Meteoric rise for the political prodigy representing Tipperary and North-West Kilkenny

It was a phenomenal finish for Nenagh’s Ryan O’Meara of Fianna Fáil who claimed the third and final seat in the Tipperary North - Kilkenny North West constituency in this year’s General Election.

O’Meara was elected to Tipperary County Council in the Nenagh Municipal District in only June of this year and now, not even six months later, he has been elected as a TD representing Tipperary and North West Kilkenny in the Dáil.

Though Ryan may have been the dark horse of this year’s competition, it’s easy to see how people took a liking to him. For someone so young and relatively new to the game, his election campaign was truly impressive. There didn’t seem to be a village in north Tipperary or north-west Kilkenny that Ryan did not visit in the past three or four weeks.

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The tutelage he got under his former boss Jackie Cahill was surely a great help to him but Ryan is a person that seems almost built for the campaign trail and politics.

He is the type of person whose age and approachability resonates with younger generations but then he is also more than capable of entertaining and relating to older generations, fast becoming a favourite for mothers on the doorsteps who have been quick to describe him as “a lovely young fella”.

His fresh face and approachability paired with the Fianna Fáil name is surely what sealed the deal for him in the end. Early on in the count whispers from those watching the vote counters were calling him untouchable in third place.

Throughout all ten counts Ryan remained in that place only widening the gap between himself and the next competitor for the majority of the race. In count one he began with 5,654 first preference votes, a figure his closest competitor in Jim Ryan was not able to reach until the eighth count. O’Meara received strong transfers from Michael Lowry, Iva Pocock and Phyll Bugler.

You would imagine that many of Jackie Cahill’s votes would have been responsible for Ryan’s popularity in Thurles where he was Cahill’s parliamentary assistant and companion for a number of years. The transfer of Pocock and Bugler’s votes were helped by their positioning in closeness to Ryan’s base of Nenagh.

One of the most impressive elements of Ryan’s campaign was his canvassing team. In person and on social media, Ryan’s family members, friends and colleagues were eager to join him with huge smiles on their faces. It was always clear how much they believed in Ryan and how much they wanted him to get votes. A few of his canvassers stood out in particular, Ryan’s brothers JP, Tomás and Michael O’Meara were consistently seen supporting his youngest brother. Kay Cahill-Skehan, sister of Jackie Cahill, was another that was beaming with pride alongside Ryan. Ryan’s girlfriend Maggie was with him every step of the way as were Orla O’Kennedy and several more of Ryan’s friends. Finally of course were his proud mother and father, regularly seen out in a “high vis” supporting their son.

O’Meara has consistently praised Jackie Cahill as an “incredible support all of the way”, stating that he “would love it if there were more that would back young people in that way” as Jackie did for him.

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