John Moran, previous Secretary General of the Finance Department, led the vote count in Limerick’s mayoral race. This independent candidate obtained 18,308 ballots, which is roughly 5,000 more than his closest competition, Helen O’Donnell, also an independent runner.
Nevertheless, with the requirement for victory set at 39,873 votes and with 15 competitors, Mr. Moran remains far from clinching the win, as the vote count continues. Following the preliminary count, Dee Ryan of Fianna Fáil (11,785 votes) and Daniel Butler of Fine Gael (10,190 votes) held third and fourth positions respectively.
The majority of Limerick constituents supported the direct election of the mayor in a 2019 referendum. The mayoral role, offering an annual salary of €154,000, primarily involves proposing Limerick City and County Council’s yearly budget – a proposal which requires council approval.
A cross-party tally of votes collected on Sunday estimated Mr. Moran to have the backing of 24% of voters and Ms. O’Donnell 16%. These figures have shown to be fairly accurate.
In other candidate tallies, Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan received 8,331 votes while independent runner Frankie Daly ended up with 4,574.
Prior to the tally announcement, Mr. Moran declined to comment on the preliminary figures. Ms. O’Donnell, supported by local entrepreneur JP McManus opined, “Transfers could pencil me in, though it’s premature to predict. The final decision will likely rely on transfers.”
Previously a Fine Gael member, Ms. O’Donnell entered the race as an independent following her late husband Tom, who was a Fine Gael TD and MEP.
Daniel Butler retained his council seat in Limerick City West along with other Mayoral hopefuls including Independent Frankie Daly, Conor Sheehan of the Labour Party, and Elisa O’Donovan from the Social Democrats.