FF and SF hopeful of gains in volatile commuter constituency

Fine Gael and Labour hold all three seats in the Meath East constituency, but it is now seen as one of the most volatile with the possibility of two government TDs losing their seats.
There are 12 candidates in the running in this constituency which has a large urban population in the south and a strong rural and farming vote in the north.
There seems to be a general consensus among political commentators that Fianna Fail senator, Thomas Byrne, will regain the seat he lost in 2011 and he may well be the first elected.
Labour received a major drubbing in the 2013 by-election with its candidate, Eoin Holmes, taking just 4.57 per cent of the vote, and with the party’s fortunes continuing to slide, sitting TD Dominic Hannigan is looking like he could be a casualty in this election, despite topping the poll in 2011.
Sinn Fein Cllr Darren O’Rourke could be on the cusp of taking a Dail seat - the party enjoyed a major success in this county in the local elections, electing five councillors in four electoral areas and giving O’Rourke a solid base to work from. He also put in a strong showing in the 2013 Meath East by-election, taking third place.
However, Fine Gael’s two sitting TDs, Regina Doherty and Helen McEntee, are strong candidates and O’Rourke will have his work cut out to take a seat from either.
McEntee has solid Fine Gael backing in north Meath and very firm family roots in the area. Regina Doherty has been one of the public faces of Fine Gael in recent times, featuring regularly as a party spokesperson in television and radio debates and has a large population base in the south from which to draw.
Direct Democracy Ireland’s Ben Gilroy took fourth place in the 2013 by-election in Meath East and is seen as a champion of struggling homeowners in their battles to save homes from repossession.
Duleek-based Sharon Keogan is a strong independent candidate, as is Joe Bonner from Ashbourne. They are both councillors with a solid core of local support, and with independents expected to do very well in this election, they are likely to poll strongly and their transfers could be absolutely crucial to the final outcome.
Seamus McDonagh of the Workers’ Party ran in Meath West in the last election, but is now a candidate in Meath East, which takes in his Kells/Wilkinstown base. He has developed a higher profile in recent times due to his anti-water charges stance.
Sean ” Buachalla of the Green Party is a veteran of several general election campaigns and, while he has never been in the mix, he will be hoping to build on his vote in the by-election three years ago.
The two new political parties, the Social Democrats and Renua, are both fielding candidates in this constituency.
Aisling O’Neill from Ashbourne is running for the Social Democrats. She ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 local elections and now has the backing of former Democratic Left and Labour activist, John King from Ashbourne.
Renua has entered a candidate in the race at the last minute. Sarah Tyrell is from Blackrock in Co Louth but she is not thought to have any realistic chance of making an impact.
There are very different issues at both ends of this constituency, and while party workers from all sides feel they have a handle on voters’ attitudes in the north, the south is something of an unknown quantity with a floating, commuter vote that could go anywhere.