Elections 2024: Clare County Council round-up

Fianna Fáil emerged from the Clare County Council local election with 14 of the 28 seats on offer, which was an increase of one seat on their 2019 figure.

The turnout across the five electoral areas was 55.9%.

Fine Gael are the next biggest party in the chamber with nine seats, while three Independents and two Sinn Féin councillors complete the make-up of the new council.

The count concluded on Sunday at 9pm when the seven seats in the Shannon Electoral Area and five in the Kilrush Electoral Area were confirmed.

The count had been suspended for two hours on Sunday afternoon as the Clare hurlers unsuccessfully tried to bridge a 26-year gap since they last won a Munster title when they played the now six-in-a-row provincial champions Limerick in the final.

There was some solace for first time Fine Gael candidate Val Gillane, who was eliminated following the ninth count in the Shannon Electoral Area when his nephew Aaron, who played corner forward for Limerick, picked up another provincial medal.

Three outgoing councillors, Cillian Murphy (FF), PJ Ryan (Independent) and Liam Grant (Green Party) lost their seats, while two first time Fianna Fáil candidates, poll-topper David Griffin and Rachel Hartigan, both of whom are in their 20s, won seats in the Shannon Electoral Area.

See full results from Shannon

The now former Councillor Murphy requested and was granted a recount following his elimination on the eighth count in the Kilrush Electoral Area late on Saturday night.

He stood on 1,161 votes at the time, six behind first time candidate and party colleague Alan Troy.

However, the recount did not change anything in an electoral area where first time candidate Dinny Gould (Independent) was the first to be elected while more than 20 years after he first stood for election, Fianna Fáil’s Michael Shannon won a seat.

See full results from Kilrush

Ennis proved fertile ground for Fianna Fáil as the party won four of the seven seats available in an election contest which was dominated by Ennis 2040 development plans in the county capital.

See full results from Ennis

For the third successive election the same five councillors were returned to the Killaloe Electoral Area with former Clare GAA County Board chairperson and current Mayor of Clare Councillor Joe Cooney again topping the poll.

He increased his vote from 2,697 in 2019 to 2,819 easily surpassing the quota of 1,735. Party colleague Pat Burke and the Fianna Fáil trio of Pat Hayes, Alan O’Callaghan and Tony O’Brien were all returned again.

See full results from Killaloe

Sinn Féin doubled their total of seats with Tommy Guilfoyle successful in Ennis on his first time out, along with Councillor Donna McGettigan in Shannon who had been coopted during the previous term following the death of Councillor Mike McKee.

In the Ennistymon Electoral Area in north Clare the big story was the return of poll topper Bill Slattery (FG) who was the only sitting councillor to lose his seat in 2019.

Liam Grant, who was the only outgoing Green Party councillor lost his seat in the same electoral area.

See full results from Ennistymon