The recent elections saw a considerable focus on immigration, however the chances of candidates running with this as their primary issue capturing a significant hold of the local government were slim, albeit set to see some increments as the matter had never been more present on the ballot.
Mainstream parties generally overshadowed those emphasising immigration policy critiques, they couldn’t wrestle control of any councils however they did manage to accumulate thousands of first-choice votes nationwide. A number of far-right and anti-immigration parties presented a large slate of candidates for the voters’ consideration.
Several of these candidates and parties didn’t perform well, but a few managed to stay in the mix for seats as vote tallying went on into the weekend. Successes were also seen among those who voiced opposition against asylum seeker and refugee housing or spoke against the establishment of such facilities.
Notably, Malachy Steenson, an Independent candidate from the North Inner City Dublin, known for his presence in the initial demonstrations against immigrant accommodations in East Wall, was elected to the Dublin City Council on the twelfth count on Sunday, having garnered 915 first-choice votes, equating to 8.9 percent of the total.
Independent contender Gavin Pepper polled 1,126 first preference votes in the Ballymun-Finglas district, where significant protests against immigration had begun in 2023, leaving him well positioned for a seat as the counts proceeded on Sunday.
Upon the eighth count, Pepper remained in the third position in a six-seater election, with the National Party’s Stephen Redmond receiving 930 first preference votes in the same district. Both reaped the benefits of the redistributed votes of Leon Bradley, an anti-immigration Independent candidate.
Ross Lahive, known for protests against LGBTQ+ literature at Cork’s city library, gathered 724 first preference votes, placing him in contention with Sinn Féin and People Before Profit in Cork City North West.
In Fermoy, Derek Blighe, founder of Ireland First who was also contesting for a seat in the Ireland South MEP race, received 899 first preference votes. Blighe, labelled as a far-right instigator in the Dáil, was knocked out on the sixth count.
Stephen Kerr, founder of the Irish Inquiry and critic of immigration rates, failed to secure a seat in the Mayo County Council, despite receiving 899 initial preference votes in Castlebar. Meanwhile, in Connemara North, Seamus Walsh bagged a seat after the second count by gathering 1,525 initial votes, which made up 19.2 per cent of the total ballot. Walsh, previously aligned with Fine Fáil, broke away from the party following disagreements over immigrant housing.
In Tallaght Central, Philip Dwyer, who calls himself a citizen journalist and has frequented multiple protests at housing centres throughout Ireland, secured a meagre 556 votes and didn’t look optimistic about winning a seat come Sunday.
Contrastingly, independent candidate John Snell won in the first count in Wicklow, despite public criticism regarding plans to house asylum seekers in Newtownmountkennedy, which left locals feeling overwhelmed. Independently, John Larkin, who backed protests against housing centres, was still in the running for a Wicklow County Council seat on Sunday evening, even surpassing both Sinn Féin nominees in terms of initial preference votes.
Regarding European Parliament seats in all three constituencies, those opposing the government’s stand on immigration were predicted to be strong contenders. This included Niall Boylan in Dublin, Ciarán Mullooly in Midlands North West representing Independent Ireland, and Independent TD Michael McNamara in Ireland South, all of whom were waiting anxiously for results in the following days.