2026 Galway West by-election

Under Article 12.6.2° of the Constitution of Ireland, a member of either House of the Oireachtas who is elected as president is deemed to have vacated that seat. Connolly was declared elected as president on 25 October 2025. Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011, the writ for the by-election must be issued within six months of the vacancy.^[9] The writ of election to fill the vacancy was agreed by the Dáil on 22 April.^[10] On the following day, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage set the election date for 22 May.^{[11][12][13][14]}

The Dáil constituency of Galway West elects five TDs. It spans the western half of County Galway, taking in Galway city, the Galway Gaeltacht, Oranmore, Oughterard and Clifden.^[15] At the 2024 general election, Galway West elected one Sinn Féin, one Fianna Fáil, one Fine Gael and two independent TDs (Catherine Connolly and Noel Grealish).^[16][17]

On 28 October 2025, Independent Ireland stated that councillor Noel Thomas, formerly of Fianna Fáil, was selected as their candidate for the by-election.^[18] The Green Party selected former councillor Niall Murphy as their candidate on 6 December 2025.^[19][20]

Independent candidates who indicated an intention to stand during January 2026 included independent councillor Thomas Welby, formerly of the Progressive Democrats,^[21] and Sheila Garrity, former campaign manager for Catherine Connolly.^[22] Local councillor Helen Ogbu was selected as the Labour Party's candidate in January 2026.^[23][24]

In February 2026, the Social Democrats selected Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich (a parliamentary assistant to TD Sinéad Gibney) as its candidate.^[25] Aontú selected Orla Nugent as their candidate in February 2026.^[26] Senator Seán Kyne was selected as the Fine Gael candidate on 22 February 2026.^[27] On 24 February 2026 People Before Profit announced Denman Rooke as their candidate.^[28]

Despite speculation about a joint left ticket, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party would stand its own candidate, but she reportedly stated that she would like to see a transfer pact between left-wing candidates.^[29] On 19 March 2026 the party selected former city councillor and Galway West branch chairperson Mark Lohan as its candidate.^[30] On 25 March 2026, Mike Cubbard, an independent councillor and Mayor of Galway since June 2025, declared that he would contest the election.^[31] On 29 March 2026, Oranmore-based councillor Cillian Keane was selected as the Fianna Fáil candidate.^[32] On 22 April 2026, A.J. Cahill of the Irish People party^[33] and Michael Ryan, an independent candidate, both announced their candidacies.^[34]

Following the election of Catherine Connolly as president of Ireland, a new Galway-based political group called Tonn na Clé (Left Wave) began promoting a "vote left, transfer left" pact.^[35] In March 2026, it was reported that six candidates in Galway West proposed to agree a "Vote Left, Transfer Left" pact. The potential agreement, facilitated by Tonn na Clé, involves candidates from the Labour Party, Sinn Féin, the Green Party, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit, and Garrity, who is an independent.^[36]

It was also reported in March 2026 that there would be no Irish language candidate debates on TG4 or Raidió na Gaeltachta as only three candidates — Kyne, Nugent, and Nic Fhionnlaoich — are "sufficiently fluent" in Irish.^[37]

Research by the Hope and Courage Collective published in the weeks after the election found that Helen Ogbu had been a target of sustained online harassment, racism and intimidation, including attempts to damage her reputation and challenge her legitimacy as a candidate. Both Sheila Garrity and Denman Rooke were also targeted with claims that they had "no right" to run in the election.^[38]

The by-election was won by Seán Kyne of Fine Gael.^[41] The by-election was only the fourth time in 44 years that a member of a governing political party was victorious,^[7] and was the only time of those four occasions it did not follow the death of a standing TD of the same party.^[8] The Irish Times characterised Kyne's win as a rare government byelection victory driven more by Seán Kyne's personal reputation and local track record than by party loyalty. Political Correspondent Harry McGee argued that Kyne's long-standing presence across both urban and rural Galway West, alongside his focus on infrastructure and regional projects, helped him avoid the anti-government backlash that often dominates byelections. The Irish Times also noted that weak opposition campaigns, transfer patterns between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour voters, and concerns around rival Noel Thomas's links to fuel protests and immigration views all benefited Kyne.^[7]