O'Sullivan awaits count for MEP seat
A young Grace O'Sullivan aboard a Green Peace ship where she spent many days as an activist before becoming a politician.
Grace O'Sullivan arrived at the SETU Arena in Waterford on Saturday and spoke to the Waterford News & Star about how she appreciates the support she has received from her local area of Tramore.
At the moment O'Sullivan is still in contention to take back her seat in the European Election, though the transfers as the counts progress at the count centre in Nemo Rangers, Cork, are not as favourable as she would hope.
The Green MEP is one of 23 candidates in Ireland South running for the European Elections and prides herself on her work as an activist with Green Peace, and as an ecologist, which she feels attributed to her role in Europe to date.
O'Sullivan wasn't feeling confident in the early hours of the tallies and on Sunday at 5pm had conceded the seat she won in 2019 to be "slipping away from her," reported RTÉ's Pascal Sheehy.
"Things have shifted in people's minds," she told Sheehy. "I’m getting the sense that the tide is going out, in a way. It feels like it's slipping away," she added.
Before the count for the European Elections began, Grace spent time at SETU Arena to support her sister, Lola O'Sullivan, who topped the poll in the Tramore - City West Local Election Area with the Fine Gael Councillor re-elected on the first count. Being in Waterford on a Sunday morning is not unusual for well-travelled MEP Grace as she still makes time to coach every week in the coastal town.
The MEP is clinging on to hope now to take one of five seats in Europe. She told the News & Star that if it's the case that she doesn't get re-elected she'll be extremely disappointed after all the work she had put in and changes she has made over the last term.
However, she said, on the other side of things, she has "parked" her entire family life for this role and would enjoy spending more time with her daughters again. O'Sullivan added she would particularly like to be more present in her daughter Eimear's life, who has special needs.
As the count in Cork continues, a first count saw Sean Kelly (FG) elected, exceeding the quota with 8,000 votes to spare. Now awaiting count 11, Kelly is closely followed by Billy Kelleher (FF), while Michael McNamara (Ind) is also polling strongly. The other two seats see four candidates battling it out, including Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (FF), Mick Wallace (Inds4Change), Kathleen Funchion (SF), and Waterford native, still very much in the race, Grace O'Sullivan (FG).
