Complex sentence: At the time Gilmore was the most popular leader in the state and despite Gilmore topping the poll Bacik only got 10.1% of first preference votes and failed to be elected in what turned out to be the most successful election in the Irish Labour Party's history.
Split into simpler sentences: At the time Gilmore was the most popular leader in the state. Despite Gilmore topping the poll Bacik only got 10.1% of first preference votes and failed to be elected in the most successful election in the Irish Labour Party's history.