Sinn Féin lose out in Mallow

Former Mayor of Mallow James Kennedy (Lab) was elected to Cork County Council over the weekend. With 1,793 votes, Mr Kennedy was elected on the first count.

Well-known Mallow businessman Pat Hayes topped the poll running for Fianna Fail with 1,806 votes.

Sitting councillor Gearoid Murphy (FF) retained his seat on the first count.

The other two available seats were taken by Tony O’Shea (FG) and Liam Madden who were both elected on the fifth count.

Sinn Fein councillor Melissa Mullane was not re-elected while Fine Gael candidate Cian Moriarty also missed out on a seat.

Newly elected Cllr Tony O’Shea is a brother of Cllr John Paul O’Shea who was reelected to Cork County Council in the newly established Kanturk LEA which recently split from Mallow.

Speaking to The Echo after he was elected for the first time, Cllr Tony O’Shea said the split allowed both brothers to run and the timing of his campaign felt right.

“Since John Paul ran in 2009 as an Independent candidate, the O’Shea’s have had a huge interest in politics.

“We all got involved and we’ve been big into it ever since and when John Paul joined Fine Gael a few years ago, we all did the same and got even more involved.

“The idea of running has been in the back of my head for a number of years now,” he added.

“When John Paul said they were thinking about dividing Kanturk and Mallow, I felt it was the right time to launch a campaign.

“John Paul was running in Kanturk and I put my name forward to run in Mallow.” While he was not selected to run at the Fine Gael convention, Cllr O’Shea was added to the ticket at a later date and was determined to get elected.

“It was a busy six weeks and I’m delighted to get a good result at the end of it,” he said.

Cllr O’Shea was no stranger to the political process having canvassed for his brother on several occasions in the past.

“I knew what was ahead of me and I put the head down and worked hard with great support from the people around me,” he said.

“It’s a great honour to be elected and I’m looking forward to working with the council in future.

“I was thrilled when I heard the news that I had been elected,” he added.

“I owe it all to the parish that got behind me, my family and the Fine Gael team for all the support and encouragement.

“It really got me over the line.”