Nostalgia: Tallying up counts at local elections of the past

THE shape of the new council in Cork city will become clear over the course of the weekend following this year’s local elections. Cork voters took to the polling stations yesterday to have their say as to who should fill the 31 seats across the five electoral areas of the city. 

Given the occasion, this week’s Nostalgia takes a look back at local elections of years past and how the votes went 50, 25 and 10 years ago in the city.

1974

In 1974, the then titled Evening Echo reported that Fianna Fáil “for the first time in very many years” secured an overall majority, winning 16 seats in the city’s local elections that year.

“There will be a dozen new faces in the benches when the new Corporation holds its first meeting next Friday night,” a story in June 21’s paper stated.

“Seven outgoing members lost their seats Jimmy Dunlea, who had been elected for Labour in 1967 but switched over to Fianna Fáil in the last few months; Sean Ó Sé and Dan Cronin.

“Fine Gael lost sitting members in Sean Ryan, who was co-opted when Stephen Barrett was appointed a Circuit Court judge; John Dorney who replaced Val Jago while there was a vacancy caused by the recent death of the late Ronnie Murphy; Labour lost Tadhg Philpott and Mrs Jo Conti, who had been elected in 1967 as the widow of the late Sean Casey.

“Four outgoing members did not seek re-election – Ted McCarthy and Paddy Donovan of Fianna Fáil and T. J. O’Sullivan and T. P. Leahy, both former Labour members who had switched to the Independent benches.”

1999

Twenty-five years later, in the 1999 local elections, Fianna Fáil again secured the highest number of seats.

“Labour went into the corporation election with seven seats but ended up with just five,” an Echo article on June 14 stated.

“Fianna Fáil took 12 seats, a gain of three; Fine Gael claimed eight gaining one, the Progressive Democrats held their two seats, while the Green Party also retained its seat.

“Sinn Féin gained in Cllr Don O’Leary and Independents Con O’Connell and Con O’Leary were also returned.”

That election was a particularly significant one for Sinn Féin as Mr O’Leary became the party’s first member on Cork Corporation - as it was then known - since the early 60s.

And that year was more than just a glittering election for Sinn Féin – as an engagement ring was reported to have been found in one of the ballot boxes.

Kathleen Cooke, from Farranree, cast her vote on polling day that year in the North Monastery polling station, and when she took her hand from the metal box, she was reported to have been stunned to find her engagement ring was gone.

As the box could not be opened that day, Ms Cooke had to wait until the next morning when the count began to have the ring returned to her. 

2014

Ten years on, at the 2014 local elections, Fianna Fáil again secured the highest number of seats, although no party held a majority.

With counting set to get underway in City Hall this afternoon, only time will tell what the new council will look like.