New Limerick Labour TD was 'dazed' after election victory - and got lost!

LABOUR TD Conor Sheehan has admitted the first thing he did when he left the count centre after his sensational election was take a wrong turn and get lost!

“I was so dazed by the result and the significance of it, that I took the wrong turn coming out of the count centre. I ended up in Crecora,” the Corbally man told Limerick Live.

He carried on driving around, his head in a spin after his win, and it was not until he was at Limerick Golf Club that he realised he needed to call in back up.

READ MORE: Sweet taste of victory for Limerick TDs as post-election drama intensifies

“It was then I was thinking, I should turn on the SatNav,” he laughed.

Mr Sheehan admits he was too nervous to eat much during the nail-biting race for the final seat in Limerick City.

“I literally spent the whole day with my stomach in knots. So by the time I got elected, I could eat anything!”

When he finally did get back on the road to the city, he said: “The first thing I got as a newly elected TD was a McDonald’s!”

Then it was onto Punch’s Bar on the edge of the city, for celebration drinks with his Labour team.

In this number was Jan O’Sullivan, the last Labour TD to represent Limerick up to 2020, and who provided wise counsel to the first-time TD through the day.

Mr Sheehan admits he needed it, as he staged a Lazarus-like comeback from 391 votes behind Cllr Elisa O’Donovan, SD, to land the final seat in Limerick City.

Just before his election was confirmed by deputy returning officer Vincent Murray, he was seen in tears embracing Ms O’Sullivan, as well as his mother Mary and father Peter, who was the Labour man’s director of elections.

“Depending on the count, I had every emotion known to humanity. I was up, I was down, and I was neither. All often within the space of 90 minutes to two hours! PR-STV is many things, but boring isn’t one of them,” smiled Conor Sheehan.

“When the result of an election comes through, it’s like peeling layers off an onion and each layer has its own distinct flavour,” the now former councillor added.

Indeed, the race for the final seat in Limerick City was a rollercoaster, with Fianna Fail’s Dee Ryan also being ahead of himself and Cllr O’Donovan at one stage.

The difference even led Joe Kemmy, often the oracle when it comes to elections, to declare it was more than likely the Social Democrats member would take the seat. At one stage close to the end, there was just a single vote separating Sheehan and O'Donovan.

Ahead of the 15th and final count declaration, Cllr O’Donovan took a moment to compose herself and walked across the Tote Hall at the Limerick Racecourse to embrace Mr Sheehan. Tears were shared by both in what was a gracious moment from the defeated candidate.
A long time admirer of former Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan, Mr Sheehan joined the Labour party in early 2016. He was part of her campaign as she staged her own unlikely comeback at that year’s General Election to win the final seat in Limerick City.
Ironically, eight years ago, it was a transfer from another Social Democrat, Sarah-Jane Hennelly which got Ms O’Sullivan across the line.
In that time, the former Labour TD has become something of a mentor to Mr Sheehan.
It is reflective perhaps of the role the late great Jim Kemmy played in Ms O’Sullivan’s political journey.
Limerick City has a proud history when it comes to Labour TDs, with Mick Lipper, Steve Coughlan and Michael Keyes, joining Mr Kemmy and Ms O’Sullivan.