%1%3%1%

Party polling

The figures are for first-preference votes, as STV is a ranked voting system.

Dublin

DateSourcePolling agency Fine Gael Labour Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Socialist Green PBP Others
28 April 2014 Sunday Independent [14] MillwardBrown15%12%13%20%4%11%5%20%
2 May 2014Sunday Business Post [15] RedC18%13%13%15%7%12%9%14%
14 May 2014 Sunday Independent [8] MillwardBrown22%10%11%23%7%7%6%14%
14 May 2014The Sunday Times [16] Behaviour & Attitudes16%7%12%19%9%11%10%16%

Midlands–North-West

DateSourcePolling agency Fine Gael Labour Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Green Others
28 April 2014 Sunday Independent [17] MillwardBrown22%4%25%17%2%30%
2 May 2014Sunday Business Post [15] RedC26%5%17%14%2%36%
14 May 2014 Sunday Independent [18] MillwardBrown19%5%19%19%3%34%
14 May 2014The Sunday Times [16] Behaviour & Attitudes28%5%17%14%4%35%

South

DateSourcePolling agency Fine Gael Labour Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Green Others
28 April 2014 Sunday Independent [17] MillwardBrown30%4%39%15%1%11%
2 May 2014Sunday Business Post [15] RedC33%9%31%14%6%8%
14 May 2014 Sunday Independent [18] MillwardBrown34%6%34%16%4%6%
14 May 2014The Sunday Times [16] Behaviour & Attitudes35%5%36%14%3%8%

See also

Notes

  1. Note that parties (other than independents) are initially ordered by number of seats won, followed by number of first preference votes [nb 1] if number of seats won is the same. Here Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are shown ahead of Fianna Fáil, who got more first preference votes, but won fewer seats.
  2. Popular vote means First preference votes. [nb 1]

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