Fine Gael’s Bernard Durkan will be the father of the 33rd Dail.
Durkan, who will celebrate his 75th birthday in March, was re-elected in Kildare North on Sunday.
He was first elected to the Dail in 1981 but lost his seat in February the following year.
That was a tumultuous period in Irish politics.
There were three general elections in just over 16 months.
Mayo born Durkan regained his Dail seat in November, 1982 and has been re-elected in every election since.
He was a Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare in the 1990s.
Based in Maynooth has maintained one of the best attendance records in Dail Eireann.
Over the years he has regularly topped the poll for asking the most parliamentary questions each Dail term.
