Western People Local Election 2024 Liveblog
A mammoth count in Castlebar was completed just before 8am this morning.
Counting had got underway at around lunchtime on Saturday.
Independent Michael Kilcoyne topped the polls and was elected in the first count alongside Fine Gael’s Ger Deere.
It was the 11th count at 4.30am before a third candidate, Fianna Fail’s Blackie Gavin surpassed the 1,877 quota. His party colleague Al McDonnell nudged over the line to take the fourth seat.
Fine Gael’s Cyril Burke took the fifth seat on the 14th count without reaching the quota. He captured 1,779 votes following transfers and surplus distribution.
There was a tighter contest for the remaining two seats. Fine Gael’s Donna Sheridan’s captured the fifth seat.
The race for the final seat had see-sawed over several hours. It had looked set to be a straight fight between Independent Stephen Kerr and Fianna Fail’s Martin McLoughlin but a surge of transfers to Harry Barrett changed the outlook.
Martin McLoughlin was eliminated on the 13th count. He transferred 194 votes to Harry Barrett ensuring he took the sixth seat ahead of Fine Gael’s Donna Sheridan who took the seventh and final berth. Stephen Kerr was eliminated with his final vote of 1,533 trailing Sheridan by 307.
The Belmullet count will get underway at 10am this morning with the Swinford count beginning at 2pm.
7.08am
Fianna Fail's Al McDonnell is the fourth candidate elected in Castlebar this morning on the 13th count. One more count will complete the proceedings with Fianna Fail's Martin McLoughlin eliminated from the contest.
6am
Sinn Fein's Donna Hyland has been eliminated on the 12th count in Castlebar. Where her 1,012 votes may transfer to remains a mystery and is likely to decide the final seat in Castlebar. Fine Gael's Donna Sheridan is on 1,230; Harry Barrett is on 1167; Stephen Kerr is on 1,102 and Martin McLoughlin is on 1,068. The next count could complete proceedings in Castlebar
5.06am
Fianna Fail’s Blackie Gavin become the third candidate to be elected in Castlebar at around 5am this morning.
Blackie secured a massive 106 transfers from the eliminated Gerry Loftus and was elected on the 11th count.
4.31am
Martin McLoughlin will be relying on a major transfer from the eliminated Gerry Loftus to remain in the fight for the final seat in Castlebar. Harry Barrett has overtaken Stephen Kerr for the first time following the completion of the 10th count in Castlebar. Harry Barrett is now on 1084 votes after receiving 91 transfers from Donal Geraghty. Kerr is on 1057 after securing 61 transfers. Sinn Fein's Donna Hyland remains in the mix for the seventh seat.
No candidate was elected after the 10th county with Gavin, McDonnell, and Burke poised to tumble over the line for the third, fourth and fifth seats.
3.36am
Independent Harry Barrett and Sinn Fein's Donna Sheridan are making a surge in Castlebar. Hyland took 91 of Joe Daly's transfers to climb to 903 votes. Barrett amassed 84 transfers and with 993 is right behind Stephen Kerr (996) and ahead of Martin McLoughlin (912).
Independent Ireland's Donal Geraghty has been eliminated with no candidate elected following the ninth count.
3.12am
Harry Barrett has been given a boost following the eighth count in Castlebar. The Independent candidate and former Labour man picked up 41 transfers from the eliminate Labour candidate Kamal Uddin. Barrett is on 909 votes and continues to trail Stephen Kerr (986) but leapfrogs Martin McLoughlin (904) in the hunt for the final seat.
Fine Gael's Donna Sheridan is so far maintaining her position as the leading candidate for the sixth seat with McDonnell, Gavin, and Burke making incremental steps towards the quota.
Barrett is likely to benefit again once the eliminated Joe Daly's votes are distributed.
Count 7 in Claremorris and as expected, Paul Lawless and Michael Burke have been elected in Claremorris. One of six municipal districts is fully stocked with councillors now. Five more to go, Castlebar still in progress tonight.
No candidate has attained the quota in Castlebar on the seventh count following the distribution of Maura O'Sullivan's (SF) vote. Her party colleague Donna Hyland received a massive 142 transfers from her running mate's total of 226. Kamal Uddin has been eliminated and his 265 votes will now be distributed. Only Michael Kilcoyne and Ger Deere have been elected in Castlebar so far.
2.08am
Damien Ryan and Alma Gallagher have been elected on the sixth count in Claremorris, joining the already elected Patsy O'Brien and Richard Finn.
Michael Burke and Paul Lawless are level on 1,770 votes each and look poised to take the last two seats, unless the distribution of Damien Ryan's surplus skews massively towards Tom Connolly on 1,536 votes.
The seventh count is expected soon in Claremorris.
No candidate has reached the quota in the sixth count in Castlebar. Al McDonnell, Blackie Gavin, and Cyril Burke are edging closer towards the magic number of 1,877, following the distribution of Brendan Lavelle's 195 votes. Sinn Fein's Maura O'Sullivan has been eliminated.
1.25am
No candidate has been elected on the fifth count in the Castlebar constituency. Gerry Loftus was the biggest beneficiary of fellow Lahardane man's Aidan Brown's 157 votes picking up 44 transfers. Independent candidate Brendan Lavelle has been eliminated.
1.11am
Fifth count just gone through in Claremorris and it has seen Paul Lawless take a strong lead of 1,605 votes to 1,482 over Tom Connolly coming into the final furlong. Stephen Nolan has been eliminated and his votes will now be distributed.
That should take Damien Ryan, sitting on 1,943 votes over the line and also bode well for Michael Burke on 1,759 votes and Alma Gallagher on 1,677 votes.
Another Castlebar count is expected soon.
Aidan Browne (Social Democrats) has been eliminated on the fourth count in Castlebar. No candidate was elected following the distribution of the 81 votes of Tom Moran and Maksym Shaloman. Stephen Kerr was the big winner picking up 25 of Moran's and Shaloman's vote. He is now on 961 extending his lead ahead of Martin McLoughlin (875) in what could be a duel between the pair for the final seat. Browne's 157 votes will now be distributed.
12.28am
The fifth count in Claremorris could prove crucial - the distribution of Mark Devane's votes who was eliminated following the fourth count.
Richard Finn and Patsy O'Brien have already been elected.
Damien Ryan, Michael Burke and Alma Gallagher remain strongly in contention while it remains a tossup between Paul Lawless and Tom Connolly for the final seat in Claremorris.
Meanwhile, stacks and stacks of votes have been arriving in Castlebar from all around the Midlands North West constituency. Another day's work to be sure.
No candidate elected on the third count in Castlebar following the transfer of Ger Deere's surplus of 81 votes. The two-lowest polling candidates Tom Moran (45) and Maksym Shaloman (36) have been eliminated. The fourth count will see the distribution of their votes.
11.25pm
We're still going strong here in the TF!
Count 3 has taken place in Claremorris and Richard Finn has been elected. Damien Ryan, Michael Burke and Alma Gallagher remain on course to take the next three seats with Patsy O'Brien also already elected.
The final seat remains a tossup between Paul Lawless and Tom Connolly. Lawless is ahead by just six votes after count 3; the Aontú candidate had a transfer of 107 votes from the distribution of the votes of Aron Ceallaigh, Geraldine Kelly, Eamon Phelan and Sandra Sweetman.
9.52pm
Counting begins in the Belmullet constituency tomorrow at 10. Counting in Swinford will also take place tomorrow.
9.50pm
No candidate elected in Castlebar following the distribution of Michael Kilcoyne's surplus of 527 votes. The distribution of Ger Deere's surplus takes place next.
9.40pm
Returning officer, John Condon, remarked in "light of the progress being made", the counts for Belmullet and Swinford will not begin until tomorrow.
The Claremorris second count is just in...
Following Patsy O'Brien's election on the first count, Richard Finn (IND) is now only 28 votes off the quota number of 1,954. Fianna Fail's Damien Ryan is also not far away on 1,828.
Aron Ceallaigh (TIP), Geraldine Kelly (IND), Eamon Phelan (Sinn Fein) and Sandra Sweetman (IND) have been eliminated and their votes will be distributed accordingly.
The update is...there is no update.
Second counts still awaited in Castlebar and Claremorris. Count staff are distributing the surplus votes of the already elected Michael Kilcoyne from Castlebar and Patsy O'Brien from Claremorris. Ger Deere in Castlebar is the other councillor to get over the line and secure election thus far.
Second count for Claremorris is expected within the next 40 minutes.
Patsy O'Brien (Ind) has been elected following the first count in the Claremorris LEA. His vote of 2,739 surpassed the quota of 1,954. Richard Finn (Ind) is not shy of the quota, gaining 1,831 first-preference votes.
Damien Ryan (FF) got 1,616 votes, first-time candidate Alma Gallagher (FG) got 1,471 votes and Michael Burke got 1,455 votes, all looking likely to gain a seat.
The tossup for the sixth and final seat looks to be between Tom Connolly (FG) who got 1,216 votes and Paul Lawless (Aontu) who got 1,177 votes.
Tom Byrne caught up with Patsy O'Brien following his election.
The first count is in from Castlebar and Michael Kilcoyne, Independent (2,405) and Ger Deere, Fine Gael (1,958) have been elected, surpassing the quota of 1,878.
Kilcoyne's surplus of 527 votes will now be distributed.
Al McDonnell, Fianna Fail (1,631), Blackie Gavin, Fianna Fail (1,526), Cyril Burke, Fine Gael (1,358) and Donna Sheridan, Fine Gael (996) may follow suit as the counts go on.
The key battle in Castlebar will be for the seventh and final seat. Stephen Kerr, Independent (899), Martin McLoughlin, Fianna Fail (834) and Harry Barrett, Independent (743) look most likely to battle it out for this seat.
Keith Bourke had the chance to speak to Councillors Deere and Kilcoyne following their election.
First count from Castlebar expected in the next hour. Here is a reminder of how each candidate has tallied.
Harry Barrett (Ind) 708
Aidan Browne (SD) 147
Cyril Burke (FG) 1,309
Joe Daly (PBP-S) 227
Ger Deere (FG) 1886
Blackie Gavin (FF) 1454
Donal Geraghty (Ind Ire) 444
Donna Hyland (SF) 563
Kamal Uddin (Lab) 224
Stephen Kerr (Ind) 874
Michael Kilcoyne (Ind) 2309
Brendan Lavelle (Ind) 181
Gerry Loftus (Ind) 516
Al McDonnell (FF) 1548
Martin McLoughlin (FF) 791
Tom Moran (TIP) 40
Maura O'Sullivan (SF) 201
Maksym Shaloman (Ind) 36
Donna Sheridan (FG) 909
An update on Westport tallies (4 seats):
Peter Flynn (Fine Gael) - 947
Karen Gallagher (Sinn Fein) - 288
Christy Hyland (Non-Party) - 746
Keira Keogh (Fine Gael) - 757
Chris Maxwell (Independent Ireland) - 930
Niall McCormack (Irish Freedom Party) - 98
Brendan Mulroy (Fianna Fáil) - 809
Peter Nolan (Green Party) - 176
John O’Malley (Non-Party) - 722
First count for Castlebar expected inside the next hour. Stay tuned.
Another update for the the Swinford constituency: 94% of the boxes have been opened with Fianna Fail's Adrian Forkan at the top of the tallies with 1,384. Sinn Fein's Gerry Murray is on 1,337 while John Caulfield of Fianna Fail is on 1,248. Fine Gael's Neil Cruise is sitting on 1,238 and Sinn Fein's John Sheahan is on 1,154. Fine Gael's Antoinette Peyton is on 752, Tommy Horan of Aontu is on 567, Marion Gordon (TIP) is on 175 while Sean Forkin (IND) is on 107.
With 95% of the boxes opened in Belmullet, Achill-based Fianna Fail councillor is leading the charge on 1727. Fine Gael's Gerry Coyle is on 1442 followed by Sean Carey (FF) on 1377. Pat Chambers (FG) is on 1049 and Rosaleen Dixon Lally (SF) on 1046. Jphn Paul Carey (IND) 330. Micheal O Connaill, Green Party is at 101 and Jay Heneghan (IND) has received 59 first preferences, according to the tally.
In the Ballina constituency (6 seats), 37% of the boxes have been opened. Early tallies indicate Mark Duffy (IND) is topping the list with 861, followed by John O'Hara (Fine Gael) with 739. First time Independent candidate Joe Faughnan is polling well with 457, David Alexander (Fianna Fail) is on 416 while Fine Gael's Jarlath Munnelly is on 405. Annie May Reape (Fianna Fail) is on 365, fellow party candidate Michael Loftus is on 222 and Una Morris (Sinn Fein) is on 170. Willie Nolan (IND) and Hugh Rouse (Fine Gael) are on 122. Joe Doocey (IND) is on 119, Antonio Cafolla (Sinn Fein) is on 98 and Garie Beattie (IND) is on 62. Jo Mullen (IND) is on 18 and fellow party candidate, Keith Howley, is on 15.
Tom Byrne here standing in for Keith.
In the Swinford constituency, 55% of the boxes have been opened with Sinn Fein's John Sheahan at the top of the tallies with 868 first preference votes. He is followed by party colleague, Gerry Murray, with 839 while Fianna Fail's Adrian Forkan is polling well on 681. John Caulfield of Fianna Fail is on 671 and Fine Gael's Neil Cruise is sitting on 629. Fine Gael's Antoinette Peyton has 544 while Tommy Horan of Aontu is on 317. Marion Gordon (TIP) sits on 86 and Sean Forkin (IND) is on 51.
In the Belmullet constituency, 70% of boxes have been opened with tallies putting Fine Gael's Gerry Coyle at the top of the pile on 1,284 first preference votes. Fianna Fail's Sean Carey is polling well in the three-seat constituency on 1,039 followed by party colleague Paul McNamara on 1,070.
Sinn Fein's Rosaleen Dixon Lally is tallying at 876 followed by Fine Gael's Pat Chambers on 740. The Green's Micheal O Connaill has taken 91 votes, according to tallies with John Paul Carey (IND) on 295. Jay Heneghan (IND) took 48 first preferences.
Very early Belmullet tallies are coming in with the boxes from Valley NS; Belderrig Community Centre and Scoil Brid NS Ballycroy opened.
Tallies have voter turnout in Claremorris at 67%
Claremorris tallies have Independent councillor Patsy O'Brien in top spot with 2.660 first preference votes. Independent Richard Finn follows on 1771 with Damien Ryan (FF) on 1,603. Fine Gael's Michael Burke (1445) are also polling well in the six-seat constituency. Fine Gael's Alma Gallagher is on 1417 while Fine Gael's Tom Connolly is on 1193 and Aontu's Paul Lawless is tallying at 1092 with 98% of the boxes open.
Paul Nolan (FF) is on 843 first preference votes, according to tallies. Mark Devane (Independent Ireland) 658; Eamon Phelan (SF) 316; Geraldine Kelly (IND) 181; Aron Ceallaigh (TIP) 89 and Sandra Sweetman (IND) 54.
Returning officer John Condon has called Castlebar candidates and their agents to the Velvet Room. A first count could be expected in the coming hours.
Tallies in Castlebar indicate that FF have captured 26% of the vote with Fine Gael on 28%. Tallies are desperately disappointing for Sinn Fein on 5% while Independents and others have amassed 38% of the vote and Labour 2%.
Morning all from the count centre in the TF, Keith Bourke taking over from Paul O'Malley with counting in the Castlebar Electoral Area well underway and 100% of boxes open.
Tallies with 100% of boxes open in Castlebar show that Michael Kilcoyne (Ind) will likely top the poll with 2,309 votes.
Ger Deere (FG) also tallied well, with 1,866. Fianna Fail colleagues Al McDonnell (1,548) and Blackie Gavin (1,454) also tallied well.
Fine Gael's Cyril Burke (1,309) and Donna Sheridan (909) also fared well in the tallies but may look towards transfers from Deere to surpass the quota.
Fianna Fail's Martin McLoughlin faces an uphill battle for re-election with tallies of 791.
Stephen Kerr (Independent) with 874 and Harry Barrett (708) could end up battling McLoughlin for the final seat.
Sinn Féin are tallying poorly in Castlebar in what is sure to be a blow to the party. Donna Hyland (563) and Maura O'Sullivan (201) face an uphill battle if the party are to gain a seat in the LEA.
2019 Castlebar poll topper Michael Kilcoyne polling strongly with voters according to early tallies which have him with nearly 19% of the vote with 30% of boxes open. Fine Gael candidate Ger Deere also polling strongly and so too is Blackie Gavin (FG). Cllr Gavin's party colleagues are also faring strongly early on.
Castlebar will be a tough area to call. Here is our analysis.
It will be a mammoth task for count staff today in the Ruby Room of the TF. The TF has had to adapt to the demands of this marathon election, particularly with the Midlands NW MEP votes also being counted here in Castlebar.
Keith Bourke spoke to Pat Jennings, managing director of the TF and a veteran of hosting election counts, about the changes that have to make to facilitate Election 2024.
County Registrar Anne-Marie Courell has just announced that count staff will now begin separating the European and Local election ballots from the boxes for the Castlebar local electoral area.
She announced that the total electorate for the Castlebar area is 25,979.
Welcome to the Western People's live blog for the 2024 Local Elections. Paul O'Malley here, taking you through until around 11am when my colleague Keith will take over.
The electorate decided yesterday who they wish to see representing them on Mayo County Council for the next five years and all will be revealed as the weekend progresses.
Voters in the Midlands North West constituency also cast their votes yesterday for the European Parliament elections. It is expected this count will begin on Sunday evening.
We will be keeping you updated on all the day's developments, so be sure to check in with the blog throughout the day, as well as our website to keep up to date.
