BREAKING: 'The wedding is not over, we're just heading there now': Newly-elected Richard O'Donoghue

DEPUTY Richard O’Donoghue has been re-elected in the ninth count in Limerick County with a total vote of 11,468.

Mr O’Donoghue said it was “unbelievable” to take the second seat in the three-seat constituency,

“This time five years ago, we were here fighting out for a seat, for the last seat, and to have won the second seat in County Limerick with the help of all these people and the people of Limerick is a statement in itself,” he added.

“I'd like to say thank you very, very much to everyone that voted and trusted me. Over the last five years people have been brilliant to me. They have given me the encouragement that I need to go forward.” 

He thanked his family, particularly his son Niall, who “stepped up” as his Director of Elections for this election, which Mr O’Donoghue said was “brilliant”.

“I had five councillors helping me,” he explained: his brother John, Tommy Hartigan, Jerome Scanlon, Eddie Ryan and Brigid Teefy. 

“All my family, all my office, we've had over 7,000 cases come through our office in five years. That's 7,000 people that these people in the office have helped,” Mr O’Donoghue continued. 

“I'm only the piece in the front, they're the machine behind it. I'm only the front.”

He concluded: "One thing I have to finally say here is, for my wife Kay, I have four boys, they have two partners and I have two grandchildren. For the future of all the next generations - this is for them. This is for them and I thank everyone here tonight that has made me be a part of their life, and I hope that you don't regret it".

"We hope to build this into the future," Mr O'Donoghue added.

"Look at the age groups around here tonight. We've got from the youngest, picking up bottles here, recycling tonight, to the oldest, which, I'm probably the oldest! But look at the group we have. This reflects Limerick. We reflect everyone. And that's what we want to do in government. If we are in negotiations with government, we want our country reflected. We want the cabinet to reflect the country so we get the infrastructure and the funding back into Limerick and other counties around us that have been lacking for decades.

LIVE BLOG: General Election results from Limerick

"We want our piece of the pie. We want to make sure our next generation have a place to live and a place to grow up. And the ones that are out of this country, that we can welcome them home, that we'll have a place so they can set up their lives for the next generation."

Mr O’Donoghue received 10,540 first preference votes, up 40% on his 2020 number of 6,021.

Pleased with how his party is doing in the polls, Mr O’Donoghue said it was “all down to the office and my friends and the good people of County Limerick for increasing our vote”.

He said that the increase of 4,519 votes “gives me confidence that people know what we're doing and are doing”.

The General Election wasn’t the only thing on his mind today, as he was also invited to two weddings, those of Stephen and Claire O’Kelly, and Adrian and Fiona Farragher. 

“I was talking to Stephen this morning,” he explained, “we had a good few words this morning, to wish him well.”

He attended the service of Adrian and Fiona’s wedding in Granagh Church this Saturday morning, and promised to “call in for a pint later on our way home”.  

When asked if getting re-elected to the Dáil was better than the weddings, he wittily responded: “the wedding is not over, we're just heading there now!”

He has promised the bride that he will be there for the last dance.

Mr O’Donoghue spent his Election Day on Friday collecting and putting up two “26 foot” Christmas trees for the Woodlands House Hotel and for the village of Ballingarry.

“I wake at six o'clock every morning. That's how I wake. So if I go to bed at 12, I wake at six. So, yesterday morning, I collected a Christmas tree for the Woodlands House Hotel and I also collected one for Ballingarry, for the village of Ballingarry,” he told Limerick Live.

“What's the point of staying home?” he questioned. “I like walking and I like being in the community. It was a wet day for it but we had good fun.”