Daly "a bit overwhelmed" by general election success

Fianna Fáil's Martin Daly said he was “overwhelmed” with the success of his campaign as a first-time candidate, and said the result would not have been possible without the support and help of the local Fianna Fáil team.

He told the Westmeath Independent that “it was a team effort”.

“There was a lot of support from volunteers and canvassers, from my family, from Ballygar and from the Fianna Fáil organisations throughout the constituency, most especially the councillors, all behind me, also ex-leaders in Fianna Fáil in the constituency as well, ex-TDs and ministers, such as Micheál Kitt and Michael Finneran, John Cummins in Boyle.”

“They were a huge help and without them we wouldn't have achieved this result.”

When his success as a first-time candidate was mentioned, he said: “I'm a bit overwhelmed myself by it. It was great”.

In his speech to the count centre after the final count, Daly said he was “humbled” by the support he got, and spoke of the issues he campaigned on.

“We have a cost of living crisis, we have an issue around access to adequate health services, which should be based on need rather than ability to pay, access to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), educational assessment, and support for the farming community, which is the bedrock and backbone of rural communities, so we really have to deliver.”

“I believe in politics of the centre, and the centre cannot be complacent, it has to deliver for all people, and if it doesn't, it leaves a political vacuum for more extreme candidates.”

He also paid tribute to the Naughten family, both for the public service of Denis Naughten as a TD over the years and for the loss of John Naughten in October, saying "my heart goes out to them tonight".

Daly's first preference vote was 7,283 - some 17.71%, marginally above that achieved by the party in 2020 (17.32%), when Fianna Fáil unsuccessfully ran two candidates, Eugene Murphy and Orla Leyden, in the constituency.