Winners and losers: What we’ve learned from the byelections
From Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan by The Irish Times
May 24, 2026 · 37 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the results of the Dublin Central and Galway West byelections, analyzing the implications for various political parties in Ireland.
Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh to talk about the results of the Dublin Central and Galway West byelections: As the day began Fine Gael were confident that their man, Senator Sean Kyne, would win the seat. That confidence wavered a little as Independent Ireland’s Noel Thomas picked up significant transfers throughout the morning. In the end it wasn’t enough and Fine Gael leader Tanaiste Simon Harris was celebrating a rare byelection win for a party in power. But is he right to call it “a victory for centrist politics”? Independent Ireland can be encouraged by Noel Thomas’s performance in Galway West. Fine Gael and Social Democrats are the winners on this occasion. But can they turn these victories into long-term success? There was evidence of “vote left, transfer left” behaviour in Galway. But many of Sinn Féin’s voters gave their second preferences to Independent Ireland rather than Labour or Social Democrats. Fianna Fáil were the other big losers in this campaign. But how much do these byelections, both won by strong local candidates, really tell us about the strength of the party nationwide? Should the counting of votes take so long? Hugh and…
People in this episode
Host: Hugh Linehan
Guests: Pat Leahy, Harry McGee
Topics covered
- byelections
- political analysis
- party performance
- voter behavior
- Irish politics
Keywords
- byelections
- Fine Gael
- Independent Ireland
- Sinn Féin
- voter transfers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Fine Gael, Independent Ireland, Social Democrats, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin
Places: Dublin Central, Galway West
More episodes of Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan
- Eruption of violence in Northern Ireland echoes the Troubles · June 12, 2026 · 54 min
- Is meaningful climate action possible in a democracy? · June 10, 2026 · 38 min
- Inside Politics Meets GD Politics: A crossover episode with Galen Druke · June 8, 2026 · 1h 10m
- Rotunda row pits public against private health care · June 5, 2026 · 55 min
- Darragh O'Brien on Ireland's missed climate targets, new help to buy EVs and Fianna Fáil's leadership · June 3, 2026 · 43 min
- Are Sinn Féin drifting away from an uneasy left-wing alliance? · May 29, 2026 · 54 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan podcast page.