Live: First counts taking longer than expected at Cork City Hall

6.40pm

“I think that people do want to see Labour as a more powerful force in Cork.” 

That was the sentiment from first time candidate in the city’s South West ward, Laura Harmon speaking to The Echo ahead of the announcement of the first count in City Hall.

Early indications suggest Ms Harmon could secure a seat in the seven seater ward after she placed fourth in the tallies.

“It looks like we’ve polled in fourth place overall [in the ward] with first preferences so we’ll have to see how the count plays out, but just really grateful for the fantastic campaign team that we had,” she said.

“We really worked hard to get the vote that we got today, and it’s just been a real pleasure meeting people from all walks of life all across the Cork City South West Ward.” 

Ms Harmon said she is “hopeful” the party could increase its presence on Cork City Council for the next term.

“I think that people do want to see Labour as a more powerful force in Cork. Of course, John Maher has been carrying that flag so well on his own on the council for the last five years and it would be great to have a stronger Labour team [on council],” she said.

In the tallies from Nemo Rangers earlier, John Maher, who is hoping to be reelected in the city’s North East ward, placed second in the tallies at 14.32%.

5.50pm

Finance Minister and Cork South Central TD Michael McGrath is optimistic that Fianna Fáil could gain seats in Cork in the local elections, but admitted that there could well be “twists and turns” as counting continues.

Speaking to The Echo in City Hall, the Minister said: “We are encouraged by the tallies so far. I’m not surprised because of the work our candidates and councillors have been doing for a long period of time and I think it does again demonstrate the value of work on the ground, of being involved in your own community and being in touch with the people you represent and we are hoping for a good result across the city and county.

“I think we’ll certainly hold our own and hopefully can make some possible gains. There is a lot yet to be decided- there will surprises and twists and turns with the nature of the PR system but certainly the tallies are encouraging for the party.”

5pm

Honore Kamegni, Green Party local election candidate in Cork City South East, said he had put down a sleepless night after polls closed on Friday.

“It’s very, very stressful. It’s been a very hardworking 14 months, and I hope it’s going to pay off,” he said.

“It’s been a fantastic experience, I’ve had a fantastic reaction from people. Very supportive, very encouraging, all different from what is going on online. A lot of people hide behind keyboards and say what they want to say, but I’ve knocked on, I would say, 15,000 doors and most of the residents I have spoken with have been very, very supportive.” 

Speaking to The Echo in City Hall on Saturday afternoon, Mr Kamegni said he felt a lot more at ease after the tally, which had taken place earlier in the day at Nemo.

“I am much better compared to this morning, I was very nervous this morning.

“I am standing at the moment at 7.5% [in the tallies], I’m fifth out of sixth in the ward, and hopefully there is going to be no change,” Mr Kamegni said.

3.50pm

Speaking to The Echo, Cork North West candidate Kenneth Collins said that the party will be in a “dog fight” to secure a third seat in the constituency.

“The tallies are the tallies. They are nearly 100 per cent accurate to be fair to them. Look we ran three. There are definitely two seats there in the North West for us. Again, depending on the mathematics we could get a third. We are in a fight for it. We are in a dog fight for the third seat.” 

 He said that he believed low voter turnout in the area went against the party.

“People didn’t come out to vote. Low turnout. That wouldn’t favour us.

“We just have to see where things go now. We put a fantastic effort in. We had a vote management, but obviously, we just couldn't get our vote out.”

3:45pm

The members elected onto the new city council will need to “seize the opportunities” and face the challenges the city is experiencing with the commitment “that our great city deserves”, returning officer, Paul Moynihan, said as the count got underway in City Hall.

In a brief speech addressing those assembled in the Concert Hall before the ballot boxes were opened, Mr Moynihan said Cork has been designated by Government as the fastest growing urban centre in Ireland supported by a multi-billion euro investment by Government.

“Our city is changing,” Mr Moynihan said, adding that opportunities and challenges need to be met with vigor.

The returning officer said there are “positive indications in relation to turnout”, saying that the numbers voting “have been maintained to the levels of last year”.

“And equally important in my view is the fact that there’s been a huge increase in the number of people registering to vote and exercise their franchise in local elections 2024,” he added.

He thanked council staff for their “dedication, resilience and efficiency” in the lead up to the count today.

“Planning began many months ago and involved a huge amount of people and functions across the length and breadth of the organisation,” he said.

Counting at the Concert Hall, which Mr Moynihan dubbed “the most special and elegant count centre in the country”, is set to run until 10pm, with the first count currently expected at around 6/7pm.

Counting will likely recommence at 10am tomorrow.

3pm

The ballot boxes containing the fate of 76 election hopefuls have arrived in Cork City Hall, with the count getting underway for the 2024 locals.

Over the coming days the shape of the new council will be revealed as the results of yesterday’s voting are determined.

Across the five electoral areas - South Central, South West, South East, North East and North West - 31 members are set to be elected to Cork City Council.

All but four of the incumbent councillors have sought reelection.

The overall number of candidates running for election marks a 7% decrease on the number who ran in the 2019 locals.

Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are the parties with the joint highest number of candidates at 12 each followed by Fine Gael with 10 candidates.

Additionally, 12 Independent candidates, five Green party candidates, five Labour candidates and five Social Democrats candidates are contesting this year's local elections in the city along with three People Before Profit-Solidarity candidates, three from The Irish People, three from Aontú, two under the banner of Independent Ireland, two from the Workers' Party and one each from Ireland First and Rabharta.

Looking at the wards south of the river, there are 48 candidates in total seeking election.

Ballot boxes arriving for the count #LocalElections2024 pic.twitter.com/2ItAh9dT1q

— Cork City Council (@corkcitycouncil) June 8, 2024

In the South Central ward there are 15 candidates running – three Independents (Paudie Dineen, William O’Brien and Joel Rajesh), two Fianna Fáil candidates (Seán Martin and David Boyle), two from Sinn Féin (Fiona Kerins and Luke McGrath) and one each from Fine Gael (Shane O’Callaghan), the Green Party (Dan Boyle), the Social Democrats (Pádraig Rice), Ireland First (Tommy Murphy), the Labour Party (Dr Lekha Menon Margassery), People Before Profit-Solidarity (Shane Laird), Independent Ireland (Joe Harris) and Aontú (Anna Daly).

The only thing that can be said for certain at this stage is that the ward will have at least one new face, filling the seat of veteran Independent councillor Mick Finn, who opted against running in this year’s elections following a 15 year term on council.

Another ward which is guaranteed to look different coming out of this weekend is the city’s South West ward with two non-incumbents to win the seats of Fine Gael’s Derry Canty and Thomas Moloney (Independent) who both did not seek reelection.

Cork City Count officially opened #localelections2024 pic.twitter.com/0qHJNtvJgl

— Cork City Council (@corkcitycouncil) June 8, 2024

The South West ward, the ward with the highest number of seats, also has the most amount of candidates at 17.

Fianna Fáil make up the highest number with four candidates (Colm Kelleher, Fergal Dennehy, Terry Coleman and Olga Shevchenko), followed by Fine Gael (Garret Kelleher, Gary O’Brien, and Andrea Christopher-Rea), Sinn Féin (Orla O’Leary, Trevor McCarthy and Joe Lynch) and Independents (Albert Deasy, Aran MacDonnchadha and Thomas Kiely) with three candidates each.

There is also one Green Party candidate (Colette Finn), one Social Democrats candidate (Ciarán McCarthy), one Labour Party candidate (Laura Harmon) and one Aontú candidate (Joanne Murphy) running.

Meanwhile the South East ward is likely to be a particularly competitive ward, will all seven incumbent councillors seeking to renew their term on council.

The ward, which takes in areas such as Ballinlough, Mahon and part of Douglas, has three Fine Gael candidates (Des Cahill, Deirdre Forde and Barry O’Brien), two Fianna Fáilers (Mary Rose Desmond and Terry Shannon), two Sinn Féin candidates (Chris O’Leary and Michelle Cowhey Shahid), and one each from the Green Party (Honore Kamegni), the Social Democrats (Susan Doyle), the Labour Party (Peter Horgan), The Irish People (Michael O'Riordan), Workers’ Party (Rachel Hurley Roche) and Rabharta (Lorna Bogue) all seeking election.