Singer Frances Black elected to Seanad on 27th count

Singer Frances Black has been elected to the Seanad.

Ms Black, running as an Independent, but supported by Sinn Féin, was elected to the Industrial and Commercial panel of the Seanad on the 27th count.

She joins former Sinn Fein TD Padraig Mac Lochlainn, who topped the poll and was elected on the first count, and outgoing Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone, who was re-elected on the 25th count.

Fianna Fáil's Cllr Catherine Ardagh was also elected.

Outgoing Fine Gael Senator Paul Coghlan received only 25 votes on the first count and conceded defeat. But the popular Fine Gael whip regained ground in a surprise recovery and was back in the running as counting continued into the 23rd count. Transfers put him at 56,000 (votes are multiplied by 1,000 for counting purposes) compared to 55,000 for running mate Councillor John Crowe.

Another Fine Gael outgoing Senator Colm Burke was also expected to be re-elected.

Fianna Fáil, who had no seats on this panel going into the election, are now expected to have three Senators.

Cllr Catherine Ardagh, who lost out on a Dáil seat in a closely fought battle and recount to Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit's Bríd Smith, was due to be elected along with fellow Dubliner Cllr Gerry Horkan. Westmeath Fianna Fáil councillor Aidan Higgins was also expected to be elected.

Angry councillors

Many outgoing Fine Gael Senators suffered in the election, some complaining it was because of a directive from party headquarters, and others saying they had felt the ire of councillors angry at the legislation that abolished town and borough councils.

Outgoing Fine Gael Seanad leader Maurice Cummins, who had cross-party support in the Upper House, lost out on the Labour panel as did a number of sitting Fine Gael Senators including Jim D'Arcy, Pat O'Neill, Michael Comiskey and Terry Brennan.

It is thought that on the Industrial and Commercial Panel it will end with three Fine Gael, three Fianna Fáil, one Labour, one Sinn Féin, and two Independent, Ms Black and Independent Alliance candidate Nigel Dineen.

In four of the five vocational panels counted so far, Sinn Féin had the remarkable achievement of topping the poll in each and having a Senator elected on each of the first counts.