Elections naturally result in victory for some and defeat for others. This has certainly been the case in the battle for 949 seats across city and county councils during the recent local elections. With the tally wrapping up on Monday, here’s a brief overview of the quite noteworthy – and the not so notable – performances in the June 7th poll.
The primary political parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, had a fair share of both triumphs and setbacks. Despite overall positive performances surpassing their predictions, each party experienced a few losses. Daithí de Róiste, the reigning Lord Mayor of Dublin from Fianna Fáil, and Adrian Henchy, the outgoing mayor of Fingal, were both unsuccessful. Despite this, the legacy of the late Taoiseach Charles Haughey lives on, as his grandson, Cathal Haughey, was elected to the Fingal County Council.
Veteran Sinn Féin councillor, Larry O’Toole, surprisingly, lost his Dublin City Council seat after a 25-year tenure. Despite this, the party outperformed the national average in the Monaghan County Council election, adding two seats to its current six.
The Fine Gael party saw two of its seats taken on Cork City Council. However, it made up for this loss with its solid performance in the Dublin City Council’s local electoral areas (LEAs) of Cabra-Glasnevin and Inner City. Notably, it outvoted Sinn Féin in Mary Lou McDonald’s locality, gaining two seats to Sinn Féin’s one – a victory specifically for Fine Gael’s Colm O’Rourke and Gayle Ralph.
The elections also saw a mixed bag for both young and old candidates. While many of the younger candidates failed to secure council seats this time, it didn’t deter the likes of Green Party’s youngest hopefuls – Charlie Hackett (22), son of State Minister Pippa Hackett, and Adam Ó Ceallaigh (22). Sinn Féin’s youngest candidate, James Stokes (18), also fell short of the desired turnout by a narrow margin, though requested a recount.
In seat victories, Rachel Hartigan (22) of Fianna Fáil secured her place on the Clare County Council. Despite a full recount taking place on Monday, Ben Ward (21) of Fine Gael is considered elected in Co Carlow and anticipated to retain his seat. Amongst the more senior candidates, renowned activist Margaretta D’Arcy (89) failed to secure a seat on the Galway City Council, and Sinn Fein’s Toni Devine (78) was unsuccessful in her attempts to claim a seat on Donegal County Council. Mary Hilda Cavanagh (73) of Fine Gael maintained her position on Kilkenny County Council, first claimed in 1974, marking her record to the longest-standing councillor in Ireland.
Regarding candidates originating from migratory backgrounds, over 100 were participating in the national local elections. Successful delegations included Helen Ogbu of Labour in Galway City and Honore Kamegni of the Green Party in Cork City. Among those unsuccessful included Fianna Fáil’s Caio Benicio, a Deliveroo rider from Brazil known for his bravery in interrupting a knife attack in Dublin the past November. Additional unfortunate candidates included Fine Gael’s Ballymun-Finglas candidate Arnold Guo and Lola Gonzales, a Social Democrat candidate in Co Leitrim.
Renowned individuals who secured victories include Ruth Coppinger of the Socialist Party in Castleknock, Independent Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran in Athlone, and ex-Green Party TD turned independent candidate Paul Gogarty in Lucan. Former mixed martial arts fighter Paddy Holohan also saw success, landing seats not one, but twice in both Tallaght Central and Tallaght South. In such events, the candidate must opt to represent one area, leaving the remaining local electoral area to be filled via the co-option process.