Independents in firing line of big parties as the newly elected to be scrutinised on policies

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin to take aim at new election winners

Independent Ireland's Ciaran Mullooly in Newbridge, Co Kildare. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Fionnán Sheahan

An independent party is surely a contradiction in terms. But Independent ­Ireland is now as big as the Green Party at council level – and even bigger on the European stage.

The “party” elected 23 councillors in the local elections. In the Europeans, it had two celebrity candidates in the mix for seats, with Niall Boylan falling short in Dublin and Ciaran Mullooly pushing Sinn Féin to the brink in ­Ireland ­Midlands-North West.