Fine Gael’s long-standing TD for Kildare North Bernard Durkan has missed out on a Dáil seat after his elimination in the final count that saw the last of the three seats filled.
His Fine Gael running mate, Joe Neville, took the fourth seat in the constituency in count 12 despite failing to meet the quota. Durkan was the longest serving TD and the oldest.
In a twitter post, he said: “Alas, today wasn’t my day but it has been my privilege to represent the people of Kildare in Dáil Éireann for over 43 years.”
He thanked his supporters and offered congratulations to those who had been elected as a political career which began in 1981, when he was elected for the Kildare constituency.
Reada Cronin of Sinn Féin was followed by Joe Neville of Fine Gael and Naoise O’Cearuil of Fianna Fáil joining Fianna Fáil’s James Lawless and the Social Democrats’ Aidan Farrelly.
After briefly losing his seat in 1982, Durkan won it that same year, and has been reelected to each subsequent Dáil.
He served as Minister of State for Social Welfare from 1994 to 1997, was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, and had been the Fine Gael chef whip.
The 79-year-old has held numerous positions in his long tenure in both the Dáil and the government – but is best known for using the Parliamentary Question. In the last year, Durkan asked a total of 1,433 PQs – twice as many as the next person.
