Carlow County Council Results – The Irish Times

After a mammoth four days of counting and re-checking, 18 seats on Carlow County Council have finally been filled.

Overall, Sinn Féin gained one seat at the expense of Fianna Fáil after two dramatic recounts in the Tullow constituency, with just three votes separating the three candidates running in the final two seats.

Overall, Fine Gael’s Brian O’Donoghue received 894 votes, Sinn Féin’s Jim Deane 893 and Fine Gael’s Catherine Callaghan 892. Deane secured his seat after Tuesday’s second recount, increasing the party’s representation on the council to two, while as O’Donoghue held off a strong showing from fellow party member and first-time candidate Ms Callaghan to retain her seat.

In line with the national trend, the election was solid for Fine Gael, which retained six seats and welcomed several new faces to the council, including 21-year-old Ben Ward from Tullow and Paul Doogue from the Carlow constituency.

Fianna Fáil dropped from six to five local government seats. A strong performance by 24-year-old Daniel Pender (FF) saw him take the Muinebheag constituency seat from his party colleague Arthur McDonald, ending his 39-year political career.

Tom O’Neill of Fine Gael in Carlow and John McDonald of Fianna Fáil in Tullow also suffered heavy losses.

The three poll winners in the county were Tommy Kinsella (FG) in Muinebheag (1,732 first preferences), John Pender (FF) in Tullow (1,335) and Fintan Phelan (FF) in Carlow (1,678).

Mr Pender’s election means he is now the longest-serving county councilor (39 years) and the only councilor to win eight elections.

People Before Profit’s Adrienne Wallace retained her place in Carlow but had to wait until the 14th over. Labor’s Willie Quinn was re-elected in the same area, while his former party colleague Will Patton, now an independent, returned to Tullow.

Independents Charlie Murphy (Tullow) and John Cassin (Carlow) are back, as is Sinn Féin’s Andy Gladney in Muinebheag.

Carlow: 7 places

Muinebheag: 5 places

Tullow: 6 seats

( View Carlow County Council results 2019 )