Brian Stanley has been re-elected to the Dail after Count 8 in the Laois Constituency at the General Election.
The former Sinn Fein man, now an Independent Republican, took one of the three available seats behind Willie Aird (Fine Gael) and Sean Fleming (Fianna Fail).
It brings to an end a couple of months for the Laois politician that have been filled with controversy.
It all began when complaint was made about him by a member of Sinn Fein on the day before nominations to run as a TD for the party closed in.
After that, Stanley resigned from Sinn Fein following an internal investigation into the debate.
The pair have traded blows over and back in the months that followed with Stanley running his own campaign.
In the end, Stanley was elected without reaching the quota – achieving 9,512 votes.
That is because neither the surplus from Willie Aird or Sean Fleming could see Sinn Fein’s Maria McCormack, who finished fourth, catch him.
First elected in 2011, Stanley has now retained his seat following success in 2016 and 2020.
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