Outgoing Fine Gael TD Marcella Corcoran Kennedy has been elected on the sixth count in Offaly. From Clareen near Birr, the mother of two was a member of Offaly County Council between 1999 and 2009. She was elected to the Dáil in 2011, winning a seat formerly held by Olwyn Enright. During her time in the Dáil she campaigned for marriage equality. In July, 2014 she was appointed chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Corcoran Kennedy served as chairwoman of the Midlands Regional Authority and of the Birr Theatre and Arts Centre. She was also a director of West Offaly Enterprise Fund Ltd and a member of the West Offaly Community Forum.

– EOGHAN MacCONNELL