FIVE STAR
RESULTSinn Féin President Gerry Adams has praised the party's 37
candidates, their families and election teams who worked round the clock to
achieve last week's historic breakthrough in the 26-County elections.
The Tally in
Tallaght
BY BRENDAN KERR
Councillor Mark Daly and party leader
Gerry Adams hoist Seán Crowe high as the bubbly flows to celebrate the first
of five Sinn Féin seats in Leinster House
Ó Caoláin
back in style
Anyone who had the opportunity to witness the Sinn Féin
team outside the count centre at Cavan Leisure Complex on Saturday could
only be astounded at the professionalism of the operation. It was clear to
all that this team knew what they were at; there was a job to be done and
everybody was aware of what their role was.
Ferris tops
the poll
BY MICK DERRIG
When I arrived at nine in the morning the
only team assembling behind the big wooden fence in the Brandon Hotel's
conference centre was Sinn Féin's - perhaps the other people just didn't
want to face what was about to unfold.
Morgan
regains Agnew's seat
BY BRIAN CAMPBELL
Arthur Morgan's supporters
could afford to smile at 11am on Saturday when the tallies showed he was
certain of a seat, but it wasn't until 1am the next morning that they got
the chance to cheer. And when they did, they lifted the roof of the count
centre. After the long hours of watching endless transfers and eliminations,
the pent-up jubilation erupted in full-throated roars from the leaping
throng of republicans. And they kept it up while Arthur was hoisted aloft
amid the waving tricolours.
Ó Snodaigh
abú
BY MARTIN SPAIN
If ever there was a candidate who would make a
good TD it is Aengus Ó Snodaigh. I have known him for nearly 15 years now
and I can honesty say that he never ceases to surprise. He is truly an
activist for all seasons. He has been a student agitator, a republican
demonstrator, a writer, this paper's sub editor, on occasion this paper's
layout artist, a committed Irish language activist, a researcher par
excellence, not to mention political representative, to name just a few of
the strings to his bow. Oh, yes, and he was a formidable rugby player in his
day also.
Sinn Féin
vote surge
BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN
With 121,039 votes in the 26-County
Leinster House elections and five TDs, three of whom topped the poll in
their respective constituency counts, Sinn Féin set yet another record in
its ongoing electoral development. After weeks of negative media comment and
deliberate use of opinion polls to undermine Sinn Féin support, the party
vote still surged to a new high.
Three days of
hard work, elation and heartbreak
BY MARTIN SPAIN
It began last
Friday the way it would continue for the rest of polling day, with a
generous drenching by the elements. I was saturated when I popped around the
corner to the Clonliffe Road in Dublin to do my duty, the first of many
soakings in a long day. Having wielded the black pencil for Nicky Kehoe, I
fired up my motor and headed for Navan. I had volunteered to spend the day
in Joe Reilly's constituency ferrying voters to and from polling
stations
Election of
the Rains sweeps old opposition away
BY MÍCHEÁL MacDONNCHA
The
General Election of 2002 will be remembered as the Election of the Rains
when, despite torrential downpours all day, voters in the 26 Counties turned
out to change the composition of the Dáil in a most unexpected way. For Sinn
Féin, the Election of the Rains has been as important a milestone as the
Election of the Snows in 1917, when Count Plunkett and his fellow
republicans battled through drifts of snow to win the North Roscommon
by-election. The result heralded a Sinn Féin landslide the following year.
Comments: 8:29:34 PM 
