REVIEW OF THE YEAR: Labour Party emerges as winner in local elections
WIPEOUT IN WARDS FOR GREENS AS CORR BOWS OUT IN BALBRIGGAN
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THE Labour Party became the controlling power on Fingal County Council after the party won a staggering nine seats in last June's local elections.
The party gained an additional three seats at the expense of the Green Party which was pulverised by the national swing against the Government parties.
Fine Gael increased its number of seats from five to six, while Fianna Fáil won four, down one from last time. The Socialist Party won three seats, up one, while independents retained two seats.
It was a case of 'as you were' in the Swords ward after voters in the Fingal capital re-elected its five sitting councillors. As expected, the Socialist Party's Cllr Clare Daly topped the poll, taking in a massive 3,192 first preference votes, some 20.5% of the overall tally in the area.
Cllr Daly was comfortably elected on the first count, though it took another nine rounds before Labour's Gerry McGuire and Tom Kelleher, Darragh Butler of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's Anne Devitt secured their seats in the early hours of Sunday morning.
In the Balbriggan ward, Labour's Ken Farrell topped the poll, marking his return to the local authority after 10 years. Second was the popular independent candidate, David O'Connor (NP) with Tom O'Leary (FG), Ciaran Byrne (Lab) and May McKeon (NP).
In the Howth/Malahide ward, Cllr Peter Coyle once again topped the poll in the newly merged ward.
One of the big stories of the day (and night) was the complete wipe-out of Green seats in the ward. The two sitting Green councillors, Cllr Robbie Kelly and Cllr David Healy were both out of the race by the seventh count.
Also elected was new Labour candidate, Cian O'Callaghan. Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF), as well as Fine Gael's Cllr Alan Farrell and Cllr Joan Maher taking the final two spots in the ward.
The loss of Joe Corr's seat in the Balbriggan ward was of the biggest shocks of election day 2009, as the former mayor got caught in the wave of voter dissent. The Rush native polled 1,531 first preference votes, the fourth highest tally, but failed to pick up transfers as the count progressed.
'It was a tough one,' Mr Corr said. 'It wasn't based on my record, it was an anti-Government vote. That was reflected in the fact that I didn't pick up transfers I normally would have. When I polled in fourth place, I knew I was in trouble. I didn't help when it was Balbriggan candidates being eliminated. With the day that was in it, I think I did considerably well when you look at how I polled. It's devastating for guys who have really worked their butts off for the communities they represent. People put national issues ahead of local issues, but that's politics.'
