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29 Oct 2025
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29 Oct 2025
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Natasha Newsome Drennan TD assisting with the tally at Saturday's Carlow/Kilkenny count
After Catherine Connolly’s resounding win in the presidential election, Sinn Féin’s Carlow/Kilkenny TD Natasha Newsome Drennan has optimism that the result will herald lasting change as cooperation from the opposition parties delivered a crushing defeat to the Government.
Ms Connolly won over 60% of all valid votes cast in the constituency, something which was mirrored all over the country as she secured the largest margin of victory for a presidential election in state history.
“A clear victory for the politics of hope and change”, Ms Newsome Drennan said. “This has been a stunning result for Catherine Connolly, a landslide victory, and she deserves huge credit for what she has achieved.”
“An amazing candidate with a positive vision for the presidency, a voice that will be independent of government. We said that Sinn Féin’s involvement would be a game changer, and it was. The campaign went from strength to strength working alongside the combined opposition and thousands of people,” she added.
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The disastrous campaigns of the Government parties, particularly that of Fianna Fáil’s withdrawn candidate Jim Gavin, has left them licking their wounds as they also deal with reaction to a widely criticised Budget 2026.
In addition to Ms Connolly’s emphatic win, the record number of spoiled votes cast was a major talking point as discontent with the variety of candidates and Government performance was reflected in over 6,000 invalid ballots in Carlow/Kilkenny, something which Ms Newsome Drennan acknowledged.
“The vote represents a resounding defeat for the politics of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, in the aftermath of a budget that left workers worse off. Fine Gael have also been punished for their decision to block other candidates getting on the ballot paper.”
“I know there are those who felt unheard, unrepresented and ignored by the system. I want people to hear them, that we have listened, and that we will respond with engagement and action,” she concluded.
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