senator Deirdre Clune resigned from the Cultural and Educational Panel in the Seanad after being elected to the European Parliamentfor the South constituency at the 2014 European Parliament election. The by-election to fill the casual vacancy as its electorate the 225 members of the Oireachtas; nomination by nine members was required to be added to the ballot. Craughwell put himself forward in August 2014 as an independent candidate, initially a symbolic gesture to protest against the usual practice of the government using its parliamentary majority to secure the election of its chosen candidate. Craughwell secured nomination from members of the technical group and Fianna Fáil. On 12 September 2014, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the GaeltachtHeather Humphreys wrote to John McNulty, a businessman who had run unsuccessfully for Donegal County Council in the 2014 local elections, offering him a place on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art ; he accepted on 15 September, and before nominations closed on 18 September Fine Gael nominated him for the by-election to fill the Seanad vacancy. Opposition politicians protested that McNulty's IMMA appointment was abusive and had been made solely to bolster his eligibility for the Cultural and Educational Panel; Humphreys took responsibility for the appointment and refused to state whether others had pressed her to make it. McNulty resigned from the IMMA board on 25 September, stating its rules prohibited board members from running for election. On 23 February 2016, in a televised debate before the 2016 general election, Enda Kenny appeared to concede for the first time that it was his decision to nominate McNulty to IMMA, later backtracking somewhat. On 30 September, McNulty withdrew his name from consideration in the by-election, stating that "to contest the election would be an ongoing distraction from the critical work of Government"; however, as the period to formally withdraw had elapsed, his name remained on the ballot paper and he requested that electors not vote for him. Many electors voted for McNulty regardless, but Craughwell won the election on 10 October 2014. Craughwell tried twice to join the Independent Seanad group, but it refused to admit him. He suggested the group, mainly Taoiseach's nominees, was compromising its independence and supporting the government. He later joined the Independent Alliance. He did not endorse Alliance members' criticism of the government's January 2016 appointment of David Begg, as Chair of the Pensions Authority. Craughwell ran in the Seanad election in April 2016 and was elected this time for the Labour Panel. Craughwell left the Independent Alliance during the government formation talks in 2016. After raising the HPV vaccine in the Seanad, he distanced himself from anti-vaccine campaigners.
2018 presidential campaign
Craughwell indicated that he would seek a nomination for the 2018 presidential election, but later withdrew his intention, claiming that the main political parties were "working together to deny the citizens of this Republic the opportunity to select their next President by means of an election". He would have needed the support of four local authorities or 20 Oireachtas members to be nominated. He defended advising local councillors on how best to "maximise" their mileage expenses.
