Gabrielle declared elected on seventh count
Gabrielle McFadden was surrounded by her family as, just before 1 am, the returning officer for the Longford Westmeath constituency, Imelda Brannigan, formally declared her elected.
But it was an occasion tinged with poignancy, as Gabrielle's opportunity arose only through the premature death of her sister, Nicky McFadden, who was elected to the current Dáil, but shortly afterwards diagnosed with motor neuron disease.
"I wish tonight I was standing in the count centre in Athlone, and that I was topping the poll for the local election - and I had Nicky by my side. But I don't," she said in her victory speech.
Gabrielle was elected with a final vote of 20,058, coming in comfortably ahead of her nearest rival, Fianna Fáil's Aengus O'Rourke, whose final vote came to 14,581.
The declaration of Gabrielle as the area's new TD came without her having reached the quota, which was 24,502.