2019 Sligo County Council election

An election to all 18 seats on Sligo County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. County Sligo was divided into 3 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

2019 Sligo County Council election
24 May 2019
All 18 seats on Sligo County Council
10 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Party Fine Gael Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin
Seats won 6 5 2
Seat change Increase 3 Decrease 3 Steady
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party People Before Profit Inds. 4 Change Independent
Seats won 1 1 3
Seat change Steady Increase 1 Steady
Results by local electoral area

Boundary review

The 2018 LEA boundary review kept the two municipal districts used in the 2014 elections, while transferring one seat from Ballymote–Tubbercurry to Sligo and splitting the latter into two LEAs.[1] The changes were enacted by statutory instrument (S.I.) No. 632/2018.[2]

Overview

A total of 35 candidates contested the county's 18 seats,[3] of whom fifteen were outgoing councillors.[4] Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael each had nine candidates. Sinn Féin had three, Solidarity/People Before Profit had two, while and one each for the Labour Party, Green Party and Renua. The nine independent candidates included Declan Bree, who was County Sligo's longest serving councillor. Thirteen of the fifteen candidates who were outgoing councillors were re-elected,[4] including Bree who was first elected in 1974 to both the County Council and Sligo Borough Council.[3]

Several seats were decided by very narrow margins, and result was that Fine Gael gained three seats to become the largest party, with six seats. Fianna Fáil lost three seats, and the other group totals were unchanged.[5] The long-serving Bree was re-elected in the Sligo–Strandhill LEA.[6]

Results by party
Party Seats ± 1st pref FPv% ±%
Fine Gael 6 Increase3 10,171 30.30 Increase5.40
Fianna Fáil 5 Decrease3 9,599 28.59 Decrease1.11
Sinn Féin 2 Steady 2,752 8.20 Decrease2.10
People Before Profit 1 Steady 1,332 3.97 Increase1.37
Inds. 4 Change 1 Increase1 1,550 4.62 New
Labour 0 Steady 470 1.40 Decrease2.70
Renua 0 Steady 315 0.94 New
Green 0 Steady 175 0.52 Increase 0.52
United Left 0 Decrease1 N/A N/A N/A
Independent 3 Steady 7,187 21.41 Decrease0.99
Total 18 Steady 33,571 100.0 Steady

Results by local electoral area

^ *: Outgoing councillor elected in 2014.
^ †: Outgoing councillor coopted subsequent to the 2014 election.

Ballymote–Tubbercurry
Ballymote–Tubbercurry: 7 seats[7][8]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345678910
Fianna Fáil Paul Taylor[*] 11.80% 1,886 1,900 2,076              
Independent Joe Queenan[*] 10.86% 1,737 1,763 1,773 1,775 1,806 1,822 2,158      
Independent Michael Clarke[*] 9.77% 1,562 1,603 1,614 1,615 1,664 1,693 2,076      
Fine Gael Gerard Mullaney 9.53% 1,523 1,551 1,556 1,557 1,565 1,635 1,747 1,798 1,819 1,853
Fine Gael Dara Mulvey[*] 9.36% 1,497 1,538 1,583 1,584 1,624 1,931 2,062      
Fianna Fáil Martin Baker[*] 8.96% 1,432 1,472 1,510 1,521 1,535 1,793 1,821 1,869 1,895 1,902
Fine Gael Blair Feeney 7.54% 1,206 1,219 1,221 1,221 1,227 1,241        
Independent Willie Gormley 6.54% 1,046 1,098 1,175 1,186 1,455 1,743 1,786 1,804 1,821 1,826
Fianna Fáil Keith Henry[†] 6.39% 1,022 1,050 1,092 1,109 1,146          
Fine Gael Martin Connolly 6.32% 1,011 1,019 1,193 1,214 1,732 1,783 1,868 1,893 1,906 1,923
Independent Barry Gallagher 5.93% 948 998 1,097 1,109            
Fianna Fáil Romuald Mullarkey 4.33% 692 699                
Sinn Féin Daniel Gallagher 2.66% 425                  
Electorate: 24,389   Valid: 15,989   Spoilt: 198   Quota: 1,999   Turnout: 16,187 (66.37%)  

    The Fine Gael director of elections made a formal complaint about the large increase in the number of postal votes cast — 252 compared to 131 in the same district in the 2014 election and 20 and 17 in the other two districts in 2019.[9] The ensuing Garda investigation into potential electoral fraud was still ongoing in February 2022.[10]

    Sligo–Drumcliff
    Sligo–Drumcliff: 5 seats[11][12]
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    1234567
    Sinn Féin Thomas Healy[*] 15.11% 1,370 1,402 1,437 1,610      
    Fianna Fáil Dónal Gilroy 13.87% 1,257 1,279 1,322 1,435 1,450 1,534  
    Fine Gael Thomas Walsh 13.46% 1,220 1,236 1,252 1,322 1,339 1,613  
    Independent Marie Casserly[*] 12.94% 1,173 1,211 1,250 1,460 1,504 1,688  
    Fine Gael Tom Fox 11.45% 1,038 1,049 1,060 1,112 1,116 1,320 1,375
    Fianna Fáil Seamus Kilgannon[*] 10.20% 925 941 964 1,052 1,063 1,168 1,217
    Fine Gael Ciara McLoughlin 9.27% 840 857 873 926 934    
    People Before Profit Nigel Gallagher 4.78% 433 475 491        
    Fianna Fáil Colm McGurran 3.66% 332 333 348        
    Independent Amanda Gallagher 2.84% 257 267          
    Inds. 4 Change Corey Whyte 2.23% 202            
    Electorate: 16,154   Valid: 9,065   Spoilt: 127   Quota: 1,511   Turnout: 9,192 (56.9%)  

      Sligo–Strandhill
      Sligo–Strandhill: 6 seats[6][13]
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      123456
      Inds. 4 Change Declan Bree[*] 15.83% 1,348          
      Fianna Fáil Tom Macsharry[*] 12.23% 1,042 1,053 1,125 1,140    
      Fianna Fáil Rosaleen O'Grady[*] 11.87% 1,011 1,016 1,057 1,069 1,145 1,217
      Sinn Féin Chris MacManus[†] 11.24% 957 967 988 1,012 1,099 1,167
      Fine Gael Blaine Gaffney 10.81% 921 926 958 971 1,016 1,100
      Fine Gael Sinead Maguire[*] 10.74% 915 942 976 984 1,022 1,203
      People Before Profit Gino O'Boyle[†] 10.56% 899 925 944 976 1,061 1,164
      Labour Nessa Cosgrove 5.52% 470 537 567 583 606  
      Independent Jim McGarry 5.45% 464 470 495 506    
      Renua Finbarr Filan 3.70% 315 320        
      Green Miranda O'Donnell 2.05% 175          
      Electorate: 16,754   Valid: 8,517   Spoilt: 133   Quota: 1,217   Turnout: 8,650 (51.63%)  

        Results by gender
        2019 Sligo County Council election[5][14]
        Candidates by gender
        Gender Number of
        candidates        		  % of
        candidates        		 Elected
        councillors        		  % of
        councillors
        Men 29 87.9% 15 83.3%
        Women 4 12.1% 3 16.7%
        TOTAL33 18 

        Sources
        • "Sligo County Council - Local Election candidates". RTÉ. 13 May 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
        • "Count Results". Elections 2019. Sligo County Council. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
        • "Local Elections 2019: Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics" (PDF). Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG). pp. 184–186. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.

        References
        1. Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee No. 1 (13 June 2018). Report 2018 (PDF). Government Publications. pp. 100–103, 161. ISBN 978-1-4064-2990-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
        2. Phelan, John Paul (19 December 2018). "S.I. No. 632/2018 — County of Sligo Local Electoral Areas Order 2018". electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB). Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
        3. Deering, Paul (18 May 2019). "Thirty five candidates fighting for 18 seats Seven parties with candidates in the field along with independents across three areas". Sligo Champion. Sligo. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
        4. DHPLG 2019, p. 248.
        5. McDonagh, Marese (27 May 2019). "Sligo County Council results: 'Democracy has made statement,' says Joe Queenan". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
        6. DHPLG 2019, p. 186.
        7. DHPLG 2019, p. 184.
        8. "Local elections 2019 — Ballymote–Tubbercurry Results". sligococo.ie. Sligo County Council. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
        9. Mhonacháin, Sorcha Ní (22 February 2022). "Inquiry into alleged electoral fraud in Sligo-Leitrim". Retrieved 22 February 2022.
        10. McDonagh, Marese (24 May 2019). "Local election result may be challenged amid electoral fraud allegations". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
        11. DHPLG 2019, p. 185.
        12. "Local elections 2019 — Sligo-Drumcliff Results". sligococo.ie. Sligo County Council. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
        13. "Local elections 2019 — Sligo-Strandhill Results". sligococo.ie. Sligo County Council. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
        14. DHPLG 2019, p. 247.
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