Independent councillors and Fine Gael dominated this year’s local elections in Meath with Fianna Fáil doing much better than predicted while Sinn Féin struggled to meet their high expectations.
75,051 residents of Meath voted in the local elections which accounts for 48% of the population able to vote, slightly below the national turnout of 49%. Voter turnout percentage was lowest in the Trim and Ratoath districts at 44% (11,835 and 12,174 voters) each while Ashbourne reached 47%, 48% (13,415) at Laytown-Bettystown, 49% (11,974) in Navan, and the highest being 56% (15,024) in Kells.
1,019 of the votes were deemed invalid, of which 227 came from Navan, 206 from Kells, 166 from Ashbourne, 162 from Trim, 160 Laytown/ Bettystown, and 98 from Ratoath.
Of the 40 councillors elected in Meath, 11 are Independents (Ind) and another 11 are from Fine Gael (FG) with Fianna Fáil (FF) having 9, Sinn Féin (SF) with six, Aontú with two and Social Democrats (SD) electing a single councillor.
Of the 949 council seats in Ireland, 248 (26,1%) went to Fianna Fáil, 245 (25.8%) to Fine Gael, 227 (23.9%) to independents/ others, and 102 (10.7%) to Sinn Féin which is much lower than their predicted support of over 30 percent on polls. The rest were split between Labour (56), Social Democrats (35), Green Party (23), and People before Profit (13).
Trim
- Noel French, Ind
- Joe Fox, FG
- Aisling Dempsey, FF
- Ronan Moore, SD
- Padraig Coffey, FD
- David Boyne, Aontú
Noel French dominated the polls in Trim with 3,963 votes on the first count after leaving Fine Gael to become an independent councillor. Joe Fox for Fine Gael was the second candidate to be voted in as councillor with 1,881 votes on the first count as well
“I love the community, I love the place, I love what I do,” Noel French said after earning his council seat once again. “It works for me because I love doing it. I can only do it because the people are so good to me. It is a privilege and an honour because it is a responsibility as well because the people have put their trust in me.”
“We are pretty good at the moment. We have a lot of things. Have we enough? No. Can we do more things? Yes we can. We can do a lot more.”
Despite having a large number of supporters French said he will not run as TD as he “would be much more a worker than a talker and I think in the Dail there is a lot of talking.”
Returning councillors Aisling Dempsey and Ronan Moore (SD) were re-elected after the 8th and final count with Moore earning it without meeting quota. Two newcomers, Padraig Coffey (FF)and Dave Boyne of Aontú who also were elected on the 8th count without meeting quota, replaced Niamh Soughan of Fine Gael and Independent Trevor Golden who lost their seats.
Navan
- Eddie Fennessy, SF
- Emer Tóibín, Aontú
- Francis Deane, Ind
- Padraig Fitzsimmons, FF
- Alan Lawes, Ind
- Yemi Adenuga, FG
- Linda Nelson Murray, FG
Navan was the last Meath district to have their count finished due to a recount being requested by Kashif Ali (FG/FF). Ali was eliminated on the 11th count being only seven votes behind Sinn Fein’s Caoimhe Ni Shluain, but the original vote count stayed the same.
Eddie Fennessy and Emer Tóibín were both elected after the first count with 1,711 and 1,588 first preference votes respectively.
“I wasn’t expecting to top the poll,” Cllr, Fennessy said. “I want to thank everyone who put their faith in me with a vote. There is a busy five years ahead.”
Tommy Reilly was a notable name who lost his council seat after being a public representative for Meath since 1997. He was a previous mayor of Navan and was Meath Cathaoirleach leading up to the election.
Francis Deane received his seat after the 12th count while Yemi Adenuga, Linda Nelson Murray, Padraig Fitzsimmons, and Alan Lawes were elected after the 13th and final count.
Ratoath
- Gillian Toole, Ind
- Mariah Murphy, FG
- Caroline O’Reilly, FF
- Brian Fitzgerald, Ind
- Nick Killian, Ind
- Gerry O’Connor, FG
- Fionnan Blake, SF
Gillian Toole and Mariah Murphy both received their re-election to Meath council after a single count with Toole earning a massive vote of 3,158 for a quota of 1,657.
Toole said there is a lot of work to be done as councillor in the Ratoath municipal district because “We are kind of the thoroughfare for all of the rest of the rest of the county so hopefully now we will have some punch with the council management to bring the bacon home to our part of the county.”
Brian Fitzgerald Fitzgerald was re-elected on the 8th count alongside Caroline O’Reilly who became councillor after the passing of late Councillor Damien O’Reilly of Dunboyne.
“I’m really proud of everybody, my family, everyone who voted for me from Dunboyne, Kilcloon, Moynalvey, and Mulhussey, Ratoath, everywhere in the district where votes have come and all the work has paid off,” Cllr. Caroline O’Reilly said.
O’Reilly said she wants to “make the position my own” as Damien O’Reilly “made his own mark and obviously working so hard to keep it and not lose the seat”
Nick Killian was re-elected on the 9th vote while Gerry O’Connor and Fionnan Blake earned their council seat on the 13th and last count.
Eilish Balfe was eliminated on the last count while behind Fionnan Blake by 15 votes despite receiving only 483 votes after the first count.
Kells
- Sarah Reilly, FG
- Eugene Cassidy, FG
- Sean Drew, FF
- Mike Bray, FF
- David Gilroy, Ind
- Michael Gallagher, SF
- Peter Caffrey, SF
Sarah Reilly was the first to be re-elected in Ashbourne after receiving 2,077 preference votes and meeting the quota after the first count.
“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for their support and respect during the campaign,” Reilly said in a media post after she was elected. “I had a fantastic team behind me and together we topped the poll in the Kells Municipal District. I’m looking forward to the term ahead as there is lots to do.”
Fine Gael’s Eugene Cassidy was re-elected as councillor soon after on the second count.
A recount was done after the sixth count when Paul McCabe was only two votes behind Aontú’s Peter Devin. Devin was two votes behind McCabe after the recount, but McCabe was eliminated just after this on the seventh count. Sean Drew representing Fianna Fáil was elected shortly after this on the 8th count
Sinn Féin’s Peter Caffrey of Caffreys furniture took his place as councillor for the first time after the 10th count and final count while being below quota. This was alongside Independent David Gilroy and fellow Sinn Féin councillor Michael Gallagher who both earned their seat after the 10th count.
Ashbourne
- Joe Bonner, Ind
- Amanda Smith, Ind
- Alan Tobin, FG
- Suzanne Jamal, FG
- Conor Tormey, FF
- Helen Meyer, SF
Joe Bonner was the first to be elected for the Ashbourne district after receiving 2,685 votes on the first count, a massive jump from the 2,140 first preference votes Bonner got in the 2019 election.
Independent councillor Amanda Smith was elected soon after on the second count. Alan Tobin of Fine Gael earned his council seat on the 9th count while fellow Fine Gale candidate Suzanne Jamal met the quota on the 10th and final count. Fianna
Fáil’s Conor Tormey and Sinn Féin’s Helen Meyer were also elected on the final count without meeting the quota.
This is Amanda Smith’s first election win after she co-opted the council seat from Independent candidate Sharon Keogan who won a seat in both Ashbourne and Laytown/ Bettystown in 2019. Smith was nominated for Keogan’s seat in Ashbourne while Geraldine Keogan took her Laytown/ Bettystown seat.
Helen Meyer also won her first election after she was co-opted in order to replace Cllr Aisling O’Neill who resigned due to work commitments.
Bonner said that, although he is a “Donegal man,” he will “do whatever I can to support county Meath and for my electoral area in Ashbourne. Thanks to everybody who came out and voted for me.”
When speaking on the success of independent candidates in this year’s local elections, he said that “If you engage with the people, and communicate with the people and stick to the reality and the basics on the ground the people will reward you for that.”
Laytown/Bettystown
- Sharon Tolan, FG
- Paddy Meade, FG
- Geraldine Keogan, Ind
- Stephen McKee, FF
- Wayne Harding, FF
- Maria White, SF
- Carol Lennon, Ind
Sharon Tolan topped the Laytown/Bettystown votes with 1782 first preferences and was elected to the council after the first count. Her Fine Gael colleague Paddy Meade retained his seat on the 6th count.
Independent Geraldine Keogan was elected on the 7th count for the first time after she was co-opted to the council in 2020 after her sister Sharon Keogan was elected to Seanad Éireann. Fianna Fáil’s Stephen McKee and Wayne Harding were elected councillors on the 9th and 10th counts respectively while Sinn Féin’s Maria White and independent councillor Carol Lennon were elected on the 11th and final count.
Tom Behan failed to retain the council seat he earned in the 2019 local election alongside Labour’s Elaine McGinty who was co-opted to the council in 2020 after party colleague Cllr Annie Hoey was elected to Seanad Éireann.
Cllr. Tolan has already expressed her interest in running as TD in the next general election which will be made easier with the inclusion of an extra TD in the Meath East region.
“To have those number ones, it is a great mandate and endorsement of the work that I have done over the last ten years,” Cllr. Sharon Tolan said. “Lots to work on, lots that I have started to work and hopefully in the next five years get more delivered.”
