The election was won by Pádraig O'Sullivan, a Fianna Fáil member of Cork County Council. Sheila O'Callaghan was co-opted to O'Sullivan's seat on Cork County Council following his election to the Dáil.
Three other by-elections were held on the same day, in Dublin Fingal, Dublin Mid-West, and Wexford.[1] The Electoral (Amendment) Act 204 stipulates that a by-election in Ireland must be held within six months of a vacancy occurring.[2] The by-election writ was moved in the Dáil on 7 November 2019.[3][4]
In mid-November it was reported that Fine Gael's Dara Murphy would be resigning his seat in the same constituency in December, to become deputy chef de cabinet of European CommissionerMariya Gabriel. The Irish Times reported regret within Fine Gael that Murphy had not resigned sooner, which would have allowed one single transferable vote by-election to fill both vacancies, increasing the likelihood that Fine Gael would have retained a seat.[6]
The number of votes to qualify for reimbursement of election expenses was 3,179 (one-quarter of the quota), which was reached by O'Sullivan, Burke, Gould, and Maher.[7]