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Party leader Micheál Martin with candidates Billy Kelleher (yellow tie), Brendan Smith (front right), Barry Andrews (back left), Anne Rabbitte (left front) and Malcolm Byrne (purple tie). Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Euro elections aren't looking great for FF and a veteran ex-MEP says 'lessons weren't learned'

In the Midlands Northwest constituency, the two Fianna Fáil candidates could get just 9% of the vote between them.

A FIANNA FÁIL TD and former MEP has said the party failed to learn lessons from the last European elections in 2014 when he lost his seat. 

The RTÉ/TG4 poll indicates the party’s candidate Barry Andrews will be battling it out with Independents4Change’s Clare Daly and Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan for a seat. 

In the South constituency it looks like Billy Kelleher should win a seat and Malcolm Byrne is polling at 9%.

However in the Midlands North West constituency, where Pat The Cope Gallagher lost out on a seat in the 2014 election after two terms in the European Parliament, Fianna Fáil candidates Brendan Smith and Anne Rabbitte, could get just 9% of the vote between them.

RTÉ / TG4 RTÉ / TG4 / TG4

Smith, a sitting TD for Cavan-Monaghan, was somewhat overshadowed in debates by candidates from other parties, such as the Green Party’s Saoirse McHugh who could take one of the seats in his constituency. 

Earlier this month Rabbitte, who is TD for Galway East, claimed the party was favouring her running mate. 

“There’s an old guard who believe in a rite of passage,” she told The Irish Times. 

Speaking to the Donegal Democrat today, Pat The Cope Gallagher, who is a sitting TD and  said Leas-Cheann Comhairle of the Dáil, “lessons have not been learned” from the 2014 election when he lost his seat.

At the time he had said the strategy of running two candidates was wrong and today he said the party had made the same mistake again. 

Eoin O’Malley, associate professor in political science at DCU’s School of Law and Government told TheJournal.ie that Fianna Fáil’s performance in the Midlands North West constituency “seems to be shockingly bad”.

“In the European elections it certainly doesn’t look good,” he said.

He said that the party’s vote Midlands North West may more be a result of bad candidate selection.

“Fianna Fáil had the wrong candidates,” he said. “They probably should have tried out some younger candidates.”

He said that the party’s results in the local elections – where polls put them neck and neck with Fine Gael to take the most council seats – mean that the vote hasn’t collapsed in rural Ireland.

- With reporting by Cormac Fitzgerald.

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    Mute ciar0
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    May 25th 2019, 12:30 PM

    Strategy and candidate selection?

    Try Bank debt, bankrupt country, high taxes and criminality ( think bertie ahern, ray burke, charlie haughey, etc etc)

    296
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    Mute Willy
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    May 25th 2019, 12:34 PM

    Keep propping Blue shirts Mehole. Good to see FFG struggle… Ireland is awakening :-)

    192
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    Mute SFNutters
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    May 25th 2019, 12:54 PM

    @Willy: SF too .great to see them down.

    52
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    Mute James McArdle
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    May 25th 2019, 12:35 PM

    Nothing to do with bankrupting the country and a history of corruption at the top level of the party.

    130
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    Mute Frank Cauldhame
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    May 25th 2019, 12:52 PM

    Thats one of the bum-cheeks chastened by the public, great news for democracy !

    148
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    Mute The Quare Fella
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    May 25th 2019, 12:48 PM

    At the last election Martin proposed DOUBLING the number of TDs with half of them base permanently in Merrion Street to ‘run’ the country, and the other half based in their constituencies running local issues. Meaning double the cost to the taxpayer in wages and pensions and expenses. And also begs the question what’s the point in having councillors. The man’s cracked. They’ve lost all credibility.

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    Mute Orpuk Jones
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    May 25th 2019, 4:50 PM

    @The Quare Fella: I can see the point of having TDs not tied to constituencies. In this country they act like councillors and chase the local vote at the expense of the national interest.

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    May 25th 2019, 12:27 PM

    I’m glad it has nothing to do with voter sentiment.

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    May 25th 2019, 1:57 PM

    @SFNutters: Why direct that comment to me?

    8
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    Mute Frank Lloyd wright
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    May 25th 2019, 12:41 PM

    FF are propping up this failing FG government. Makes sense!

    74
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    Mute Adrian
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    May 25th 2019, 12:36 PM

    Same old, same old. And martin wants everybody else to just go away so FF and FG can have debates on RTE. What a joke! They’ve learnt nothing. They’re last centurys party.

    124
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    Mute ciar0
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    May 25th 2019, 12:32 PM

    As for pat the cope? Off to oz with his wifeon a holiday at taxpayers expense.
    F e c k i n parasite

    131
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    Mute John Flood
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    May 25th 2019, 12:28 PM

    If you wanted performance based political parties – avoid the FF SF FG triumvirate.

    58
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    Mute Wild Goose
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    May 25th 2019, 4:08 PM

    @John Flood: You cannot put Sinn Fein in with FFFG. It’s just not fair. They have not been in power in the Republic so your comment is silly. To be fair, they must get their chance and if they don’t perform, well just don’t vote for them again but you cannot attack them for the failures of FFFG.

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    Mute John Flood
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    May 25th 2019, 4:59 PM

    @Wild Goose: my comment is about the chosen 3 parties of the day. 10 years ago I would have scratched SF for Lab. All in all it’s about presence, right the three of them are on top…

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    Mute Mock the week
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    May 25th 2019, 1:16 PM

    The fact the Ming ( who works his absolute asre off ) might lose to a pocksy Rose of Tralee is indicative of the pure ignorance of our electorate. The narrative that Irish voters are sophisticated is complete tosh.

    87
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    Mute Frank Lloyd wright
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    May 25th 2019, 12:45 PM

    Big questions for Lisa Chambers. She has to go as she was responsible for running this election for FF. They are moribund.

    44
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    Mute Barry O Toole
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    May 25th 2019, 12:49 PM

    Ff fg are the same in the eyes of the public the sooner mehole and leo realise this the better labour going nowhere

    53
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    Mute Paddy J
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    May 25th 2019, 1:10 PM

    @Barry O Toole: This mantra of FF and FG being the same party is constantly wheeled out in the journal comments. Obviously they are not the same party and the electorate doesn’t think so either. They may share the same space in the political centre but that is it. If you apply the same logic would you not say that Labour and the SD’s are the same party? Look at the fragmented left are they not all part of the same left brigade. What’s the difference in any of them.

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    Mute Barry O Toole
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    May 25th 2019, 1:17 PM

    @Paddy J: the figures dont lie they are splitting the same vote idealogically there is no difference

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    Mute Paddy J
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    May 25th 2019, 1:32 PM

    @Barry O Toole: of course they are splitting the vote ideallogically of the political centre. Are you suggesting there should only be one party on the left, one in the centre and one on the right?

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    Mute Barry O Toole
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    May 25th 2019, 2:54 PM

    @Paddy J: not suggesting anything of the sort merely reading the numbers

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    Mute Niall Power
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    May 25th 2019, 1:14 PM

    Mehole should lead a FF Everest expedition,
    Bring the party faithful with him.

    30
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    Mute Mill Lane
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    May 25th 2019, 1:41 PM

    @Niall Power: Poorly timed joke, have a bit of respect for the two men who died up there and there families.

    31
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    Mute liam ward60
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    May 25th 2019, 2:17 PM

    People have very long memories m Martin should resign he was part of that government who brought the country to its knees.i for one never want to see ff back on their own in government again that’s why lessons weren’t learned

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    Mute iComment
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    May 25th 2019, 12:34 PM

    Both SF and FF had a terrible election….Looks like FG and Green government after next general election….

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    Mute Dave.
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    May 25th 2019, 12:47 PM

    @iComment: Mother of god, please…

    42
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    Mute Paddy J
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    May 25th 2019, 1:00 PM

    @iComment: Would agree there. SF especially looking like yesterday’s party. Likely to slip below 10% in the next general election. The Greens could well get more than 10% and will certainly be part of the next government.

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    Mute Lydia McLoughlin
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    May 25th 2019, 1:09 PM

    Wrong candidates!! Field younger ones… The arrogance of FF. Its the whole party not to mention their leader!!

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    Mute Donncha
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    May 25th 2019, 3:43 PM

    @Lydia McLoughlin: That’s part of it. They’re surprised that young people aren’t voting for them. Yet I remember the last canvassers I met at the door were two aul fellas transported from the 1980s. Honestly looked like they should have been in a Live at 3 audience.

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    May 25th 2019, 8:38 PM

    Young people wont vote for Fianna Fail who are in a cosy cartel with Fine Gael. They cant buy “Tax Inflated” houses with VAT alone adding €28,000 to the price.

    On €35,000 and entering the MaxTax bracket of 40% to pay for HAP and social housing but no access to own their own homes.

    You guys in FF are sleep walking.

    12
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    Mute Thomas Carty
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    May 25th 2019, 11:18 PM

    Everyone forgets what the Greens did to the country as part of the coalition that allowed Ireland to its knees.

    We just voted them in big time.

    We will rue the day, methinks…

    9
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    Mute Noirin Kavanagh
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    May 26th 2019, 9:32 AM

    @Thomas Carty: voted them to local government and EU, not the Dáil. Damage limitation…

    1
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