Beaming ‘Boxer’ completes his remarkable Dáil comeback

The loss of his Dáil seat at the 2020 general election was the darkest day of Kevin 'Boxer' Moran's political career.

But it's said that only those who have experienced the deepest valley can truly appreciate what it's like to stand on the highest mountain.

And with his return to the Dáil imminent on Sunday night, 'Boxer' arrived at the count centre with the air of a man determined to savour this sweet success.

"I'll be honest with you, I can barely hold back the excitement. Within me it's powerful, particularly for my wife and my two sons," he said.

"We went through a bit of hardship when I lost my seat. A lot of things were said and done, but we've put that behind us, as politicians do. You have to have a thick neck, a thick skin, and work. And that's what I do."

His first preference vote at this election, of 8,056, was up by 1,326 (almost 20%) on his performance in 2020, and was also 471 more than the quantity of number ones he got when first elected to Dáil Eireann in 2016.

As with his local election campaign in June, when he received the largest vote share of any council candidate in the country, he stayed off social media and canvassed widely.

"We put the team on the ground, and we hit 33,000 houses in five weeks. People might say, 'that didn't happen'. It did happen," he insisted.

"Votes were picked up all over the place, which tells you the outreach that we had within the campaign.

"I was working across Ballymahon and Kenagh in the last 24 hours. I was bringing people to vote, I was out there, hitting the doors. I knew where my vote was, I just had to go and talk to those people."

He said the single biggest issue people raised with him on the doorsteps was housing, but that loneliness was also something many were struggling with.

"I couldn't believe the amount of people who came to me with the problem of loneliness, mental health, and disabilities. They were all things that were being talked about."

He expressed his gratitude to his campaign team, including John Gibbons, Eugene Deering, Gerry McManus, his wife Michelle, and his sons Jamie and John, and others.

When asked on Sunday about his priorities for the weeks ahead, he alluded to the possibility of taking part in negotiations about Government formation.

However, he distanced himself from suggestions made by Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly that he could align himself with Independent Ireland as part of Government formation talks.

"I'm very annoyed with Ciaran, to run with that story. (Independent Ireland) made a choice and picked Cllr Paul Hogan (as their general election candidate).

"I feel sorry for Paul (that he didn't get elected), Paul is very good colleague of mine, but Ciaran said last night (on the national airwaves) that he was talking to me.

"Nobody spoke to me within Independent Ireland, and I wouldn't agree totally with all of their policies.

"That's not to get away from the fact that I'm very close friend of Michael Fitzmaurice, and I'll remain that way, but I was annoyed that Ciaran jumped in last night to start talking about the formation of a Government.

"They have a team put together to get elected to the Dáil, and they may be part of negotiations (to form a Government), but Boxer's not part of that."

A large crowd of family, friends and supporters gathered at the John Count McCormack Centre to witness the formal declaration of his election in the early hours of Monday morning.

'Boxer' said there would be some celebrations afterwards, but that - for him at least - they wouldn't be able to go on for too long.

"I have to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and bring a woman to work. I have to do it! And that's a strange thing, but it has to be done," he smiled.