Louth's People Before Profit candidate James Renaghan said the votes he received was “an endorsement of our radical left message”.

People Before Profit candidate James Renaghan, who was eliminated on count 12 with 2,278 votes, said it was “an endorsement of our radical left message”.

James, speaking to the Dundalk Democrat, said: “As it was my first go; and realistically nobody knew me six months ago; to get 2,278 votes after transfers is an endorsement of our radical left message.

“It is objectively a tough terrain right now, there is not a lot of struggle in society, it is not like during the water charges or progressive movements like Repeal, Occupy Dame Street or marriage equality.

“There is broad but soft anti-immigrant sentiment, and we really want to push back against that, that is why we ran on that platform.”

James said they want to get the message out to people that it is the “Fianna Fail, Fiann Gael policies that are leaving people in deprivation, not other poor people coming here seeking asylum”.

He concluded: “Having not done this before, one day we would go out canvassing and it would be really good, we would think we could do alright and get 3% and then other days people were just totally apathetic, which is understandable, and we thought we are going to do really bad.

“So overall we are pretty happy, we are up a full percentage point in Louth from the last time and we have crucially recruited a lot of activists to People Before Profit through this.

"And we will be out campaigning over the next five years on the endorsement that people believe in our message because the real power in society will be on the picket line, protesting, that is where it will come from.”