2005 Meath by-election
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11 March 2005
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| Turnout | 50,183 (41.5%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Meath shown within Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A Dáil by-election was held in the constituency of Meath in Ireland on Friday, 11 March 2005, to fill a vacancy in the 29th Dáil. It followed the resignation of Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) John Bruton on 31 October 2004 to take up his new position as European Union ambassador to the United States.[1]
The writ of election to fill the vacancy was agreed by the Dáil on 15 February 2005.[2]
Tommy Reilly, the original Fianna Fáil candidate, was forced to stand aside due to land rezoning issues.[3]
On 15 February 2005, the campaign began when it was announced that polling would take place on 11 March 2005. Seven candidates contested the by-election, and it was won by the Fine Gael candidate, Shane McEntee.[4][5]
It was held on the same day as the 2005 Kildare North by-election.[5] Both were the final occasions which the Progressive Democrats contested by-elections.
Meath was divided at the 2007 general election. McEntee was elected for Meath East.
Result
[edit]| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Fine Gael | Shane McEntee | 34.1 | 16,964 | 17,083 | 18,214 | 24,047 | |
| Fianna Fáil | Shane Cassells | 32.4 | 16,117 | 16,230 | 17,480 | 21,178 | |
| Sinn Féin | Joe Reilly | 12.3 | 6,087 | 6,183 | 6,514 | ||
| Labour | Dominic Hannigan | 11.2 | 5,567 | 5,672 | 7,061 | ||
| Progressive Democrats | Sirena Campbell | 5.4 | 2,679 | 2,746 | |||
| Green | Fergal O'Byrne | 3.2 | 1,590 | 1,744 | |||
| Independent | Liam Ó Gogáin | 1.4 | 702 | ||||
| Electorate: 121,041 Valid: 49,706 Spoilt: 477 (0.9%) Quota: 24,854 Turnout: 50,183 (41.5%) | |||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Resignation of Member". Dáil Debates. 591 (3). Houses of the Oireachtas. 2 November 2004.
- ^ "Issue of Writ: Meath By-election". Dáil Debates. 597 (5). Houses of the Oireachtas. 15 February 2005.
- ^ "No date set for Meath by-election". RTÉ News. February 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2005.
- ^ "Meath By-election: 11 March 2005". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ a b "Return to Writs: Kildare North and Meath - Introduction of New Members". Dáil Debates. 599 (5). Houses of the Oireachtas. 22 March 2005.
- ^ "By-election 2005: Meath". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 17 February 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- ^ "Meath: 2005 by-election". Ireland Election. Retrieved 23 April 2026.