AND with that, the local elections for Limerick City and County Council are over and done with for another five years. The votes are counted (and recounted in one district) and the new shape for our local representatives over the next term has been set in stone.
It was a long weekend for candidates, as well as their friends and families, with thrills, spills, and tears of joy and sadness shed along the way.
Fine Gael took home the biggest win of the weekend with 13 of the 40 council seats, followed by Fianna Fáil with 10. However the biggest surprise of the weekend, perhaps especially for Sinn Féin, were the Independents, who took seven seats between the two won by Independent’s Ireland and the five other Independents.
Social Democrats doubled their foothold in Limerick, taking home two seats, seeing a reversal of fortune with the Green Party, who lost one of the two seats they had in the last term.
Labour managed to retain their three seats, along with the three councillors who held them.
It was a downtrodden weekend for Sinn Féin, who failed to return any candidates before long into Sunday. Of 11 candidates run by the party, who were expected to perform strongly, just three made it past the post.
Overall, there were no major shakeups across the six districts, with one district in particular (Newcastle West) re-electing the exact same six councillors to sit over the previous term.
Despite the party holding the biggest majority at the end of the weekend, one Fine Gael candidate shot ice into the veins of already seated candidates in City West when he requested a full recount.
First-time candidate Michael MacCurtain was on the edge of elimination, trailing a hair’s breadth behind Independent Ireland’s Esther Aherne (formerly Fianna Fáil), triggering him to call for the recount. Returning officer Vincent Murray obliged, and, following the recount, the Fine Gael man was eliminated.
Just after midnight on Sunday, all six districts had completed their full count, and the 40 elected local representatives for the next five years were revealed.
Adare-Rathkeale
- Bridie Collins (FF)
- Tommy Hartigan (IND-I)
- Stephen Keary (FG)
- John O’Donoghue (IND-I)
- Adam Teskey (FG)
- Ger Ward (FF)
Cappamore-Kilmallock
- PJ Carey (SF)
- Gregory Conway (FG)
- Tommy O’Sullivan (FG)
- Eddie Ryan (IND)
- Martin Ryan (FF)
- Noreen Stokes (FG)
- Brigid Teefy (IND)
Newcastle West
- Michael Collins (FF)
- Francis Foley (FF)
- Liam Galvin (FG)
- Tom Ruddle (FG)
- Jerome Scanlan (IND)
- John Sheahan (FG)
City East
- Peter Doyle (FG)
- Ursula Gavan (SF)
- Seán Hartigan (GP)
- Sarah Kiely (FG)
- Joe Pond (FF)
- Elena Secas (LAB)
- Catherine Slattery (FF)
City North
- Sarah Beasley (AON)
- Sharon Benson (SF)
- Frankie Daly (IND)
- Shane Hickey O’Mara (SD)
- Kieran O’Hanlon (FF)
- Olivia O’Sullivan (FG)
- Conor Sheehan (LAB)
City West
- Daniel Butler (FG)
- Maria Donoghue (IND)
- Fergus Kilcoyne (FF)
- Joe Leddin (LAB)
- Dan McSweeney (FG)
- Elisa O’Donovan (SD)
- Azad Talukder (FF)
As counters, political afficionados, and anxious candidates return to the count centre at Limerick Racecourse this Monday morning, the count for the inaugural, historic election for Limerick’s first directly-elected mayor is set to begin at 9am.
Stay with the Limerick Post for all the action as it unfolds.
