GE2024... Serious contenders leading the charge to make it Independents’ Day in Meath

With independents doing very well in the national polls, could this translate into Meath gaining its first independent TD when the ballot boxes are counted on Saturday?

Meath East or Meath West has never elected an independent, nor was there one in the old Meath constituency before it was split, so is GE24 going to be the one to change that?

Seven independents are putting themselves forward between the two constituencies with five running in Meath East and two on the ballot paper in Meath West. Three of those are sitting county councillors - Noel French in Meath West and Gillian Toole and Joe Bonner in Meath East, all with strong profiles and working off the solid base of poll topping performances in June's local elections.

The other non-party candidates include Charles Bobbet, Sivakumar Mururgadoss and Raymond Westlake in Meath East and Damien Reilly in Meath West.

Gillian Toole said she is entirely self-funded and this is a measure of her commitment that she is investing her own money.

"My spend is not even 50 per cent of what each party can spend on their candidates for a four seater," she said.

With a number of other independent councillors backing her, Toole is grateful for support and help with canvassing. Noel French is financing his campaign himself and says he virtually self-funded it himself last time also. In terms of manpower, he says he has a small team around him and with limited time for canvassing the vast constituency, he took the approach of having 'meet the candidate' events in the towns outside his Trim and south Meath base including Kilmessan, Athboy, Oldcastle and Navan, to give people the opportunity to meet with him.

Joe Bonner has been a councillor for 20 years and is a seasoned campaigner getting ready to contest his fourth general election as an independent.