Omagh counts: Sinn Féin swept to victory in the two Westminster constituencies counted in Omagh yesterday. Pat Doherty fought off a challenge from Kieran Deeny in West Tyrone and Michelle Gildernew increased her majority in Fermanagh-South Tyrone.
Deeny, who had campaigned against the downgrading of the hospital in Omagh, said he had a very difficult campaign but had put up "a heck of a challenge" to come second to Doherty. Deeny won 11,905 votes - almost double his 2003 Assembly election vote.Doherty's 16,910 was almost 3,000 votes down on his previous Westminster performance.
Deeny called on the parties to work together for better health facilities. "This huge issue here in the centre of our province, this huge issue in the biggest county of the six, will not go away. We have a situation of healthcare professionals who are expected to work in an area of Northern Ireland with no facilities."
Yesterday's result was bitterly disappointing for the SDLP which saw its support in West Tyrone fall by almost 10,000 votes since the last Westminster election.
Its candidate Eugene McMenamin sought the restructure of the SDLP organisation in Omagh. He believed the majority of Deeny's votes had come from the SDLP. "At the end of the day, I stood as an SDLP candidate without the support from my SDLP councillors." It beggared belief that the people had again voted for someone who would not be representing them in Westminster, McMenamin said.
Meanwhile, a victorious Pat Doherty pointed out that polling day was the 24th anniversary of Bobby Sands's death "and I think that was an added inspiration to all of us". The hunger-striker won the Fermanagh-South Tyrone seat in 1981.
This "phase of the struggle" was about looking into the future, Doherty said. It was about "developing peace, developing unity, developing towards the reunification of this country. Because that's what we are about but we want to do it on the basis of equality and including everybody".
Four years ago, against all predictions, Michelle Gildernew won the Fermanagh-South Tyrone seat with just 53 votes to spare. Yesterday she got 18,638, widening the gap with her nearest rival - the DUP's Eileen Foster - by 4,582 votes.
The pregnant Sinn Féin candidate was flanked by her young son and husband as she made her victory speech. "This has been a good election for Sinn Féin, in spite of the pressure and difficulties that we faced over the last number of months and the tactics used by other parties and by the Dublin Government in particular," she said.
Gildernew called for a resumption of the Northern Ireland Assembly, saying it was a major issue on the doorsteps. "Direct rule ministers are bad for the people of my constituency and we need to put directly accountable politicians back into decision-making roles."
Arlene Foster was continually heckled by Sinn Féin supporters as she addressed the crowd. Taunts of "loser" and "dry your eyes" were shouted as she said it was regrettable that the UUP did not agree to run a single Unionist candidate.
"This is a disappointing day for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. It could have been so much different. It's frustrating for the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone because the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party went down a road of 'anybody but Arlene'. Well, they got Michelle Gildernew."
