Waterford's Grace O'Sullivan loses EU seat after long battle

Waterford's Grace O'Sullivan has lost her seat in the European Parliament for Ireland South.

The Green Party candidate lost her seat as MEP on the 18th count of the election results. 

In total, Grace received 69,197 votes before being excluded following the elimination of John Mullins (FG). 

Her votes will now be distributed between the remaining candidates, with Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Fianna Fáil) and Mick Wallace (Independents4Change) fighting it out for the fifth and final seat. Kathleen Funchion (Sinn Féin) looks poised to take the fourth seat and Independent Michael McNamara the third seat.

Grace gestured towards conceding her seat on Sunday, June 9, to RTÉ's Pascal Sheehy, saying: "Things have shifted in people's minds. I’m getting the sense that the tide is going out, in a way. It feels like it's slipping away."

The Tramore mother of three has been a dedicated environmental and social justice activist for decades. Before entering politics, she was an activist for Green Peace. 

Her sister Lola O'Sullivan (Fine Gael) is Councillor for Tramore-Waterford City West, having topped the poll on the first count to be relected to Waterford City and County Council. Grace was by her sister's side at the count centre at SETU Arena to celebrate her win.