Elections 2024: Cork City Council results round-up

A former postman from Cameroon in central Africa has made history in becoming the first black man to be elected to Cork City Council. He was elected on the 12th count in the South East Ward.

An overjoyed Honore Kamegni of the Green Party said that had had received a lot of racist abuse online. However, he experienced nothing but kindness in the fourteen months he knocked on doors in the ward.

“No I didn’t get (racist abuse) on the door. When I first got it (on social media) I thought ‘what is happening?’

“I had to ignore all of these people because I was out canvassing and I had never spoken to a resident on a doorstep who gave out to me. Any hostility or hatred is happening online and they may not be even living in Ireland.

“People are rejecting [the likes] of them [with the result]. I am living in Ireland since 2002 and I am in Cork city since 2006 and I have not noticed any kind of racism. People have been supportive and encouraging. It is just a certain element on social media,” he said.

Mr Kamegni now works for An Post in the Little Island centre in Cork and was hopeful of getting an extra day off following his win.

He said that he enjoyed every minute of being on the ground meeting people over the last year.

“Canvassing was very very good. People were very encouraging and supportive. They want to see change. They want to see new ideas.

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“I met a lot of residents in my area who I would have delivered to (as a postman). They were happy to see me again. A lot of them remembered me but a couple of them I had to remind them that I was there every morning to deliver mail,” he added.

Among the other talking points on Cork City Council was the loss of the seats of well known councillors Deirdre Forde of Fine Gael who was first elected to the council in 1999, Cllr Chris O’Leary of Sinn Fein who was first co opted in to the council in 2002 and Colette Finn of the Green Party who was first elected in 2019.

Cork City South Central LEA

In Cork South Central barrister Shane O’Callaghan of Fine Gael was the first over the line.

He was first elected as a Fine Gael Cork City Councillor for the Cork City South Central Ward in the Local Elections in May 2019. In June 2020, Mr O’Callaghan was elected Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork City and held that office for twelve months.

Sean Martin, who is a brother of Tánaiste Micheál Martin, was the second person to be elected in Cork South Central. He was co-opted to the council in July 1997 to the seat vacated by his brother Micheal after his Ministerial appointment in the General Election of that year. He is Chairman of Nemo Rangers Hurling and Football Club and a former Lord Mayor of Cork.

Padraig Rice of the Social Democrats reached the quota on the tenth count and was elected.

Fiona Kerins of Sinn Féin, Independent Paudie Dineen and Dan Boyle of the Green Party were also elected in spite of not having reached the quota.

See full results here

Cork City South West LEA

Fergal Dennehy (FF) from Togher in Cork was the first person to be elected in the seven-seater ward of Cork South West with 2,051 votes, exceeding the quota of 2,006 votes. He is a former Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork and is the son of former Fianna Fáil TD John Dennehy.

Garret Kelleher of Fine Gael and Colm Kelleher of Fianna Fáil were both elected on the tenth count. Garrett Kelleher was on 2,373 votes at that point whilst Colm Kelleher had received 2,174 votes. Both men exceeded the quota of 2006.

First-time candidate Joe Lynch was elected on Count 13.

Count 14 saw the election of first-time candidate Laura Harmon of Labour, Terry Coleman of Fianna Fáil and Independent candidate Albert Deasy.

All three were elected without having reached the quota.

See full results here

Cork City South East LEA

Terry Shannon (Fianna Fáil) was elected on the eighth count in Cork South East with 2,302 votes exceeding the quota of 2,238. He has represented the ward since 1999 and was the first candidate to be elected this time around.

Lord Mayor of Cork Councillor Kieran McCarthy was the second person to be elected in the area, reaching 2,302 votes in the ninth count exceeding the quota of 2,238

The Independent Councillor is responsible for a series of walking tours across the southeast ward and in the city suburbs. He was first elected to Cork City Council in June 2009.

Cllr McCarthy is known for his impressive singing talent. He often bursts in to song at various events across Cork.

Mary Rose Desmond of Fianna Fáil was elected on the 12th count having reached the quota. Des Cahill of Fine Gael, Honore Kamegni of the Green Party and Peter Horgan of Labour were also elected in spite of having not reached the quota.

See full results here

Cork City North East LEA

Independent Ireland Councillor Noel O’Flynn topped the poll in the Cork North East Ward with 3,134 votes, exceeding the quota of 1,984.

Mr O’Flynn, whose father Noel is a former Fianna Fail TD, has called for more stringent controls on immigration. He was one of just three councillors in Cork city who last month voted against a multimillion housing scheme for the Spring Lane halting site in Ballyvolane on the northside of Cork city.

Also elected in the ward on the first count was John Maher from Ballyvolane on the northside of Cork city who is originally from the Glen area.

Joe Kavanagh of Fine Gael and Margaret McDonnell of Fianna Fáil were elected on the ninth count. Veteran Independent councillor Ted Tynan was elected on the 11th count alongside Oliver Moran of the Green Party.

See full results here

Cork City North West LEA

Meanwhile, the North West LEA was the first ward in the city to fill its seats. With a valid vote of 12,269 in the six-seat ward Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Fitzgerald topped the poll with a vote of 1,930 and was elected on the first count, as was Damian Boylan of Fine Gael.

Former Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr John Sheehan was elected on the fourth count with a vote of 1,780. The quota was 1,753.

Mr Sheehan is a doctor by profession and graduated from UCC in 1991. Following an internship in Cork University Hospital he completed the three year Cork GP Training scheme.

Dr Sheehan worked as a family practitioner in New York for three years and was employed as a lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in UCC. He works as a GP in Cork city.

The six seats in Cork City North West were filled with the election of Michelle Gould and Kenneth Collins, both of Sinn Féin, and Brian McCarthy of People Before Profit-Solidarity. All three were elected in the tenth count.

Ross Lahive of the Irish People narrowly missed out on securing a seat. Mr Lahive (44) is a prominent protestor against LGBTQ+ reading material at Cork City Library.

Mr McCarthy beat Lahive for the final seat by a margin of 190 votes.

See full results here