Portarlington woman Elaine Mullally, who owns Clown Around play centre in the town, was among the first confirmed candidates in Laois for this General Election and certainly the first of the new faces.

A founding member of Independent Ireland in early 2023, she was an influential figure in their Local and European Election campaigns – but parted ways shortly after.

All candidates were asked to address the same three items: how they came to be a candidate, what they would like to see achieved in the lifetime of the next Government and why someone should vote for them.