Kildare South
Co. KildareKildare South covers the rural southern and western part of County Kildare — Newbridge, Kildare town, Athy, Castledermot and Monasterevin. One of its four TDs, Fianna Fáil's Seán Ó Fearghaíl, was automatically returned without a first-preference contest because he was serving as Ceann Comhairle when the Dáil dissolved (a standing constitutional convention), so the remaining three seats were contested among 15 candidates and don't include him in the results below.
Why this leans Fine Gael
The 4.2-point gap between the top two finishers here in 2024 sits on top of a longer pattern: Fine Gael's national first-preference vote share has run 27.3% in 2007, 36.1% in 2011, 25.5% in 2016, 20.9% in 2020, then 20.8% in 2024 No digitised constituency-level results exist here for elections before 2024, so this is Fine Gael's country-wide trend, not a claim about this seat's own history — but a party that's dominated the national picture for this long is a big part of why its 2024 local result, and this lean, look the way they do.
Elected TDs (4)
Automatically returned — no first-preference contest (outgoing Ceann Comhairle convention)
21.6% first preference · 9,262 votes · elected below quota, via transfers
16.9% first preference · 7,241 votes · elected below quota, via transfers
15.5% first preference · 6,654 votes · elected below quota, via transfers
2024 General Election — First Preferences
First-preference vote share by candidate. Martin Heydon (Fine Gael) topped the poll with 21.6%. Bold candidates were elected — final seats are decided by PR-STV transfers, not first preferences alone.
Excludes Seán Ó Fearghaíl, automatically returned without a first-preference contest (see note above).
Under PR-STV, surplus and elimination transfers decide the final seats, so a candidate can be elected from well below the quota — or miss out despite a strong first count. .