Louth County Council: Fianna Fáil big winners as Sinn Féin loses three seats

Labour senator Ged Nash said a red wave, not a green wave, had washed over Co Louth.

However it was Fianna Fáil that was the biggest winner in the local elections in the county.

Fianna Fáil secured five seats in 2014, but the party has now increased this to seven in 2019.

This includes three seats out of six in Dundalk Carlingford which were taken by Erin McGreehan, Sean Kelly and Conor Keelan.

Fianna Fáil in Dundalk-Carlingford picked up a seat previously held by the Green Party, which contrary to the trend elsewhere across the country lost out.

For Sinn Féin the local election results were a disappointment with the party losing three seats in Louth, including in Drogheda and Dundalk.

Former Sinn Féin leader and local TD Gerry Adams said there had been some local factors and vote management issues at play.

He said the party found it hard to consolidate the gains it had made in the last local elections.

He said the party would learn the lessons from the results of the 2019 local elections.

Fine Gael in 2014 won seven seats in the local elections although one of its councillors subsequently left the party to run as an independent.

This former Fine Gael councillor-turned independent candidate, Kevin Callan, achieved the remarkable feat of winning seats in two electoral areas in Drogheda.

He now has three days to choose which of these areas to represent and can suggest a person to hold the seat in the other electoral area. However the full council will make the final decision.

Overall, Fine Gael lost one seat in Louth in the local elections.

Senator Nash said the Labour’s party had achieved its best ever successes in local authority elections in the county.

Labour secured two seats in Drogheda Urban with both Paul Bell and Pio Smith polling strongly and being elected on the first and second counts respectively.

Labour was delighted with the performance of Michelle Hall who only joined the party last year and took a seat in Drogheda Rural.

Ardee: 6 seats

Dolores Minogue (Fine Gael)- 1,404 (elected count 1)
Colm Markey (Fine Gael) - 1,388 (elected count 1)
Pearse McGeough (Sinn Féin) - 1,007 (elected count 7)
Jim Tenanty (Independent)- 955 (elected count 7)
John Sheridan (Fianna Fáil)- 870 (elected count 9)
Hugh D Conlon (Independent) - 767 (elected count 9)
Fintan Malone (Fianna Fáil) - 649
Seán Connolly (Green Party) - 509
Brendan McKenna (Sinn Féin) - 492
Kevin Carroll (Independent) - 420
Finnan McCoy (Fine Gael) - 406
Albert D Byrne (Independent) - 190
Enda Murray (Independent)- 129

Drogheda Rural: 4 seats

Oliver Tully (Fine Gael) - 965 (elected count 5)
Kevin Callan (Independent) - 896 (elected count 6)
Michelle Hall (Labour Party) - 964 (elected count 7)
Tom Cunningham (Sinn Féin) - 663 (elected count 7)
Leanne Saurin (Sinn Féin) - 603
Eamon Sweeney (Renua Ireland) - 568
Richard Cooney (Fianna Fáil) - 477
Frank Godfrey (Independent) - 317
Declan Power (Fianna Fáil) - 259
Jeffrey Rudd (United People) - 51
Patrick Greene (Direct Democracy Ireland) - 45

Drogheda Urban: 6 seats

Paul Bell (Labour Party)- 1,292 (elected count 1)
Pio Smith (Labour Party) - 1,245 (elected count 1)
Joanna Byrne (Sinn Féin) -923 (elected count 8)
Paddy McQuillan (Independent) - 769 (elected count 9)
Kevin Callan (Independent) - 897 (elected count 11)
James Byrne (Fianna Fáil) - 797 (elected count 11)
Richie Culhane (Fine Gael) - 581
Frank Godfrey (Independent) - 518
Anthony Moore (Fianna Fáil) - 506
Michael O’Dowd (Renua Ireland) - 302
David Saurin (Sinn Féin) - 279
Kenneth Flood (Sinn Féin) - 261
Maria McCabe (Renua Ireland) - 104
Angus MacDonald (Solidarity–People Before Profit) - 101
Christopher Faulkner (Direct Democracy Ireland) - 97
Jeffrey Rudd (United People) - 83

Dundalk-Carlingford: 6 seats

Antóin Watters (Sinn Féin) - 1,563 (elected count 1)
John McGahon (Fine Gael) - 1,357 (elected count 1)
Edel Corrigan (Sinn Féin) - 931 (elected count 3)
Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fáil) - 1,151 (elected count 5)
Seán Kelly (Fianna Fáil) - 1,072 (elected count 6)
Conor Keelan (Fianna Fáil) - 1,011 (elected count 6)
Eoin Daly (Green Party) - 823
Roisin Duffy (Fine Gael) - 809
Eugene Garvey (Sinn Féin) - 767

Dundalk South: 7 seats

Maeve Yore (Independent) - 1,701 (elected count 1)
Marianne Butler (Green Party) - 1,497 (elected count 1)
Ruairí Ó Murchú (Sinn Féin) - 1,423 (elected count 1)
Maria Doyle (Fine Gael) - 1,346 (elected count 2)
Tomás Sharkey (Sinn Féin) - 1,136 (elected count 8)
Liam Reilly (Fianna Fáil) - 1,082 (elected count 9)
Emma Coffey (Fianna Fáil) - 750 (elected count 9)
Linus English (Fine Gael) - 635
Anne Campbell (Sinn Féin) - 603
Niamh Boyle (Renua Ireland) - 489
Oliver Morgan (Independent)- 295