Brian Hayes Fine Gael Paul Murphy Anti-Austerity Alliance A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann Dublin South-West constituency in Ireland on Friday, 10 October 2014,[1] following the election of Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) Brian Hayes to the European Parliament.

[2] The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011 stipulates that a by-election in Ireland must be held within six months of a vacancy occurring.

[4] Murphy's victory came as a surprise as Sinn Féin had performed extremely well in local elections the previous May, winning 50.3% of the first preference vote in the Tallaght South LEA and 32% in the Tallaght Central LEA,[5][6] and were widely predicted to win the seat.

In the wake of a poor local election result, Labour and Fine Gael were not considered contenders for the seat while Fianna Fáil largely focused its resources on the Roscommon–South Leitrim by-election.

[10] Murphy's victory brought the issue of water charges to the forefront of political debate in the run-up to the 2016 general election, and contributed to a shift in Sinn Féin's position to one of outright opposition.