Local Elections 2024 Kilkenny: Sinn Féin’s last remaining candidate is eliminated

Sinn Fein candidate Evan Barry has been eliminated on the 14th count in Kilkenny following the distribution of Martin Brett’s (FF) votes.

Barry picked up 18 transfers bringing him to 687 while Fianna Fáil’s John Coonan received 199 votes leaving him at 1,020

Maria Dollard of the Green Party received 65 votes bringing her to 832 votes while Labour’s Sean O hArgain received 134 votes leaving him at 1,015 votes while 38 votes went to Martin O’Neill leaving him at 725.

Returning officer Anne Maria Walsh announced that Evan Barry had the lowest number of votes and he was eliminated.

There’s now four candidates vying for three seats in the Kilkenny LEA.

12:01am

Sitting councillor Fine Gael’s Martin Brett has been eliminated after the 13 count in Kilkenny LEA with a final vote of 603.

Following the distribution of Toluwani Akaehomen’s vote of 413 Brett picked up 34 transfers. Evan Barry picked up 43 leaving him with 669 while John Coonan received 39 leaving him at 821.

Maria Dollard received 77 votes leaving her at 767 votes while Labour’s Sean O hArgain received 49 votes leaving him at 881 votes while 47 votes went to Martin O’Neill leaving him at 687.

Returning officer Anne Maria Walsh announced that Martin Brett had the lowest number of votes and he was eliminated.

23.40pm

It’s down to the final electoral area now with just the last three seats left to be filled.

Cllr Joe Malone of Fianna Fáil has just been re-elected on the 12 count following the distribution of Luke O’Connor’s votes.

Malone received 34 votes which brought him to 1,239 which exceeds the quota of 1,223. Toluwani Akaehomen received 22 (413); Evan Barry received 23 (626); Martin Brett received 10 (569); John Coonan received 10 (782); Maria Dollard received 6 (690); Sean O’hArgain received 16 (832) and Martin O’Neill received 28 (640).

Toluwani Akaehomen has now been eliminated and her votes will be distributed.

23:30pm

Voting has concluded in the Castlecomer electoral area with the final two seats filled on the fifth count which was the distribution of Daniel Burke’s vote of 411 and Stephen Delaney’s vote of 260 – a total of 671 votes.

Fianna Fáil’s Michael Delaney received 89 transfers leaving him at 1,463 votes; Sinn Féin’s Denis Hynes received 58 votes bringing him to 1,172 votes while Maurice Shortall (NP) received 322 votes bringing him to 1,654 votes which exceeds the quota of 1,506.

Returning officer Anne Maria Walsh declared Shortall elected and deemed Delaney elected with sitting councillor Denis Hynes losing his seat.

The final result for Castlecomer is Patrick Fitzgerald (FF), Mary Hilda Cavanagh (FG), Michael McCarthy (FF), John Brennan (FG), Maurice Shortall (NP) and Michael Delaney (FF)

22.52pm

The distribution of Eugene Guinness’ surplus of 12 formed the eleventh count.

Toluwani Akaehomen (NP) received 1 votes to reach 391; Evan Barry was +0(603); Martin Brent +0 (559); John Coonan +2 (772); Maria Dollard +1 (684); Joe Malone +1 (1,205); Luke O’Connor +4 (353); Sean O’ hÁrgáin +2 (816) and Martin O’Neill +1 (612).

Luke O’Connor of the Irish Freedom Party was eliminated with 353 votes.

22:31pm

The tenth count is over in the Kilkenny LEA with nobody elected or eliminated.

The distribution of Andrea Cleere’s vote of 326 votes saw Toluwani Akaehomen (NP) receive 17 votes to reach 390; Evan Barry was +14 (603); Martin Brent +25 (559); John Coonan +28 (770); Maria Dollard +42 (683); Joe Malone +25 (1,204); Luke O’Connor +1 (349); Sean O’ hÁrgáin +114 (814) and Martin O’Neill +28 (611).

The eleventh count will be the distribution of Eugene McGuinness’ surplus of 12 votes.

22.14pm

Two candidates have been eliminated in Castlecomer leaving three candidates in a battle for two seats.

Following the distribution of Michael McCarthy’s surplus of 172 Independent Ireland candidate Daniel Burke had 411 votes picking up four transfers.

Fianna Fáil’s Michael Delaney picked up the lions share, 108, bringing him to 1,374.

Stephen Delaney of the Irish People received no transfers leaving him at 260 votes while Sinn Féin’s Denis Hynes received 13 votes bringing him to 1,114 while Maurice Shortall (NP) received 24 leaving him with 1,332 votes.

Stephen Delaney and Daniel Burke were then eliminated with 260 and 411 votes respectively.

9:55p.m.

Labour candidate Andrea Cleere has been eliminated on the ninth count in the Kilkenny LEA following the distribution of Aoife O’Brien’s (SF) votes.

Toluwani Akaehomen (NP) received 12 votes to reach 373; Evan Barry was +157 (589); Martin Brent +3 (534); Andrea Cleere +13 (326); John Coonan +4 (742); Maria Dollard +9 (641); Joe Malone +15 (1,179); Luke O’Connor +6 (348); Sean O’ hÁrgáin +9 (700) and Martin O’Neill +15 (583).

With 326 votes Andrea Cleere has the least amount of votes and was eliminated.

9:25p.m.

Fine Gael’s John Brennan has been elected in the third count of the Castlecomer LEA. Michael McCarthy’s surplus from the second count will now be distributed.

3 out of 6 seats have now been filled in the area as John Brennan will join Mary Hilda Cavanagh and Pat Fitzpatrick.

John Brennan (FG) 1511, Daniel Burke (Ind) 404, Michael Delaney (FF) 1,266, Stephen Delaney (The Irish People) 260, Denis Hynes (SF) 1,101 and Maurice Shortall (Ind) 1,308.

9:10p.m.

In the eighth count of the Kilkenny LEA, Non Party candidate Eugene McGuinness became the third candidate elected. Sinn Féin’s Aoife O’Brien has been eliminated and her votes will now be distributed.

The current votes following the eighth count show; Toluwani Akaehomen (Ind) 361, Evan Barry (SF) 432, Martin Brett (FG) 531, Andrea Cleere (Lab) 313, John Coonan (FF) 738, Maria Dollard (GP) 632, Joe Malone (FF) 1,164, Aoife O’Brien (SF) 272, Luke O’Connor (I.F.P), Seán Ó hÁrgáin (Lab) 691 and Martin O’Neill (Soc Dems) 568.

8:25p.m.

Fianna Fáil candidate and sitting Councillor Pat Fitzpatrick has been elected in the second count of the Castlecomer LEA in Kilkenny.

Two councillors have been elected so far in the Kilkenny LEA following the sixth count. Sinn Féin’s Mark O’Farrell was eliminated and his votes will now be distributed.

No candidate has been elected since Fine Gael’s David Fitzgerald and Fianna Fáil’s Andrew McGuinness, in the first count.

Following the second count, votes in the Castlecomer LEA currently are as follows; Non Party candidate Maurice Shortall received 131 to stand at 1,284, John Brennan received 211 to stand at 1,339, Denis Hynes received 62 votes to be at 1,082. Michael Delaney received 166 and now has a total of 1,154 votes, Daniel Burke received 34 votes and is now at 388 while and Stephen Delaney received 9 votes for a total of 244.

7:50p.m.

No candidate was elected on the fifth count of the Kilkenny LEA. People Before Profit’s Kevin Shore has been eliminated and his votes will now be distributed. With 14 candidates left in the running, there are five seats to be filled.

Toluwani Akaehomen (Ind) received 12 votes and now stands at 341, Barry Evan (SF) received 4 votes and now has 382 votes, Martin Brett (FG) received 1 vote and now stands at 508, Andrea Cleere (Lab) received no votes and remains at 298.

Meanwhile, John Coonan (FF) received 4 votes and is at 728, Maria Dollard (FG) received 2 votes and is at 606, Liam Heffernan (Ind) received 1 vote and is at 159, Joe Malone (FF) received 12 votes and is now at 1,130, Eugene McGuinness (Ind) received 3 votes to be at 1,192, Aoife O’Brien (SF) received 12 votes to be at 205, Mark O’Farrell (SF) received 2 votes and is at 137, Seán Ó hÁrgáin (Lab) received 2 and stands at 671.

Martin O’Neill (Social Democrats) received 0 votes and remains at 533, Luke O’Connor (Irish Freedom Party) received no votes and now stands at 327

7:25p.m.

No candidate was elected in the fourth count of the Kilkenny LEA with five seats still up for grabs. Jony Aza was eliminated and his 67 votes will be distributed.

7:15p.m.

Two candidates have been elected in the first count of the Castlecomer LEA exceeding the quota of 1,506.

Fianna Fáil’s Pat Fitzpatrick topped the polls with 2,308 votes while Ireland’s longest serving Councillor Mary Hilda Cavanagh proved she’s still got it after 50 years with 1,865 votes. Following that, Fianna Fáil’s Michael McCarthy fell short of the quota by only 17 votes at 1,489.

Non Party candidate Maurice Shortall received 1,153 first count preferences. John Brennan received 1,128 votes and Denis Hynes was close behind him with 1,020. Fianna Fáil’s Michael Delaney received 988 votes, Independent Ireland candidate Daniel Burke received 354 and Stephen Delaney received 235 votes.

6:30p.m.

No candidate was elected in the third count of the Kilkenny LEA. Non Party candidate Michael McGrath has been eliminated and his 54 votes will now be distributed to the remaining 16 candidates.

2 seats have been taken and 5 seats remain in the electoral area.

The results currently show; Toluwani Akaehomen (Ind) at 328, Jony Aza, (Ind) at 67, Barry Evan (SF) at 377, Martin Brett (FG) at 506, Andrea Cleere (Lab) at 298, John Coonan (FF) at 721, Maria Dollard (FG) at 602, Liam Heffernan (Ind) at 156, Joe Malone (FF) at 1,116, Eugene McGuinness (Ind) at 1170, Aoife O’Brien (SF) at 193, Luke O’Connor (Irish Freedom Party) at 313, Mark O’Farrell (SF) at 132, Seán Ó hÁrgáin (Lab) at 669, Martin O’Neill (Social Democrats) at 531 and Kevin Shore (PBP) at 92.

6:05p.m.

No candidates have been elected in the second count of the Kilkenny LEA. Non Party candidate Noel Gerard Walsh has been eliminated and his 18 votes will now be distributed.

Currently leading the pack are Joe Malone (FF) who received 73 votes in the second count and stands at 1,114 as well as Eugene McGuinness (Ind) who received 34 votes to stand at 1,170.

Fine Gael’s Martin Brett (FG) received 16 to be at 504, Andrea Cleere (Lab) received 6 to land on 298, John Coonan (FF) received 24 to be at 721.

Maria Dollard (FG) received 6 votes and is now at 601, Liam Heffernan (Ind) received 2 votes and now stands at 155. Toluwani Akaehomen (Ind) received 4 votes and now stands at 327, Jony Aza (Ind) received 1 vote and now has 65, Barry Evan (SF) received 6 votes and is now at 375.

Michael McGrath (Ind) is now at 53 votes, Aoife O’Brien (SF) 193, Luke O’Connor (Irish Freedom Party) 311, Mark O’Farrell (SF) 132, Seán Ó hÁrgáin (Lab) 657, Martin O’Neill (Social Democrats) now stands at 530 and Kevin Shore (PBP) is at 90 votes.

4:55p.m.

Two Fine Gael candidates have been elected on the first count of the Kilkenny LEA.

Fianna Fáil Councillor Andrew McGuinness was the first to exceed the quota of 1,223 with 1,420 votes and fellow sitting Councillor David Fitzgerald of Fine Gael followed close behind him with 1,231 votes.

There are 20 candidates running in the Kilkenny LEA and the first count results show that Non Party candidate Eugene McGuinness had 1,136 first preference votes while Fianna Fáil’s Joe Malone had 1,041.

Fianna Fáil candidate John Coonan had 697 first preference votes while Labour’s Seán Ó hÁrgáin now stands at 657. Fine Gael candidate Maria Dollard had 595 first preference votes. Social Democrat candidate Martin O’Neill has 524 while Fine Gael’s Martin Brett now has 488 votes. Sinn Féin’s Barry Evan received 369 first preference votes slightly ahead of Toluwani Akaehomen (Ind) at 323 votes and Luke O’Connor of the Irish Freedom Party at 309.

Andrea Cleere (Labour) who now stands at 292 exceeding Aoife O’Brien at 192.

People Before Profit candidate Kevin Shore now stands at 89 votes while Sinn Féin’s Mark O’Farrell has 130 votes and Liam Heffernan (Non Party) has 153.

Non Party candidates Jony Aza received 65 votes while Michael McGrath has 52 and Noel Walsh with 18 votes.

14:25p.m.

Piltown LEA’s count is complete following the election of 3 candidates in the ninth count.

Fidelis Doherty, Ger Frisby and Jenny Catt Slattery’s election was met with cheers at the count centre following the distribution of Maria Wall’s 811 votes, 212 of which were non transferrable.

Returning officer Anne Maria Walsh then officially announced all five elected candidates for the area in the order of election; Fine Gael Patrick Dunphy, Labour Party candidate Tomás Breathnach, Fine Gael Fideles Doherty, Ger Frisby and Fianna Fáil’s Jenny Catt Slattery.

13:25p.m.

No candidate was elected in the eighth count of the Piltown LEA. Fianna Fáil’s Maria Wall was eliminated and her 811 votes will now be distributed. Fidelis Doherty is still ahead of the other candidates as she received 25 votes bringing her to 1,278. Following behind her is Ger Frisby who received 43 votes bringing him to 1,193 and Jenny Catt Slattery who received 15 votes (935). Natasha Newsome Drennan received the most transferable votes in that count with 306 votes and is now at 992.

Returning officer Anne Maria Walsh also announced she’ll be adjudicating on the doubtful votes for Kilkenny City shortly.

12:50p.m.

Sinn Féin’s Michael Wemyss has been eliminated in Piltown LEA’s seventh count after the distribution of Fine Gael candidate Damien Donoghue’s 433 votes. Six candidates remain in the running for the three unfilled seats. Fidelis Doherty is leading the pack with 1,253 after receiving 134 votes.

Furthermore, Jenny Catt Slattery received 29 votes in the latest count and is now at 920, Maria Wall received 25 votes and is now at 804, Natasha Newsome Drennan received 31 and is now at 686, Ger Frisby received 102 and now stands at 1,150.

12:20pm

Following the distribution of Richard Daly’s vote, the sixth count of the Piltown LEA has concluded with another elimination.

Fine Gael’s Damien Donoghue has been eliminated with 433 votes and only two seats have been filled in the area with three seats remaining. Fidelis Doherty received 18 votes and is closest to reaching the quota of 1,423 with 1,119 votes. Following him, Fianna Fáil’s Ger Frisby received 25 votes and is now at 1,048 votes.

Jenny Catt Slattery received 11 votes and now stands at 891, Maria Wall received 17 to land on 779, Natasha Newsome Drennan received 44 and is now at 655 votes and Michael Wemyss is only 7 votes ahead of the last eliminated candidate at 413.

11:15a.m.

No candidate was elected in the fifth count of the Piltown LEA in Kilkenny. Richard Daly of the Irish People was eliminated.

Following the latest count, Jenny Catt Slattery now stands at 880, Fidelis Doyle at 1,101, Damien Donoghue at 424, Ger Frisby at 1,023, Natasha Newsome Drennan at 611, Maria Wall at 762 and Michael Wemyss at 415.

10:20a.m.

The fourth count of the Piltown LEA saw no candidates being elected or eliminated. The remaining candidates votes now indicate the following; Jenny Catt Slattery at 874, Richard Daly at 392, Fidelis Doyle at 1,095, Damien Donoghue at 422, Ger Frisby at 1,019, Natasha Newsome Drennan at 607, Maria Wall at 756 and Michael Wemyss at 413.

The quota here is 1,423.

Sunday at 9:30a.m.

Day 2 of the count has begun with an early start in the Lyrath Convention Centre in Kilkenny.

After a late night, the Piltown count continued as soon as the doors to the centre opened this morning. No candidate was elected in the third count of the Piltown LEA in Kilkenny. Social Democrat David Kane was eliminated and his 282 votes will now be redistributed. So far, 2 seats have been filled in the district with 3 seats remaining.

2:43a.m.

In the sixth count of the Callan Thomastown LEA, Sinn Féin candidate Stephanie Doheny has been elected to the sixth and final seat. Returning officer Anne Maria Walsh officially declared the following six candidates elected for the area; Peter Chap Cleere, Joe Sheridan, Joe Lyons, Deirdre Cullen, Michael Doyle and Stephanie Doheny.

The counting has now concluded for the night and will resume in the morning.

2:10a.m.

No candidate was elected in the fifth count of the Callan Thomastown LEA in Kilkenny. David Kennedy was eliminated with 600 votes.

Two candidates remain in the running for the final seat in the area with Sinn Féin candidate Stephanie Doheny at 1,068 votes and Fine Gael’s Orla Kelly at 1,156.

1:47a.m.

No candidate reached the quota on the second count of the Piltown LEA. Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Benny McDonagh was eliminated with a total of 126 votes.

Jenny Catt Slattery now stands at 858, Richard Daly at 376, Damien Donoghue at 394, Fidelis Doherty at 1,055, Ger Frisby at 991, David Kane at 257, Natasha Newsome Drennan at 527, Maria Wall at 682 and Michael Wemyss at 391.

01:28a.m.

One candidate has been eliminated and no candidate was elected in the fourth count of the Callan Thomastown LEA. Green Party candidate Kristina Doyle was eliminated and her 446 votes will now be redistributed.

The remaining candidates include Stephanie Doheny who has 960 votes after receiving 25 from the surplus in the fourth count, Orla Kelly with 983 votes after receiving 62 votes and David Kennedy with 577 votes after receiving 8 votes.

12:40a.m.

Two candidates were elected in the third count of the Callan Thomastown LEA in Kilkenny. Deirdre Cullen received 258 votes to exceed the quota of 1,546 and stands at 1,699 while Michael Doyle was next elected as he received 39 votes to stand at 1,558.

Five seats have been filled in the area with one seat remaining. Stephanie Doheny of Sinn Fein now stands at 935 votes with Fine Gael candidate Orla Kelly following closely behind at 921 votes. Meanwhile, David Kennedy has 569 votes and Kristina Doyle of the Green Party has 422.

12:35a.m.

The first count for Piltown LEA has been announced with two candidates elected. With a quota of 1,423, Fine Gael candidate Patrick Dunphy topped the polls and was the first elected for the area with 1,874 votes. Labour candidate Tomás Breathnach has also been elected with 1,454, exceeding the quota by 31 votes. Patrick Dunphy’s surplus of 451 will now be redistributed. There are ten candidates remaining with 3 seats unfilled.

Jenny Catt Slattery now stands at 812, Richard Daly at 368, Damien Donoghue at 358, Fidelis Doherty at 947, Ger Frisby at 963, David Kane at 226, Benny McDonagh at 116, Natasha Newsome Drennan at 499, Maria Wall at 533 and Michael Wemyss at 384.

11.12p.m.

No candidates have been elected from the redistribution of the 511 surplus of Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere’s votes in the second count for Callan Thomastown.

Michael Doyle now stands at 1,519; Deirdre Cullen at 1,441; Stephanie Doheny at 891; Orla Kelly at 860; David Kennedy at 547 and Kristina Doyle at 404.

9.47pm:

Three people have been elected on the first count in Kilkenny in the Callan Thomastown electoral area.

Sitting councillor Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere (FF) topped the poll with 2,057 votes, exceeding the quota of 1,546 by 511 votes.

Running mate and new candidate Joe Sheridan also polled exceptionally well receiving 1,988 first preference votes, exceeding the quota by 442 votes.

Also elected was sitting Fine Gael councillor Joe Lyons who received 1,621 votes.

Fine Gael’s Michael Doyle received 1,342 first preference votes while Fianna Fail’s Deirdre Cullen received 1,208 votes.

Stephanie Doheny of Sinn Fein took 862 votes while Fine Gael’s Orla Kelly had 814 votes.

David Kennedy (SF) received 531 votes and Kristina Doyle of the Green Party received 394 votes.

Counting of the Callan Thomastown electoral area is continuing in the Lyrath Convention Centre where the distribution of Peter Chap Cleere’s surplus votes of 511.

Counting of the Piltown electoral area is also under way but returning officer Anne Maria Walsh has announced that counting of the remaining two electoral areas – Castlecomer and Kilkenny will not start until tomorrow.

8pm:

First count not expected in Kilkenny until 8.30pm at the earliest as adjudication of votes for the Callan Thomastown area set to take place between 8pm and 8.15pm.

The votes from the Piltown Electoral Area are currently being sorted before being counted.

7.27pm

Senior camogie manager and Kilkenny local election candidate Peter “Chap” Cleere looks likely to be the first candidate elected in Callan Thomastown as he is currently topping the polls.

The Fianna Fáil man has been a councillor for Callan Thomastown for the last ten years but says election day is still as nerve-racking as ever.

“The tallies are looking very good. It’s a great job but it’s been really nerve-racking for the last couple of weeks. It’s great when you see the support coming through, it’s very humbling and it gives you a great confidence in the work that you’re doing,” he said.

Chap rushed back to the count centre from the senior camogie match earlier in the day where Kilkenny drew against Waterford. ”When the match was over then the phone came back on, so it was a great way to keep you occupied and busy because it’s a nerve-racking time for all candidates. To hopefully come out on the right side shortly is great,” he said.

6.01pm:

The final tally results show for Callan Thomastown show Peter Chap Cleere and Joe Sheridan look likely to be elected on the first count. While Joe Lyons could also get over the line on the first count.

Peter Chap Cleere (FF) 2,002, Deirdre Cullen (FF) 1,174, Kristina Doyle (GP) 420, Michael Doyle (FG) 1,324, Stephanie Doheny (SF) 850, David Kennedy (SF) 522, Orla Kelly (FG) 780, Joe Lyons (FG) 1,571 and Joe Sheridan (FF) 1,937.

5.42pm

Returning officer Anne Maria Walsh has just announced counting is now getting under way. Apparently, what looked like counting for the past 45 minutes was, in fact, sorting! Callan Thomastown will be first area counted.

5PM:

The tallies have been completed here the Lyrath Convention Centre and counting got under way shortly after 5pm.

If these tally figures are collect newcomer Joe Sheridan of FF will be elected on the first count in Callan Thomastown while Cllr Pat Dunphy of FG will be elected on the first count in Piltown.

In Kilkenny Cllr David Fitzgerald of FG will be very close to being elected based on the tallies while in Castlecomer Ireland’s longest serving female councillor will be elected on the first count.

2:52p.m. –

In the final tally for Kilkenny City, Fianna Fáil has 33 per cent, Fine Gael has 17 per cent, Labour has 14 per cent, the Green Party is on 6 per cent and Sinn Féin is on 7 per cent.

The results of the final tally in Kilkenny City are as follows; Toluwani Akaehomen, (Ind) 303, Jony Aza, (Ind) 59, Barry Evan (SF) 351, Martin Brett (FG) 485, Andrea Cleere (Lab) 275, John Coonan (FF) 665, Maria Dollard (FG) 561, David Fitzgerald (FG) 1150, Liam Heffernan (Ind) 145, Joe Malone (FF) 965, Andrew McGuinness (FF) 1403, Eugene McGuinness (Ind) 1057, Michael McGrath (Ind) 64, Aoife O’Brien (SF) 179, Luke O’Connor (Irish Freedom Party) 277, Mark O’Farrell (SF) 124, Seán Ó hÁrgáin (Lab) 609, Martin O’Neill (Social Democrats) 478, Kevin Shore (PBP) 86, Noel Gerard Walsh (Ind) 22.

With 96 per cent of the boxes open for Piltown Municipal District, tallies indicate the following results; Tomás Breathnach (Lab) 1,296, Jenny Catt Slattery (FF) 432, Richard Daly, (The Irish People) 301, Damien Donoghue (FG) 337, Fidelis Doherty (FG) 687, Patrick Dunphy (FG) 1773, Ger Frisby (FF) 826, David Kane (Social Democrats) 210, Benny McDonagh (GP) 100, Natasha Newsome Drennan, (SF) 421, Maria Wall (FF) 476 and Michael Wemyss (SF) 347.

With 76 per cent of the boxes opened for Callan Thomastown, the tally results show that Fianna Fáil have 33 per cent, Fine Gael have 35 per cent, Sinn Féin have 14 per cent and the Green Party have 3 per cent. Callan Thomastown candidates have received the following results in the tally, Peter Chap Cleere (FF) 1186, Deirdre Cullen (FF) 786, Kristina Doyle (GP) 628, Michael Doyle (FG) 282, Stephanie Doheny (SF) 737, David Kennedy (SF) 452, Orla Kelly (FG) 578, Joe Lyons (FG) 1302 and Joe Sheridan (FF) 1629.

1.30pm:

98 per cent of boxes have been tallied in the Castlecomer electoral area. Early indications are that Ireland’s longest serving female councillor Mary Hilda Cavanagh of Fine Gael and sitting councillor Pat Fitzpatrick of Fianna Fail will be re-elected on the first count.

Sitting councillor Michael McCarthy of Fianna Fail also looks home and hosed although it may take the second count to see him elected based on the tallies.

John Brennan of Fine Gael and Independent candidate Maurice Shortall both look comfortable and should get across the line. In the Kilkenny City tally, Fianna Fáil have so far received 33 per cent of the votes, with Fine Gael following behind with 17 per cent.

The battle for the final seat looks to be between Denis Hynes of Sinn Fein and Michael Delaney of Fianna Fail, both of which are sitting councillors.

We will have all the live updates from the Kilkenny local election count here on this page so make sure to keep checking in with us.

Here is a quick recap of all the candidates across the three municipal districts of Kilkenny, Piltown, Callan Thomastown and Castlecomer who have been vying for a seat on Kilkenny County Council:

Callan Thomastown (6 seats)

Cleere, Peter Chap (FF) *

Cullen, Deirdre, (FF) *

Doyle, Kristina (GP)

Doyle, Michael (FG) *

Doheny, Stephanie (SF)

Kennedy, David (SF)

Kelly, Orla (FG)

Lyons, Joe (FG) *

Sheridan, Joe (FF)

Castlecomer (6 seats)

Brennan, John (FG) *

Burke, Daniel (Ind)

Cavanagh, Mary Hilda (FG) *

Delaney, Michael (FF) *

Delaney, Stephen (The Irish People)

Fitzpatrick, Pat (FF) *

Hynes, Denis (SF) *

McCarthy, Michael (FF) *

Shortall, Maurice (Ind)

Kilkenny (7 seats)

Akaehomen, Toluwani (Ind)

Aza, Jony (Ind)

Evan, Barry (SF)Brenn, Martin (FG) *

Cleere, Andrea (Lab)

Coonan, John (FF) *

Dollard, Maria (FG) *

Fitzgerald, David (FG) *

Heffernan, Liam (Ind)

Malone, Joe (FF) *

McGuinness, Andrew (FF) *

McGuinness, Eugene (Ind) *

McGrath, Michael (Ind)

O’Brien, Aoife (SF)

O’Connor, Luke (Irish Freedom Party)

O’Farrell, Mark (SF)

Ó hÁrgáin, Seán (Lab)

O’Neill, Martin (Social Democrats)

Shore, Kevin (PBP)

Walsh, Noel Gerard (Ind)

Piltown (5 seats)

Breathnach, Tomás (Lab) *

Catt Slattery, Jenny (FF)

Daly, Richard (The Irish People)

Donoghue, Damien (FG)

Doherty, Fidelis (FG) *

Dunphy, Patrick (FG) *

Frisby, Ger (FF) *

Kane, David (Social Democrats)

McDonagh, Benny (GP)

Newsome Drennan, Natasha (SF)

Wall, Maria (FF)

Wemyss, Michael (SF)

*sitting councillor

What did the outgoing council look like:

Kilkenny County Council is divided into four local electoral areas, Kilkenny, Callan Thomastown, Piltown and Castlecomer.

The council consists of 24 seats with, with six seats in the Callan-Thomastown MD, six seats in the Castlecomer MD, seven seats in the Kilkenny City MD and five seats in the Piltown MD. As there are 24 seats up for grabs, a party must have 13 councillors elected to Kilkenny County Council to have a majority.

In the outgoing council, as chosen in the last local election in 2019, no party held a majority in the council. In some respects, Kilkenny County Council mirrored what national Government looks like minus the presence of the Green Party. With six seats each, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil attained the most seats in the 2019 election.

As it currently stands, since the last local election in 2019, no party holds a majority in the council. In some respects, Kilkenny County Council currently mirrors what national Government looks like with a large presence of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors in the council chamber. However, unlike national Government, the Green Party currently only has one elected councillor sitting in Kilkenny County Council

In the 2019 Local Election, Fianna Fáil attained the most seats with 11 councillors elected. Following close behind was Fine Gael with nine councillors. Although the parties individually do not have enough to have a majority, together the two Government parties hold a large majority in Kilkenny Council with 20 Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors.

The remaining four seats are currently taken by one Sinn Féin, one Labour, one Independent and one Green Party councillor.

The current mayor of Kilkenny is Fianna Fáil Cllr Joe Malone, while the current Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council is Fine Gael Cllr Michael Doyle.

Kilkenny County Council also has a number of councillors who have been serving for over 20 years as elected members. Castlecomer Fine Gael Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh is the longest serving female councillor in the country having served 50 years as an elected member. Other current councillors who have served on Kilkenny County Council for a significant number of years include Fine Gael’s John Brennan who was first elected in 1989 and Pat Dunphy who was first elected in 1999.

Moving forward to the count today and the majority that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil did enjoy in the outgoing council in Kilkenny could potentially come under threat. The council faces the prospect of a big switch up with a large number of Independent candidates running along with a high number of non-government parties running candidates.

As with most of the country, lack of housing and tackling vacancy and dereliction is a topic that is featuring heavily on doorsteps in Kilkenny.

Similarly, immigration, another hot topic both in Kilkenny and nationwide, has recently become an issue that has divided people in Kilkenny with a number of anti-immigration protests taking place in the last year.

As a large amount of Kilkenny’s population live in rural areas, rural issues will always be raised. For instance, potholes and the condition of roads in rural Kilkenny, the lack of transport links in rural areas and also farming issues.

It will be interesting to see how these heavily featured issues on doorsteps in Kilkenny impacted how the votes were cast yesterday.