Fingal County Council results: Greens gain three seats as 20-year-old student is elected

Support for independents falls as Labour, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael all gain seats

Fingal’s first Indian-born councillor, Punam Rane, was elected for Fine Gael in Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Dublin West constituency.

The 49-year-old technology company owner and former investment banker from Mumbai won her seat in Blanchardstown Mulhuddart, bringing the party’s seat total to seven, up from six.

She said “people have been very welcoming at the doors everywhere”. Asked if she felt being in Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Dublin West constituency helped her, she said: “in some way yes, but I think I put in lots of effort as well.”

The big winners were the Green Party who have jumped from two to five seats in the 40-seat constituency, including one of the youngest councillors in the country – 20-year-old student Daniel Whooley in Ongar.

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Ironically, in the Rush-Lusk horticultural heartland of North Dublin, the party did win but transferred predominantly to the Social Democrats and Labour.

Green party deputy leader Catherine Martin said they would look at that but the overall strength showed that the voters want a better environment and quality of life. “Some tough decision have to be made but the people trust us with that. I don’t think this is something that is going to last only a few weeks. It’s real and households are talking about it with their children.”

But their gains have cost Independents who have plunged from 11 to six seats.

Sinn Fein lost two of their six seats, but averted a disaster in the Dublin Fingal constituency with the retention of Ann Graves' seat in Swords. She had been ahead of Solidarity councillor Eugene Coppinger by seven votes when he was to be excluded. Following a lengthy recheck there were four votes in the difference and Mr Coppinger, a brother of Dublin West TD Ruth Coppinger, conceded. Solidarity is now down from three to one in Mulhuddart. Ms Coppinger put their poor showing down to the Green surge and a low turnout in working -class areas.

Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly topped the poll in the Ongar area, was elected on the first count and exceeded the quota.

A new party councillor and first-time candidate Breda Hanaphy secured a seat in Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart. Treacy Natalie also retained her seat in Castleknock. All three seats are in the Dublin West Dail constituency.

Fianna Fáil have done well in this constituency and increased their seats from six to eight seats, and enough councillors in both the Dublin Fingal and Dublin West Dail constituencies to help in the general election.

Labour has also done well and gained an extra two seats to take six, with four in Dublin Fingal and two in Dublin West.

Robert O’Donoghue who returned to the campaign after open heart surgery, topped the poll in Rush-Lusk. He said that the party had worked hard and the electorate recognised it.

(First preference votes: candidates elected in bold)

Balbriggan: 5 seats

Tony Murphy (Ind) - 1,881 (elected count 1)
Joe O'Brien (Green Party) - 1,552 (elected count 7)
Seána Ó'Rodaigh (Labour Party) - 1,302 (elected count 9)
Tom O'Leary (Fine Gael) - 1,215 (elected count 9)
Gráinne Maguire (Ind) - 1,161 (elected count 9)

Malachy Quinn (Sinn Féin) - 986
Sam O'Connor (Fine Gael) - 626
Niall Keady (Fianna Fáil) - 424
Carah Daniel (Solidarity-PBP) - 411
Garrett Mullan (Social Dems) - 292
Oghenetano John Uwhumiakpor (Solidarity-PBP) - 263
Okezie Emuage (Fine Gael) - 253
Martin Hughes (Ind) - 237

Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart: 5 seats

Mary Elizabeth McCamley (Labour Party) - 888 (elected count 1)
Breda Hanaphy (Sinn Féin) - 610 (elected count 7)
Punam Rane (Fine Gael) - 552 (elected count 8)
John Burtchaell (Solidarity-PBP) - 536 (elected count 8)
Freddie Cooper (Fianna Fáil) - 502 (elected count 8)

Robert Loughlin (Ind) - 444
Damien Bissett (Sinn Féin) -417
JK Onwumereh (Fianna Fáil) - 343
Sineád Moore (Aontú) - 306
Lorna Nolan (Ind) - 298
Marius Marosan (Ind) - 48
Aran Smeallie (Ind) - 41

Castleknock: 6 seats

Roderic O'Gorman (Green Party) - 3,731 (elected count 1)
Emer Currie (Fine Gael) - 2,189 (elected count 1)
Ted Leddy (Fine Gael) - 1,546 (elected count 3)
John Walsh (Labour Party) - 1,237 (elected count 3)
Natalie Treacy (Sinn Féin) - 871 (elected count 8)
Howard Mahony (Fianna Fáil) - 1,507 (elected count 6)

Edward Mac Manus (Aontú) - 909
Sandra Kavanagh (Solidarity-PBP) - 719
Mags Murray (Fianna Fáil) - 579
Ryan Fitzgerald (Sinn Féin) - 263
Kevin Mullally (Ind) - 142

Howth-Malahide: 7 seats

Eoghan O'Brien (Fianna Fáil) - 3,561 (elected count 1)
David Healy (Green Party) - 3,422 (elected count 1)
Cian O'Callaghan (Social Dems) - 2,717 (elected count 1)
Brian McDonagh (Labour Party) - 2,569 (elected count 1)
Jimmy Guerin (Ind) - 2,237 (elected count 2)

Aoibhinn Tormey (Fine Gael) - 2,064 (elected count 3)
Anthony Lavin (Fine Gael) - 1,883 (elected count 4)

Daire Ní Laoi (Sinn Féin) - 966
Tom Daly (Ind) - 304

Ongar: 5 seats

Paul Donnelly (Sinn Féín) - 1594 (elected count 1)
Tania Doyle (Ind) - 1127 (elected count 5)

Tom Kitt (Fianna Fáil) - 869 (elected count 9)
Kieran Dennison (Fine Gael) - 671 (elected count 9)
Daniel Whooley (Green Party) - 660 (elected count 9)

Matt Waine (Solidarity-PBP) -666
Gerard Sheehan (Aontú) -528
Elaine Carmel Dooley (Labour Party) - 346
Aengus Ó Maoláin (Social Dems) -337
Raghu Nath Narayanam (Ind) - 303
Marian Buckley (Sinn Féin) - 191
Ramesh Racherla (Ind) - 186
Jagan Muttumula (Fine Gael) - 33

Rush - Lusk: 5 seats

Robert O'Donoghue (Labour Party) - 1,982 (elected count 1)
Adrian Henchy (Fianna Fáil) - 1,391 (elected count 10)
Brian Dennehy (Fianna Fáil) - 1,247 (elected count 10)
Cathal Boland (Independent) - 948 (elected count 10)
Paul Mulville (Social Democrats) - 871 (elected count 10)

Jim Monks (Fine Gael) - 766
Corina Johnston (Labour Party) - 747
Bob Dowling (Fine Gael) - 651
Maira Salahovs (Green Party) -507
Noeleen O'Hagan (Sinn Féin) - 442
Roslyn Fuller (Independent) - 323
Sandra Sweetman (Independent) - 289
Glenn Brady (Independent) - 237
Davin Browne (Independent) - 126
Eóin Corcoran (Independent) - 103

Swords: 7 seats

Darragh Butler (Fianna Fáil) - 2,298 (elected count 1)
Dean Mulligan (I4C) - 1,304 (elected count 8)
Ian Carey (Green Party) - 1,282 (elected count 8)
Duncan Smith (Labour Party) - 1,193 (elected count 11)
Joe Newman (Ind) - 1,085 (elected count 13)
Brigid Manton (Fianna Fáil) - 956 (elected count 13)
Ann Graves (Sinn Féin) - 475 (elected count 13)

Helen Dunne (Fine Gael) - 685
James Fitzpatrick (Ind) 685
Eugene Coppinger (Solidarity-PBP) - 559
Paul Uzo (Ind) - 507
Tracey Carey (Social Dems) - 500
Duane Michael Browne (Ind) - 481
Lorraine O'Connell (Sinn Féin) - 387
Yulia Ghumman (Labour Party) 184
Fergal O'Connell (Ind) - 52

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran is Parliamentary Correspondent of The Irish Times