LIMERICK COUNCILS:FINE GAEL last night won control of Limerick County Council for the first time in 24 years while the party also increased its stranglehold in the city. In the city, all eight Fine Gael candidates were elected, while 15 out of 16 candidates won in the county council race.
The Labour Party doubled its number of councillors in Co Limerick and gained an extra seat on Limerick City Council where Sinn Féin saw its first candidate elected in 50 years.
Some of Fianna Fáil’s biggest casualties in Limerick over the weekend were former city mayor John Cronin and cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, John Clifford, who was a councillor for 22 years.
The Collins political dynasty still proved its strength in Co Limerick, however, when first-time candidate James Collins, son of former Fianna Fáil TD Michael Collins, was elected in the newly redrawn Adare electoral area.
Former TD Eddie Wade also managed to buck the anti-Fianna Fáil trend when he stormed across the line on the first count in Castleconnell.
Overall Fianna Fáil lost one of its two seats on Limerick City Council while the party looked set to lose three seats on Limerick County Council where counting continued last night in the Newcastle area. Fine Gael returned all three outgoing councillors in the Newcastle area, which means the party had 15 of the 28 seats on Limerick County Council. Two independent candidates were elected, including Brigid Teefy, formerly of the Progressive Democrats.
Co Limerick’s second new Independent councillor is Patrick C Fitzgerald who first stood in the 1974 local elections and finally saw success yesterday when he won a seat in the Adare electoral area.
Two recounts took place in Co Limerick yesterday, one in Adare where there were just four votes separating two candidates battling it out for the final seat.
Fianna Fáil candidate Mary Burke also requested a recount in Kilmallock when she lost to the party’s candidate Mike Donegan by 66 votes.
Ms Burke, the sister of Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea, failed to make any gains in the recount and afterwards announced she will be following in her brother’s footsteps and running in the next general election.
“I’ll be back again and I’m going to run for the Dáil. I have the political bug now,” said the novice candidate, who thanked Mr O’Dea for his “Trojan work”.