Who was elected in your area?: Cork City North East

Wed, 12 Jun, 2024 - 10:43

Donal O’Keeffe

IN Cork City North East, Independent Ireland councillor Kenneth O’Flynn was the first over the line, topping the poll late on Saturday night with more than half a quota to spare, a result that he will hopes to build on in the next general election.

In his victory speech, Mr O’Flynn said his vote showed a public appetite for what he called “common sense politics” and had been built on his family’s four-decade career of public service.

“I knocked at every door, I listened to what people had to say, I tried to address the issues. I was frank, I was honest with people, I’ve committed 16 years of service to the city, as an elected representative myself, my father, with that, add another 20 years, there’s unbroken service for 30-something years, I think maybe 40 years, in our family to the city,” he said.

“I’ve earned the people’s trust, and that’s something that is so sacred to me, and humbling.”

He said he was set to open an office in Mallow, which will be part of the Cork North Central constituency in the next general election.

Mr O’Flynn said his immediate priority was to work with everyone in council, and he cited the housing emergency, the state of footpaths in the city, and he said a common goal of addressing the needs of citizens was needed.

He said a “new sweep of the broom” was needed with the appointment of a new chief executive and he said security in the city was an issue, with many people feeling unsafe in the city centre.

Labour Party councillor John Maher was also elected on the first count in the ward, with a vote of 2,005, and he said his campaign hadn’t been “about dirty tactics, it wasn’t about politicians not turning up for work, John Maher is different and the Labour Party is different, we stand up to bullies”.

His party’s only councillor in the previous term, Mr Maher, will be joined this year on Cork City Council by his party colleagues Peter Horgan and Laura Harmon in Cork City South East and Cork City South West respectively.

Fianna Fáil’s first-time candidate Margaret McDonnell took a seat while Fine Gael’s Joe Kavanagh, a former Lord Mayor, retained his seat.

Veteran councillor Ted Tynan, president of the Workers’ Party, held on to a seat, and Green Party councillor Oliver Moran held on to his seat, despite looking likely to lose it early on in the count.

Cork City North East