MS NIAMH Bhreathnach, the defeated Labour candidate in Dun Laoghaire, said she hoped the education system would "never recover" from her term as Minister for Education.
As Ms Breathnach, the only Cabinet minister defeated in the election, listed her ministerial achievements most notably the abolition of third level fees her deep disappointment at her convincing defeat was palpable.
She said there would be an analysis of the result, "but analysis is for another day". It had been a privilege to serve and I intend to be back to serve again" Party workers said the drop in her vote was due to a drift away from Labour by urban voters.
"I've had a great experience being Minister for Education" she said, "and while I don't appear to have benefited too much, I do believe the education system has benefited from Labour. "We have crossed a great Rubicon in terms of the availability of third level education for our people." Ms Breathnach, who won 10,074 first preference votes in the 1992 election, had a final total of only 5,846 when she was defeated on the seventh and final count.
Solemn faced, and surrounded by her family and party supporters, she whispered "where's the job?" to one well wisher when she arrived at the count hall in the late afternoon. The electoral disappointment follows the death of Ms Breathnach's mother in law last Friday.
Ms Helen Keogh from the PDs was visibly upset about her loss. Ms Keogh, who was eliminated on the sixth count, said her vote was squeezed by the "excellent vote management" of Fianna Fail and the resurgence of support in the constituency for Fine Gael. Now unemployed, she said she would concentrate on her work as a councillor in Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown.
The losses for Labour and the PDs were converted into gains for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.
Fianna Fail's David Andrews was comfortably returned and was joined by party colleague, Ms Mary Hanafin, a daughter of Mr Des Hanafin of the Pro Life Campaign. Mr Andrews was elected on the third count, while 37 year old Ms Hanafin, a secondary school teacher from Blackrock, joined him on the seventh count.
Mr Andrews said his party's vote management strategy, which involved dividing the constituency in two, had worked "100 per cent to allow Ms Hanafin to take a second Fianna Fail seat. He said he would be "honoured" to serve in the Department of Foreign Affairs but ministerial appointments were a matter for the party leader, Mr Ahern.
Mr Andrews declined to be drawn on whether he was interested in running for the presidency. "That's for another day. I haven't given it much thought over the past few weeks," he said.
Ms Hanafin, who has no political experience, received a high number of transfers from Mr Ger Casey, who ran for the Christian Solidarity Party.
The former Minister for the Marine, Mr Sean Barrett, shared his party's victory with Ms Monica Barnes, who had lost her seat in 1992. Mr Barret, who was the first candidate to be elected on the second count, said it was his "dream come true" to top the poll.
A clearly delighted Ms Barnes said she had received a considerable "sympathy vote" as she had lost her seat the last time because voters believed it was safe. Ms Barnes, who was elected on the seventh count, said that after she ran unsuccessfully in the 1994 European Parliament elections she had vowed to give up politics. "I kept quoting Lady Bracknell: to lose one election may be misfortune but to lose two is carelessness," she said. "I'm thrilled. I always felt there was a bit of unfinished business."