Live: County tallies give everyone 'a good idea where they stand'
The ballot boxes from Macroom, Carrigaline, Cobh and Midleton arrive at the County Hall, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan
An early East Cork tally predicted first time candidate Patrick Mulcahy was polling in third place at 13.2% second to sitting councillors Independent Mary Linehan Foley (26.7%) and Fine Gael’s Michael Hegarty (13.8%) The 30 year old is polling ahead of his party colleague and sitting councillor Anne Marie Aherne, who was co-opted into the seat when James O’Connor won a TD seat in 2020 and is sitting in seventh place at 6.6% according to the tally.
Speaking to The Echo, Mr Mulcahy, who works as a parliamentary assistant to Mr O’Connor and also provides commentary on GAAGo and RTÉ radio coverage, said he was pleased with the provisional result.
“I’m delighted, especially as a first timer to get such a backing from constituents of East Cork, so we’re off to a good start anyway,” he said.
He added that he would “love to get back to” his GAA commentating, having been off-air from May 7 when election rules of Coimisiún na Meán came in, but “that’s a conversation for another day.”
AN atmosphere of anticipation is beginning to build at the Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services (CDYS) Centre in Mallow ahead of the first count for the Cork County Council local elections.
Candidates from across the three – Fermoy, Kanturk and Mallow – local electoral areas (LEA) are waiting patiently as count staff carefully oversee the voting ballots.
With the first elected candidate expected to be announced by 8.30pm, some candidates are already celebrating having reached the quota while others await nervously to see where their fate lies.
Fianna Fáil’s Sheila O’Callaghan, who was leading in Cobh with 17% of the vote, according to an early tally when 66% of the boxes were opened, was feeling optimistic just before 7pm.
“Because of the fact I was co-optee, I’ve always suffered from imposter syndrome since I wasn’t an elected member, but if it all goes like they say it will then I’ll be very happy,” she said.
Former Sinn Féin councillor Danielle Twomey, who left the party and became an Independent at the end of last year, was at the County Hall count centre despite not seeking re-election.
She told reporters as the count began that with a provisional tally done “everyone has a good idea where they stand, so you know if you’re a shoo-in or relying on transfers.
“Mary Linehan Foley was always going to be a shoo-in, she’s in the game too long, she’s too good at what she does, Michael Hegarty was always going to be a shoo-in, Liam Quaide will probably keep his seat and he so deserves it, he’s a fantastic candidate," she said.
“It’s definitely a big change in the Midleton LEA anyway,” she said, adding “I’m kind of shocked that the Sinn Fein candidate got such a strong vote, they pulled her out of nowhere – she wasn’t a member as far as I know, but it is what it is.”
Ms Twomey added that she missed the feeling a little, saying: “I love what the local authority does, what it stands for – but you never know, next year I might throw my hand in for the generals, you never know.”
Just before 6pm a ripple of applause resounded around the Mallow count centre as a jubilant councilor Bernard Moynihan entered the hall flanked by supporters and family.
Although the first count in the Kanturk electoral area had yet to be formally announced, the Fianna Fail councillor was assured of retaining his seat after the tallies put him in poll position in the four seat constituency.
Mr Moynihan was quick to pay tribute to his backroom team, saying they were the people who delivered this result.
Mr Moynihan pledged to maintain the work he has been doing with local communities across the Duhallow region over the coming council term.
“I want to stand with these communities and continue to deliver for them. Lots of different bodies such as Tidy Towns group development associations are doing great work and I want to continue highlighting the needs and requirements of Duhallow in Cork County Council.”
Mr Moynihan did admit that he was somewhat surprised at the size of his vote, which at this stage indicates he will top the poll by a significant margin and well above the quota.
“I’d like to think that people have recognised that I work hard, deliver and genuinely try to do my best.”
Asked if he thought there were any particular issues that helped sway the vote in his favour, Mr Moynihan cited his long running campaign to get safety measures introduced at the Ballymacquirke Junction on the N72 Mallow to Killarney road, once branded one of the most dangerous road junctions in the country.
“This was the most significant project I worked on over the last five years. People smiled when I said I would get a roundabout at Ballymacquirke. So many people on the campaign trail said to me how delighted they are that they now feel safe using the junction,” said Mr Moynihan.
“Ballymacquirke is now a huge gateway for Duhallow that will see the region developed further over the coming years,” he added.
A BUZZ of excitement has amassed at the Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services (CDYS) Centre in Mallow where the local elections count for Cork County Council is taking place.
Councillors for the Fermoy, Kanturk and Mallow local electoral areas (LEA) are looking anxiously across barriers at count staff as they sift through piles of blue, pink and yellow pages, with some more nervous than others.
While many candidates were reluctant to talk about their chances at this early stage, Labour’s first-time candidate Eoghan Kenny was delighted with his showing and is ready to take up a seat after his impressive tally count.
Speaking to The Echo outside the count centre, flanked by Cork East TD Seán Sherlock, Mr Kenny said: “It’s a very exciting time, but nerve wracking as well.
“I’m very thankful to the people I’ve met on the doorsteps who have put their faith and trust in me to represent them on Cork County Council for the next five years.
“I have outlined my priorities to people on the doorsteps, [and] what we need badly is a Mallow relief road,” he added.
“That ultimately is my biggest priority. We got €300,000 this year in funding for the relief road, and we now as Cork County councillors need to lobby for that.
Endorsing his fellow party candidate, Deputy Sherlock said he is hopeful that he secures a seat this evening.
“I think today marks a new departure for the party in the county of Cork,” he said.
“We have some excellent candidates who want to work for the people, and I think people see that. Eoghan is a worker.
“Eoghan was only co-opted a few short months ago, and he is in himself his own persona and is very well known in Mallow,” he added.
Meanwhile, speaking on the tally results for his brother, councillor Bernard Moynihan, Fianna Fáil Cork North West TD Michael Moynihan said: “They’re very healthy.
“I am hoping that he will get over the line later on this evening,” he added.
Carrigaline candidate Seamus McGrath looks set to be elected to Cork County Council this evening.
Speaking to The Echo, Mr McGrath said he was overwhelmed by the tally results.
“It looks as if I got a very strong vote and I’m absolutely overwhelmed by the level of support I received. I work hard as a councillor and it is great in politics that hard work is recognised at the ballot box. That is something I am forever grateful for.”
Mr McGrath said that the tallies suggest that the party could make gains in the local elections in Cork County.
“I think we are in a good position. We will hold our number of seats if not make one or two gains. It is early days yet. We don’t have first counts yet, but I think overall we’ll hold and possibly make gains. It is a good result overall I think.
"I’d just like to thank the people of the Carrigaline municipal district for the trust they’ve placed in me again. I’d like to thank those who came out and helped me during the campaign- my campaign team. You cannot get elected without a good strong team behind you and without people who give their time on a voluntary basis.
"I want to thank them and of course my family who have not seen me for the last ten weeks- my kids, my wife Gail- a genuine thank you to them. I have a lot of making up to do."
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An early tally for East Cork suggests that at least three of four incumbent candidates will retain their seats.
With 34.8% of the boxes open, sitting Independent Mary Linehan Foley is in the lead with 26.7% of votes followed by sitting Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty on 13.8%.
Close behind him is new Fianna Fáil candidate Patrick Mulcahy on 13.2%, with Social Democrats’ Liam Quaide on 10.3%, likely to retain the seat he won in 2019 as a member of the Green party.
Fine Gael’s Rory Cocking (8.1%) and Alison Curtin (6.7%) make up the remainder of the top six, but are closely followed by sitting Fianna Fáil councillor Anne Marie Aherne (6.6%), according to the early tally.
Tallies show Independent John Buckley at 5.3%, Sinn Féin’s Edith Adams and Independent Ireland’s Eileen Kelly McCarthy are both at 5%, and Aontu’s Mona Stromsoe is at 4.4%.
Independent Sean Buckley is at 3.9%, Ireland First’s Paddy Bullman at 2.9%, the Green Party’s Clodagh Harrington at 2.8%, Independent Michelle Neville at 1.3% and The Irish People’s James O’Sullivan at 1.2%.
THE counting process for the Cork County Council local elections has gotten under way, with tallies having taken place this morning at the Mallow GAA Sports Complex.
A short 11-hours after polling closed to the public, the ballot boxes for the Fermoy, Kanturk and Mallow local electoral areas (LEA) were opened by council staff at the complex at 9am.
With a strong turnout of candidates at the centre, councillors and their support networks were eager to catch a glimpse at their chances, alongside a number of senior party members who were seen milling around the room shaking hands and keeping hopeful.
Early tallies from the complex would suggest that out of the six seats in Fermoy, Independent William O’Leary, Fine Gael’s Noel McCarthy, Fianna Fáil’s Deirdre O’Brien and Fianna Fáil’s Frank O’Flynn are looking likely to retain their seats, with sitting Fine Gael councillor Kay Dawson, Independent Peter O’Donoghue and Labour Party’s Diarmuid Hanley showing well.
Sitting councillor Frank Roche looks unlikely to retain his seat in Fermoy.
Out of the five seats for Mallow, Fine Gael’s Tony O’Shea, Fine Gael’s Liam Madden, and the Labour Party’s Eoghan Kenny are looking to be safe bets to retain their seats. While Fianna Fáil’s Gearóid Murphy and Fianna Fáil’s Pat Hayes are perhaps not polling as well as hoped, they are looking at filling seats four and five respectively.
For Kanturk, tallies suggest that Fianna Fáil’s Bernard Moynihan, Fine Gael’s John Paul O’Shea and Fine Gael’s Trish Murphy are likely to retain their seats, with Fianna Fáil’s Ian Doyle tipped for the fourth.
Count staff are now in place at the Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services (CDYS) Centre in Mallow, where the ballot boxes were delivered at 3.45pm ahead of the count process, and doors opened to the public at 3.55pm.
Counting got underway at 4pm in all three LEAs, with each returning officer informing staff and public of the rules and regulations of the day to come.
Based on the early tallies, there will be at least one new face when the six seats to represent the Carrigaline Municipal District will be filled this weekend following Friday’s election.
The outgoing independent councillor, Marcia D’Alton, didn’t put herself forward for election on this occasion but her five colleagues on the outgoing ticket appear to be in pole position to retain their seats, according to early tallies.
According to the votes counted when the boxes from the different polling stations were opened to separate the ballot papers for the European and Local Elections, a process which took place in Mallow earlier today, Seamus McGrath, the brother of Finance Minister Michael, polled a massive 36% of first preferences when 71% of the boxes were opened, an estimated 3,850 votes.
This will be good news for his running mate, Audrey Buckley, the outgoing chairperson of Carrigaline Municipal District, who polled 845 votes or 8% of the total. She will surely be expecting a generous transfer from Seamus McGrath.
Also looking to be in good shape is Ben Dalton O’Sullivan whose 2,098 votes represents 20% of the vote while Jack White (1,241 or 12%) and Una McCarthy (776 votes or 7%) of Fine Gael face a less straightforward path to retain their seats.
Eoghan Fahy of Sinn Féin is best placed to challenge for a seat, having secured 5% with 539 votes while John O’Regan (Labour) with 317 votes, Non-Party candidate Chris O’Brien (356) and John Terry of the Social Democrats (306) votes face a possible early elimination. Monica Oikeh of the Green Party, however, isn’t too far ahead of any of those three with 4% or 423 votes.
Who ever emerges ahead after Seamus McGrath’s surplus is distributed will be in a dogfight with, it seems likely, the Sinn Féin candidate for a seat.
Ballot boxes have yet to arrive at County Hall where votes for four of the ten local electoral areas will be counted.
The four constituencies counted in County Hall are the South Cork areas, Macroom and Carrigaline - both have ten candidates running for six seats - Cobh which has 12 candidates and six seats, and East Cork where there are fifteen candidates running for seven seats.
In Cobh, there are three Fine Gael candidates; sitting councillors Sinéad Sheppard and Anthony Barry as well as new candidate Keith Kelly, and there are two candidates from Fianna Fáil, Dominic Finn and sitting councillor Sheila O’Callaghan.
Other candidates include sitting Labour Party councillor Cathal Rasmussen as well as Cliona O’Halloran from the Green Party, hoping to win the seat vacated by her colleague Alan Barry.
Independent Peter Kidney, People Before Profit’s Rola Abu Zeid-O'Neill, Medhi Ozcinar of Sinn Féin, Independent Ireland’s Ger Curley, and Diarmaid Ó Cadhla from new party Glór-Voice of the People make up the remainder of the ballot paper.
In East Cork, Ann Marie Ahern of Fianna Fáil, Michael Hegarty of Fine Gael, Independent Mary Lenihan Foley-and Social Democrats’ Liam Quaide-are hoping to retain their seats.
Fine Gael’s Rory Cocking and Alison Curtin will be both looking to regain the seat vacated by their party colleague Susan McCarthy, while Patrick Mulcahy of Fianna Fáil will be aiming to help his party gain a second seat in the area.
Other candidates include Clodagh Harrington of the Green Party, Edith Adams of Sinn Féin, Eileen Kelly McCarthy of Independent Ireland, Mona Stromsoe of Aontú, Paddy Bullman of Ireland First and James Peter O’Sullivan of The Irish People.
Independents John Buckley, Seán Buckley and Michelle Neville make up the remainder of the ballot in East Cork.
In Carrigaline, Audrey Buckley and Seamus McGrath of Fianna Fáil, Independent Ben Dalton-O'Sullivan, Úna McCarthy and Jack White of Fine Gael are all hoping to retain their seats.
Seeking to win the one seat vacated by Independent Marcia D'Alton are Eoghan Fahy of Sinn Féin, Independent Chris O'Brien, Labour’s John O'Regan, Monica Oikeh of the Green Party, and Richard Terry of the Social Democrats.
In Macroom, Michael Creed, Ted Lucey and Eileen Lynch of Fine Gael are all running again and hopeful to maintain the party’s strong standing in the area.
Also seeking to regain his seat is Independent Martin Coughlan and Fianna Fáil’s Michael Looney and Gobnait Moynihan.
Harriet Burgess of the Green Party, Dermot Kelleher of Independent Ireland, Rosarie O’Leary of Aontú and John O’Sullivan of Sinn Féin are all hoping to be elected for the first time.
The early tallies from boxes opened in the Macroom Municipal District indicate that it will be a fight for the last of six seats between the incumbent independent councillor Martin Coughlan and Dermot Kelleher, the first time candidate for Independent Ireland.
Five sitting councillors – Michael Creed (2,555), Ted Lucey (2,025) and Eileen Lynch (2,330) of Fine Gael as well as Michael Looney (2,484) and Gobnait Moynihan (2,746) of Fianna Fáil – look to be well set to retain their seats.
According to the tally, Dermot Kelleher polled 1,300 votes while Martin Coughlan was slightly ahead with 1,435 first preferences. Next in line was John O’Sullivan of Sinn Féin with 1,100 votes while another first time candidate, Harriet Burgess of the Green Party, polled 931 votes. Rosarie Leary of Aontú looks like the first candidate to be eliminated on 576 votes.
These are early tallies based on the count taken by party workers when the boxes were opened for separating Local Election and European Election ballot papers in Mallow.
The separated Local Election votes have yet to arrive in County Hall, the Cork County Council headquarters on the Carrigrohane Road, and it’s here that the votes for the Macroom, Carrigaline, Cobh and East Cork will be counted.
Fianna Fáil: 5,094 (31%)
Fine Gael: 3,636 (22%)
Labour: 893 (6%).
Green Party: 180 (1%)
Sinn Féin 729 (5%)
Others: 6,662 (35%)
Derek Blighe (|IF): 873 (5%).
Ken Brennan (Ind IE): 149 (1%).
Neilus Cotter: (FF): 1,188 (7%)
Kay Dawson (FG) 1,011 (6%)
Diarmuid Hanley (Lab) 893 (6%).
Thomas Horgan (Ind) 55 (0%)
Noel McCarthy (FG) 2,625 (16%)
Deirdre O’Brien (FF) 1,850 (11%)
Joe O’Brien (SF) 729 (5%)
Peter O’Donoghue (Ind) 909 (6%).
Frank O’Flynn (FF) 2,059 (13%)
William O’Leary (Ind) 2,994 (18%)
Frank Roche (Ind) 580 (4%).
Mary Ryder (Green Party) 180 (1%).
Joe Tobin (Ind) 162 (1%)
Electorate: 30,923 Turnout 52%.
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