Election 2020: Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Green Party)

It is scarcely nine months since Marc Ó Cathasaigh became a Waterford councillor, and the 43-year-old has, at one stroke, changed the county’s political landscape by becoming its first Green TD.

A national school teacher known for his courteous straight talking, Mr Ó Cathasaigh wants to take a long-term approach to biodiversity and climate change, which he attributes to raising three young boys under 10 with his wife Roisin. He grew up in Butlerstown just outside Waterford city, but topped the poll in his local ward of Tramore.

This time around, he was sixth on first preferences but benefited from formidable transfers from Sinn Féin and People Before Profit – and a greenwave which elected fellow Tramore local Grace O’Sullivan as an MEP last year.

Joined by O’Sullivan when the seventh count administered the coup de grace for Fine Gael, Ó Cathasaigh – the surname means vigilant – was magnanimous in victory, admitting he remains on a steep learning curve.