Kildare North Election 2024: Who are the candidates and who could make gains? Everything you need to know before voting

Former co-leader of the Social Democrats Catherine Murphy is stepping away from the political arena after serving as a TD in the constituency for close to 20 years. A consistent poll topper she recently, along with Roisin Shorthall, stepped aside as co-leader of the Social Democrats to make way for young blood Holly Cairns as she presents a new and fresh face for the party.

Taking her place on the ticket is Cllr Aidan Farrelly who has worked as a Youth and Community Development worker in the area for several years.

But while one TD exits the arena another TD will remain to fight on in the form of Fine Gael's Bernard Durkan who at the ripe old age of 80 has decided to run again this time around.

Other incumbent candidates include Fianna Fáil's Minister of State at the Department of Transport James Lawless. And on the opposition benches is Sinn Féin's Reada Cronin who in the past has struggled electorally but managed to come second in 2020 with 17.1pc of the vote.

Current TDs (four seats) Reada Cronin (SF) Bernard Durkan (FG) James Lawless (FF) Catherine Murphy (SD)

Who could make gains here? Kildare North has always enjoyed a strong centre-left vote with Labour and Greens outperforming their national averages. This has been replicated with the Social Democrats but remains to be seen whether this is support for the party or former co-leader Catherine Murphy's strong personal vote from her long tenure as a TD in the constituency.

One would expect the replacement Soc Dem candidate vote share to decline particularly on account of poll-topping councillor Independent Cllr Bill Clear's decision to run as an Independent following failure to be selected.

The Social Democrats and Labour both significantly overperformed their national averages in the local elections this year, and it is likely there is a seat in play between Aidan Farrelly (SD), Bill Clear (Ind) and Angela Feeney (Lab) where one could expect to see strong transfers, particularly if Mr Clear is eliminated prior to Farrelly or Feeney.

Fianna Fail have historically overperformed the national vote average while Fine Gael have historically slightly underperformed their national average in the constituency.

The four electoral districts added saw strong Fianna Fail and in particular Fine Gael voter turnout and an exceptionally weak Sinn Fein performance in 2020 and 2016. Fine Gael's 3 strong candidates distributed in a balance manner around the constituency. Cllr. Evie Sammon is most likely to benefit from the inclusion of the new Electoral Districts as they possess strong national Fine Gael voting trends and she has been their local councillor since 2019.

Are there any boundary changes that could be crucial? The constituency of Kildare North has gained one more seat going from a four-seater to a five. Independent Councillor Bill Clear will likely benefit from the inclusion of the remainder of the Naas LEA into the constituency.

On a good day and with the inclusion of the new seat Fine Gael are likely to win 2 seats but a 3-candidate strategy is wrought with risk. Had the constituency been a 5-seater in 2020 Fianna Fail would have picked up the seat. Sinn Fein tend to underperform and at current polling Reada Cronin is in danger. Sinn Fein lack any councillors in the constituency.

The remaining left-wing parties including the Social Democrats and Labour have a seat up for grabs between them which will require strong transfers.

What issues are under the spotlight? The area usually has a diverse range of politicians from various political parties comprising both the two main parties and other opposition parties. A commuter belt heartland in which those who work and travel to the capital city regularly along the Naas bypass is naturally dominated by Ireland's perennial infrastructural problems.

Jobs will also be a key issue given the presence of FDI investment in the county especially Intel's plant in Leixlip which could come under jeopardy given the company's financial issues. Proposals to create a department dedicated to infrastructure will be watched closely.

Other local issues such as the provision of GP places and health more generally especially planned upgrades at Naas hospital along with housing affordability will be front and centre in party manifestos.

Candidates: Reada Cronin (SF)*

Bernard Durkan (FG)*

Joe Neville (FG)

James Lawless (FF)*

Aidan Farrelly (SD)

Vincent P Martin (GP)

Naoise Ó Cearúil (FF)

Evie Sammon (FG)

Angela Feeney (LP)

Bill Clear (Independent)

Una O'Connor (Aontú)

Avril Corcoran (The Irish People)