2009 European Parliament election in Ireland
5 June 2009
12 seats to the European Parliament
Turnout57.5%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Enda Kenny EPP 2014 (cropped).jpg
Brian Cowen, July 2010 (cropped).jpg
Eamon Gilmore, Nov 2010 (headshot).jpg
Leader Enda Kenny Brian Cowen Eamon Gilmore
Party Fine Gael Fianna Fáil Labour
Alliance EPP ALDE S&D
Leader since 2 June 2002 7 May 2008 6 September 2007
Last election 27.8%, 5 seats 29.5%, 4 seats 10.5%, 1 seat
Seats won
4 / 12
3 / 12
3 / 12
Seat change Decrease1 Decrease1 Increase2
Popular vote 532,889 440,562 254,669
Percentage 29.1% 24.1% 13.9%
Swing Increase1.3 Decrease5.4% Increase3.4%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Joe Higgins TD, 2014.jpg
Gerry Adams, October 2005 (cropped).jpg
LI
Leader Joe Higgins Gerry Adams Declan Ganley
Party Socialist Party Sinn Féin Libertas
Alliance GUE/NGL GUE/NGL Lib.eu
Leader since 1996 1983 30 October 2008
Last election 1.3%, 0 seats 11.1%, 1 seat New
Seats won
1 / 12
0 / 12
0 / 12
Seat change Increase1 Decrease1 Steady0
Popular vote 50,510 205,613 99,709
Percentage 2.7% 11.2% 5.4%
Swing Increase1.4% Increase0.1% Increase5.4%
Colours indicate winning party.

The 2009 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2009 European Parliament election and was held on Friday, 5 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections. Two by-elections (Dublin South and Dublin Central) were also held on the same day.[1]

National and regional summaries

The governing Fianna Fáil party lost one MEP and a significant share of the vote, in line with the day's other election results. Fine Gael increased its national vote share but lost a seat. The Labour Party, which increased its delegation from one MEP to three, was the only major party to make seat gains. Sinn Féin lost its only MEP in the Republic of Ireland, and the Socialist Party won a seat for the first time. One independent MEP lost her seat. The Green Party's vote was halved, and the pan-European Libertas party, based in Ireland, also failed to make a breakthrough.

In Dublin, Gay Mitchell of Fine Gael and Proinsias De Rossa of Labour were re-elected, while Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party defeated the incumbent Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin MEPs to take the third seat. In the East constituency, Mairead McGuinness of Fine Gael and Liam Aylward of Fianna Fáil were re-elected. Nessa Childers of Labour took the vacant final seat. North-West re-elected independent ALDE MEP Marian Harkin and Jim Higgins of Fine Gael, while the Fianna Fáil seat was retained by former MEP Pat "the Cope" Gallagher. In South, Brian Crowley of Fianna Fáil was re-elected, Seán Kelly won a seat from his Fine Gael colleague Colm Burke, and Labour's Alan Kelly took the last seat in a tight contest between him, Sinn Féin's Toiréasa Ferris and the incumbent Independent Kathy Sinnott in the final count.[2]

Constituency changes

In accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Nice, the number of MEPs from Ireland in the European Parliament was reduced from 13 to 12 for this election. The Dublin constituency was reduced from 4 seats to 3, and the counties of Longford and Westmeath were transferred from the East constituency to the North-West constituency. The election was conducted under the single transferable vote in Ireland; the only other constituencies to elect their MEPs under STV are Malta and Northern Ireland, with the rest of Europe using variants of the list system.

Local and Euro election posters and banners in Cork city

Results

Members of the
European Parliament
for Ireland
1st delegation (1973)
2nd delegation (1973–1977)
3rd delegation (1977–1979)
1st term (1979)
2nd term (1984)
3rd term (1989)
4th term (1994)
5th term (1999)
6th term (2004)
7th term (2009)
8th term (2014)
9th term (2019)
10th term (2024)
List of women MEPs
2009–2014 European Parliament Ireland constituencies
Elections to the European Parliament in Ireland – 2009[3]
Party European party Party leader First pref vote % ±% Seats ±
Fine Gael EPP Enda Kenny 532,889 29.1 Increase1.3 4 Decrease1
Fianna Fáil ALDE Brian Cowen 440,562 24.1 Decrease5.4 3 Decrease1
Labour Party S&D Eamon Gilmore 254,669 13.9 Increase3.4 3 Increase2
Socialist Party GUE/NGL Joe Higgins 50,510[4] 2.7 Increase1.4 1 Increase1
Sinn Féin GUE/NGL Gerry Adams 205,613 11.2 Increase0.1 0 Decrease1
Libertas EFD Declan Ganley 99,709 5.4 Increase5.4 0 ±0
Green Party Greens/EFA John Gormley 34,585 1.9 Decrease2.4 0 ±0
Independent 210,776 11.5 Decrease4.0 1 Decrease1
Total 1,829,313 100 — 12 −1

MEPs elected

Constituency Name Party EP group
Dublin Gay Mitchell Fine Gael EPP
Proinsias De Rossa Labour S&D
Joe Higgins Socialist Party GUE/NGL
East Mairead McGuinness Fine Gael EPP
Nessa Childers Labour S&D
Liam Aylward Fianna Fáil ALDE
North-West Marian Harkin Independent ALDE
Seán Ó Neachtain Fianna Fáil ALDE
Jim Higgins Fine Gael EPP
South Brian Crowley Fianna Fáil ALDE
Seán Kelly Fine Gael EPP
Alan Kelly Labour S&D

Voting details

Constituency Electorate Turnout Spoilt Valid Poll Quota Seats Candidates
Dublin 812,465 412,684 (50.8%) 6,054 (1.5%) 406,630 101,658 3 10
East 778,502 442,291 (56.8%) 13,042 (2.9%) 429,249 107,313 3 11
North-West 805,626 510,982 (63.4%) 15,675 (3.1%) 495,307 123,827 3 13
South 861,727 509,963 (59.2%) 11,836 (2.3%) 498,127 124,532 3 10
Total 3,258,320 1,875,920 (57.5%) 46,607 (2.5%) 1,829,313 — 12 44

See also

References

  1. ↑ "By-elections set for June 5th". The Irish Times. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  2. ↑ Riegel, Ralph (9 June 2009). "Labour's Kelly fights off late Sinnott surge". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  3. ↑ "Elections 2009 – European Elections – National Summary". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  4. ↑ "Elections 2009 – European Elections – Dublin". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
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