Croke Park, Cloyne, Moneygall
The general election of 25 February delivered a decisive rejection of Fianna Fáil, which had governed through the property boom, banking collapse and the State’s entry into the EU–IMF assistance programme late in 2010. Fine Gael emerged as the largest party with 76 seats in the 166-seat Dáil; Labour won 37, while Fianna Fáil fell to 20. The result remade the party balance of the State, although no party commanded a majority alone.