Who are the five new Mayo councillors?
Fine Gael's Alma Gallagher outside the unfinished primary care centre in Ballyhaunis.
This year’s Mayo County election’s wasn’t the major shake-up some might have expected but there is still going to be five news faces in the council chamber.
Alma Gallagher (Fine Gael) and Paul Lawless (Aontú) are the new kids on the block in Claremorris. Joe Faughnan (Independent) capitalised on the swathes of territory around Knockmore left open to him to claim a Ballina berth. Chris Maxwell (Independent Ireland) upset the applecart in Westport with his poll-topping performance and Harry Barrett (Independent) produced a Lazararus-like performance to secure a seat in Castlebar.
Gallagher effectively steps in to fill the shoes of retired Ballyhaunis councillor John Cribbin and Joe Faughnan fills the large Knockmore-sized gap left by Seamus Weir’s decision to call it a day in politics. Meanwhile, there was heartbreak for outgoing candidates Tom Connolly (Fine Gael), Christy Hyland (Independent) and Martin McLoughlin (Fianna Fáil).
We look at the new additions to Aras an Chontae and what they are likely to bring to the table.
The Ballyhaunis native was a founding member of Young Fine Gael in the 1990s. Alma was appointed Development Officer for North Mayo/West Sligo in 2003, delivering the Leader Plus Programme and Local Development Social Inclusion Programme. Her role involved providing capacity building support to businesses, delivering village enhancement schemes as well as working with older people, people with disabilities and the unemployed.
She was identified as the successor to John Cribbin with Ballyhaunis keen to retain a sitting councillor.
In the lead-up to the election, Ms Gallagher was clearly across her brief and was extremely vocal on issues in her locality, most particularly the unfinished primary care centre in Ballyhaunis.
That passion for East Mayo is likely to be a feature of her five-year term and Mayo County Council now has a third female councillor to join Annie May Reape and Donna Sheridan.
Alma became the first woman from the Claremorris area to be elected to Mayo County Council.
“Finally the glass ceiling is shattered,” she declared after her election success.
Lawless has been knocking on the door for some time now despite his tender years.
The 27-year old is a Maths and PE teacher at Ballyhaunis Community School. A talented sportsman, he represented Mayo, Conncht and the Republic of Ireland at underage level in soccer and was on the books at Derby County for a period.
The Knock man has become the first Aontú representative to win a seat on Mayo County Council.
Lawless previously contested the 2019 local elections as well as the general election in 2020. The ambitious Aontú man may well have another crack at national politics following this recent success.
The Claremorris area councillor managed to maintain his profile well before the local elections were called and will be keen to leave his mark on Mayo County Council.
Making his election debut, Faughnan claimed a seat at the first time of asking with an impressive showing in the Ballina area.
The Independent was elected after the 11th and final count along with Michael Loftus (Fianna Fáil) and Jarlath Munnelly (Fine Gael).
The newly-elected councillor is a well-known and popular figure in Mayo soccer as manager of Conn Rangers and a member of the Mayo Football League committee.
His election comes following the retirement of fellow Knockmore man Séamus Weir who spent 25 years as a councillor, initially with Fine Gael before becoming an Independent a decade ago.
Given Weir’s track record in delivering for Knockmore, benefitting his home patch will surely be Faughnan’s first port of call when he takes his place in the council chamber.
“Myself and Seamus are neighbours and he has been a great help to be over the last few weeks. He has had a long and distinguished 25-year career in politics and I just want to thank him for his generous support,” said the new Knockmore councillor after his election.
Chris Maxwell topped the poll and became the first Independent Ireland candidate to win a seat on Mayo County Council.
Maxwell was one of the big success stories of this year’s elections. A Fianna Fáil candidate in 2019, Maxwell lost out to John O’Malley for the fourth seat in a closely run contest at that time.
It had been felt in some circles that Fianna Fáil missed a trick in not securing his services again and Maxwell joined the newly-formed Independent Ireland party.
While the Louisburgh-based agricultural contractor was expected to poll well his outstanding performance exceeded expectations.
The big win comes with its own pressures but Maxwell was in determined mood following his success.
"Bring common sense back to all our dealings and spend the money wisely. That’s what it’s all about.
“People all across South Clew Bay voted for that,” he added.
A former Labour Party town councillor in Castlebar, Barrett twice failed to win a spot on Mayo County Council.
A third defeat may well have ended his political ambitions given the huge effort he put into his campaign, but the Belmullet native achieved his election goal.
The Castlebar primary school teacher announced his intention to run for Mayo County Council way back in May 2023. Putting health and Mayo University Hospital at the top of his agenda, what followed was a vigorous and sustained election push by Barrett whose vocal campaigning and use of social media may have stolen a march on some his rivals.
“We put in the strongest campaign we possibly could and really threw the kitchen sink at it,” he told the .
The Independent candidate has not shied away from criticising the workings of Mayo County Council and is likely to put pressure on the executive during his term.
