Irish Elections and Referendums, 2015

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This looks like the first time a Fianna Fáil TD will be elected via by-election since the 90's.

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Well FF have largely jettisoned their urban voters after 2011 - Bertiemania was an atypical craze in the capital. I would argue the the parties are the other way round: FG is an unusually idiosyncratic liberal-conservative party which draws its strength from the middle class; while FF is a populist bandwagon jumping party comparable to French Gaullism.

perhaps we can compare Irish politics to post-Civil War America in some respects - very heterogenous parties based on your ancestors' stance on a civil conflict. At the moment a lot of old assumptions about the parties are in flux of course, so you will get a lot of conflicting arguments.

I'm mainly surprised FF did so well on the preferences.

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There will be a by-election for the Seanad on 13th November. Normally I wouldn't bump for this dumb chamber, but Labour's candidate is making some news: it's Maira Cahill the women raped as a child by the IRA, and now causing Sinn Fein leadership some headaches.