Dublin Bay South constituency profile: Ryan departure will ease pressure on Bacik and O’Callaghan

Outgoing TDs: Chris Andrews, Jim O’Callaghan, Ivana Bacik, Eamon Ryan
Who are the candidates running in the Dublin Bay South constituency? Chris Andrews (Sinn Féin), Jim O’Callaghan (Fianna Fáil), Ivana Bacik (Labour Party), James Geoghegan (Fine Gael), Hazel Chu (Green Party), Eoin Hayes (Social Democrats), Emma Blain (Fine Gael), Kate O’Connell (Independent), Nick Delehanty (Independent), Alan Healy (Aontú), Lauralee Doyle (The Irish People), Michael McGrath (Independent), Brigid Purcell (People Before Profit)
Another cluster of high-profile candidates in a constituency that takes in Leinster House itself, the southeast inner city, as well as the affluent suburban villages of Sandymount, Donnybrook, Ranelagh, Rathmines and Rathgar.
The decision of former Greens leader Eamon Ryan to stand down will ease the pressure on Ivana Bacik and Jim O’Callaghan to cope with the likely return of a Fine Gael TD here, more likely to be Dublin Lord Mayor James Geoghegan than his running mate Emma Blain. Fine Gael’s chances of taking two seats will suffer from the decision of its former TD Kate O’Connell – after weeks of negotiation – to run as an Independent.
Ryan’s would-be successor for the Greens is Hazel Chu, a strong vote-getter in repeated local elections. Those elections were a warning to Sinn Féin – but it would signal a very bad day for the party everywhere if Chris Andrews was to lose his seat here. Somebody has to lose out, though: with FG, FF, SF, Labour and the Greens scrapping it out, it looks like five into four here.
Possible outcome: FG – 1, FF – 1, LAB – 1 , SF – 1