It is a very sweet victory for Martin Browne, who came second in the Tipperary constituency after poll topper Michael Lowry. His 12.23 per cent showing, a stellar 10,004 first-preference votes, is a roaring reversal of his defeat in the local elections last year when he lost his county council seat.

He received 662 first-preference votes in Cashel, compared with 3,005 for the Fine Gael poll-topper in the Cashel-Tipperary electoral area, and came ninth on the seven-seat panel.

A resident of Cashel for the past 30 years, he is married to Helen Browne and has four adult children and six grandchildren. A long-term community activist, like many party and other political colleagues he is involved in a range of community groups.