Sinn Féin and Independent candidates made gains in the election to Leitrim County Council, increasing their representation by two seats and one seat respectively at the expense of Fine Gael.

Eighteen seats across three local election areas have been filled, with Fianna Fáil (six seats) the largest party on the council ahead of the Independents (five), Sinn Féin (four) and Fine Gael (three).

Fine Gael councillor Enda McGloin, who was reelected on the first count in Ballinamore, described the party’s performance in north Leitrim as “a complete debacle”. It will be the first time in living memory that there has not been a Fine Gael councillor in the Manorhamilton electoral area. In Carrick-on-Shannon, first-time candidate Maeve Reynolds won a second seat for the party while Ita Reynolds-Flynn, a sister of former TD Gerry Reynolds, took a seat for the party in Ballinamore shortly before 5am on Sunday.

Fianna Fáil had a good day here with Paddy O’Rourke topping the poll in Ballinamore and elected on the first count. His colleague Gary Prior took the last seat in the district on the seventh count. In Manorhamilton, another long-serving Fianna Fáil councillor, Mary Bohan, was re-elected on the third count. Running mate Justin Warnock was elected on the sixth. The party won two more seats in the Carrick-on-Shannon area via Sean McGowan and Paddy Farrell, who was elected without reaching the quota.

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Maths and agricultural science teacher James Gilmartin was the first of five independents elected, winning a seat in Manorhamilton thanks to a large first preference vote of 1,335. Independents Enda Stenson and Des Guckian won seats in Carrick-on-Shannon on the fourth count, as did Felim Gurn in Manorhamilton. Eddie Mitchell won the fifth independent seat on the seventh count in Manorhamilton without reaching the quota.

Sinn Féin had to wait until 3.07am to see its first candidate elected in Co Leitrim, with Brendan Barry making it over the line on the fifth count in Ballinamore. Padraig Fallon was elected on the sixth count in Manorhamilton and Cormac Flynn took a seat in Carrick-on-Shannon on the seventh. Róisín Kenny, sister of Sligo-Leitrim Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny, took the last council seat in Ballinamore on count eight.

Four women were elected to the council, one more than in 2019, and three of them are newcomers.

Ballinamore: 6 seats

Carrick-on-Shannon: 6 seats

Manorhamilton: 6 seats

[ View 2019 Leitrim County Council resultsOpens in new window ]

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