Counting is getting underway in Naas, Maynooth, Celbridge and Clane Local Electoral Areas today with Athy, Newbridge, Kildare and Leixlip Local Electoral Areas set to commence tomorrow
23.15
We’ve reached count 5 in Maynooth. Evelyn Gaynor (Sinn Féin) has been eliminated and her vote will now be transferred.
23.12
Fine Gael’s Lumi Panaite Fahey is elected on count 3 in the Celbridge LEA
23.09
Cllr Bill Clear is going to enjoy a beer in a bit to mark topping the poll in Naas LEA. He more than doubled his vote from the 2019 local election. He said: “I’m shocked. I’m quite honoured that people did trust me and gave me that many votes. I started campaigning six months ago. I started doing the rural areas …. I went out and talked to them and asked was there help I needed. Then moved into the villages and towns.”
Naas LEA first count
Bill Clear celebrates after topping the poll with Deputy Catherine Murphy
22.18
Bill Clear (Social Democrats) tops the poll in the Naas LEA with 1,975 votes. He is the only councillor elected on this count and his surplus will now be distributed. Cllr Clear is followed by cllrs Fintan Brett, Evie Sammon (Fine Gael), Seamie Moore (Ind), Carmel Kelly (Fianna Fáil) Anne Breen (Lab)
21.40
Looking across the various LEAs it looks like it could be a very good election for the Social Democrats in Kildare
21.25
ICYMI here is the Naas tally which makes for very good reading for several candidates. Promises to be a tussle for the last seat.
Naas tally
20.19
Celebrations from the Celbridge LEA
David Trost topped the poll in Celbridge LEA Photo: Aisling Hyland
Claire O’Rourke celebrating with fellow Social Democrats after being elected in Celbridge LEA Photo: Aisling Hyland
Celbridge LEA first count results
20.54
Celbridge LEA first count results. Two elected. David Trost of Fianna Fáil tops the poll (1,687) and Claire O’Rourke of Social Democrats is also elected (1,412). Trost’s surplus will now be distributed and the quota is 1,376.
20.50
Another Green Party candidate, Patricia Foley, has been eliminated on Clane’s second count a short while ago
20.27
Green Party candidate Peter Hamilton has been eliminated on the second count in Maynooth. His vote will now be transferred.
MAYNOOTH: 5 SEATS
20.20
Cllr Seamie Moore of Naas LEA is running in his 10th election. He appears to be performing well in the votes but is loathe to speculate.
“It’s like horse racing, a dead certs become dead money.”
First count results for Clane LEA
19.33
“It’s very humbling,” says Naoise Ó Cearúil after topping the poll in the Maynooth LEA.
Cllr Ó Cearúil thanked his wife Aly and his whole family for their support.
“It’s a family occasion. It’s a sacrifice for all the family. There are friends who help out on the campaign team. They might not have experience or interest in it other than their friends! They give their time and energy.”
Asked about how he will celebrate, the Maynooth man said: “We’ll probably get a few pizzas, have a few beers and chill out. If it’s not too late, we might head out to Brady’s or O’Neill’s for a few pints!”
Celebration as cllr Naoise Ó Cearúil becomes the first councillor elected in Kildare in the Maynooth LEA
19.26
Tally results for Kildare LEA
Kildare LEA (5 seats): Suzanne Doyle (Fianna Fáil) has topped the tally in Kildare, with 1,445 first preference votes. In second place is Kevin Duffy (Fine Gael) with 1,259 and in third is Brian O’Loughlin (Fianna Fáil) on 1,038.
Fine Gael’s Paddy Curran is ranked fourth in the tally with 660 first preferences, with fifth spot occupied by Pat Balfe (Social Democrats) on 543.
Note: Two boxes as well as two halves are not included in the tally figures.
19.25
Cllr Brendan Wyse tops the poll in Clane LEA with 1,986 votes. The quota is 1,537.
19.10
First count for Maynooth LEA
19.07
Naoise Ó Cearúil tops the poll in Maynooth with 1,880 votes. Quota is 1,566 and his surplus will now be distributed
19.05
Maynooth about to be announced
18.57
It’s early days yet in the Naas count but cllr Bill Clear of the Social Democrats looks to have done very, very well. He won’t be counting chickens anytime soon.
He said: “There is huge emotions, up and down. I’m a pessimist at heart. I found it very difficult today to be honest. Things look good enough. Until I see it, I won’t get ahead of myself. The party are doing well. We got a lot of new councillors hopefully coming in.”
18.42
Tally results for Newbridge LEA
Newbridge LEA (6 seats): The tally for Newbridge LEA is complete and it’s the O’Dwyers who are running away with it. Sitting councillor Tracey O’Dwyer sits in first position with 2,030 first preferences while her Fine Gael colleague cllr Peggy O’Dwyer is second with 1,938.
In third place is cllr Chris Pender (Social Democrats) who is in a very buoyant mood here with 1,407 first preferences, followed by the Fianna Fáil duo of Noel Heavey (1,004) and cllr Rob Power (824), and Aontú’s Melissa Byrne in sixth with 679.
18-year-old Sinn Féin candidate can certainly be hopeful ahead of tomorrow’s count – the tally has him in seventh place with 625 first preferences.
18.23
Disappointment for some.
“The tallys are in, and the vote count tomorrow,” Sinn Fein candidate in Athy, Thomas Redmond, has posted on Facebook.
“It’s very, very disappointing and the party will really need to do some soul searching going forward.”
17.39
Returning officer Eoghan Ryan announced that ‘doubtful votes” were to be adjudicated in the Maynooth LEA a few minutes ago which shows the count’s progress. Maynooth likely to be the first LEA to provide first count results later today.
17.15
Our reporter Finian Coghlan takes a look at the early tally figures in a couple of LEAs and the prospects of various candidates
17.10
Postal votes for Naas indicate veteran councillor Seamie Moore leading the way. Postal votes are a very narrow slice of total votes but cllr Moore will take them anyway!
16.40
The updated tally results for Athy LEA
Athy LEA (5 seats): The tally figures have been updated slightly in Athy, but the positions remain mostly the same. Cllr Aoife Breslin (Labour) ranks top with 2,241 first preferences, with cllr Ivan Keatley (Fine Gael) in second on 1,534.
Fianna Fáil’s Brian Dooley and Veralouise Behan remain in third and fourth respectively (1,022 and 872), William Carton (Independent Ireland) is in fifth with 853, while cllr Mark Leigh (Labour) remains sixth with 692.
16.35
Fair play to the couple who have brought camping chairs with them for the Maynooth count! Seats could well be traded as currency by the end of the weekend.
16.07
Athy LEA (5 seats): The tallies have been totted up and it’s sitting councillor Aoife Breslin (Labour) who takes provisional pole in Athy LEA with 1,991 first preference votes. In second place is cllr Ivan Keatley (Fine Gael) with 1,498.
Third and fourth spots in the tally are occupied by Fianna Fáil duo and serving councillors Brian Dooley (956) and Veralouise Behan (824). The fifth spot is occupied by William Carton (Independent Ireland) on 814, with cllr Mark Leigh in sixth place with 646.
It’s understood that two boxes are not included in the tally (perhaps not tallied), which could alter the final figures somewhat.
15.35
19-year-old Sinn Féin candidate James Stokes is doing well in Newbridge according to tallies.
15.30
The tally for the Athy Local Electoral Area is still underway but it appears sitting councillors Aoife Breslin (Lab) and Brian Dooley (FF) are leading the way.
15.10
Newbridge tally
14.40
Maynooth’s Naoise Ó Cearúil (FF) is the first councillor to show his head at the count hall today along with outgoing cathaoirleach Darragh Fitzpatrick. Naoise is looking happy and may have every right to be if tally indicators are correct.
14.15
The Irish Times reports that the three government parties are cautiously welcoming the results of early tallies on a national level with questions being asked around whether Sinn Féin have run too many candidates nationwide. Sinn Féin are running 13 candidates across Kildare’s eight LEAs.
13.43
Counting of postal votes underway in Clane LEA
13.35
Counting is underway in Punchestown in the Clane and Maynooth LEAs
12.55
Early tally figures indicate Labour’s Aoife Breslin is polling strongly and may top the poll in Athy
