1997: FF 50.36%; FG 30.08%; Lab 3.59%; PDs 6.93%;GP 3.59%; NP 1.87% ; CS 1.06%; Others 2.51%.Outgoing TDs: Sile De Valera, Tony Killeen and Brendan Daly (FF); Donal Carey (FG).
Fine Gael's ambitions for an extra seat in Clare may suffer if there is a national swing against them, so it will be vital that their three candidates secure more than 30% of the first preference vote for the dream to live on until the later counts. Could the impact of Fine Gael Leader Michael Noonan's performance in the TV debate against the Taoiseach have offered a last-minute boost to the chances of his candidates, Donal Carey, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn and Pat Breen? Will Carey have gained sympathy from failing to get a nomination and having had to face the embarrassment of being added to the ticket. Has Michael Corley offered hope to Labour that it might, in time, regain a seat here? Fianna Fail's Sile De Valera , Tony Killeen and Brendan Daly stayed within 800 first preferences of each other in 1997, and similar management is needed now since it will be hard to improve much on the party's 50% 1997 first preference share.