Social Democrats gain seat in Irish by-elections

Dublin [Ireland], May 25: Ireland's governing centre-right Fine Gael and the Social Democrats, one of the country's smaller centre-left parties, won two by-elections on Sunday, while the ​reputed head of a well-known crime family missed out on election again.
The was a blow to left-wing Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, which has established itself as one of Ireland's three largest parties and hoped to gain a seat in the Dublin Central area where ​leader Mary Lou McDonald is a sitting lawmaker.
A poor showing for the other governing coalition ​party, Fianna Fail, in both by-elections could also add to pressure on ⁠Prime Minister Micheal Martin from some of his own lawmakers.
The victory in Dublin for the ​Social Democrats' Daniel Ennis adds to the momentum the party gained at the last general election ​18 months ago when it doubled its number of seats to 11 in the 174-seat chamber.
It is now the fourth-largest party in parliament, just over a decade after its formation.
While the outcome ​suggested the Social Democrats won over some of Sinn Fein's progressive voters, the main ​opposition party also lost some of its traditional working-class vote to increasingly popular right-wing candidates, as ⁠did in 2024.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation