Ryan to the slaughter and hello, Mary Lou
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Saturday May 16 2009
FIANNA Fail is on course for humiliation in Dublin in the Euro elections, with sitting MEP Eoin Ryan likely to lose his seat.
Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald, also an MEP, should sensationally scoop the last berth in the three-seater on left-wing transfers, according to an 'Irish Times' opinion poll.
Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell and Labour Party MEP Proinsias de Rossa will both be returned to Europe on first preference support of 26pc and 21pc respectively.
Mary Lou currently holds third place on 14pc with Ryan on 11pc, while FF second candidate Eibhlin Byrne has 5pc. Her transfers will not be enough to outweigh the likely final destination of the 8pc support for independent Patricia McKenna and the 7pc of socialist Joe Higgins.
The 6pc of poorly performing Green Deirdre de Burca will prove crucial. She will be eliminated early, but Green votes have been slow to transfer for FF. Caroline Simons of Libertas has just 1pc support and independent Emmanuel Sweeney is not registering.
The initial showing of former Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna -- now running as an independent -- will be a huge embarrassment to her former colleagues.
She currently looks likely to poll more than 33pc more votes than the Greens' official party candidate Deidre de Burca.
This is likely to prompt a GP inquest into why a Wicklow woman was fielded in Dublin with no Green candidate in Ireland East -- leaving a seat there to be filched by former Green Nessa Childers for the Labour Party.
- Senan Molony Deputy Political Editor
