Hutch fails to inspire a mass influx of potential new votes
Gangland figure Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has failed in his bid to register large numbers of new voters ahead of the by-election in Dublin Central next week.
Mr Hutch, 63, who narrowly missed out on a Dáil seat in the November 2024 general election, has been urging people in the capital’s north inner city to register to vote in next Friday’s ballot.
At events in the constituency and on social media, Mr Hutch called on his supporters to make sure they were registered to vote to help elect him as a TD.
Gerry Hutch. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews.ie
However, finalised electoral figures from Dublin City Council show that a total of just 713 new voters were registered across the constituency.
Mr Hutch had 781 fewer votes than Labour’s Marie Sherlock when she took the fourth and final seat in Dublin Central in the general election.
There are 57,619 eligible voters in the constituency, meaning the increase equates to little more than 1.2% of the total. Cabra had the biggest increase in the number of new voters, with 103 registered in Cabra East and 94 in Cabra West.
Marie Sherlock. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
There were 102 new registrations in the North Dock area, which is comprised of working-class homes and new modern apartments. The working-class areas of Ballybough and Mountjoy had 47 and 50 new registrations, respectively, with a further 15 in the North City.
Meanwhile, the inner city areas of Arran Quay and Inns Quay had increases of 91 and 57 respectively. There were also new voters registered in the more affluent parts of the constituency, with 70 registrations in Drumcondra South and 60 in the Botanic electoral areas.
An opinion poll that was carried out for The Irish Times last night placed Mr. Hutch in third place in the by-election with 14% of the vote, and 8% of the second-preference vote.
