Irish general election, 2002

1. The re-election of the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat government, the first occasion since 1969 when an Irish government won re-election;
2. The meltdown in Fine Gael support, which saw the main opposition party drop from 54 to 31 seats, lose all but two seats in Dublin, and see the defeat of almost all its Front Bench, including its Deputy Leader, Jim Mitchell;
3. The electoral success of Sinn Féin, which increased its seat number from 1 to 5;
4. The failure of the Irish Labour Party, contrary to all expectations, to increase its seat total;
5. The election of a large number of independent candidates to Dáil Éireann.

In the immediate aftermath of the election, Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan[?] announced his resignation from the leadership. All other potential leaders having lost their seat, Enda Kenny was chosen as the new leader.