Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin largest parties, but 100% Redress shake up Donegal's landscape

Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin will each have ten seats in the next term of Donegal County Council.

While they will be the largest parties when the new Council holds its first meeting on Friday-week, June 21 at the County House in Lifford, the big winners from the weekend's local elections was undoubtedly the 100% Redress party.

The newly-formed political party rocked the establishment. With some 7,400 first preferences behind it, the 100% Redress party got candidates elected in four of Donegal's seven local electoral areas.

Ali Farren took a whopping 28.3 per cent of the first preferences (2,253) in the Carndonagh area while Joy Beard claimed 17.5 per cent of the first preferences (1,587) in Buncrana.

They will be joined in Lifford by Tomas Sean Devine, who exceeded even his own expectations in the Letterkenny area with Denis McGee doing likewise in Glenties.

It was a measure of the will of ordinary people and the power of democracy in an election that still had a pretty disappointing turnout of 53.28 per cent (down from 55.1 per cent in 2019) in spite of pressing and urgent issues. That turnout figure does come with an aserisk in the form of an increase of 10,000 to the electorate since the last local election.

The 100% redress message has already been loud and clear, but will now be delivered in the corridors of power within the local authority. Restricted and all as that might be when it comes to resolving their quest for 100% redress for homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks, there is no doubting what the groundswell of votes represented.

Indeed, with perhaps a little more political experience and nous behind them, they could have shifted the landscape even further.

Beard will be one of only three women on the new council. There was a time on Sunday when it seemed as if she might well be the sole female, but Sinn Féin's Dakota Nic Mheanman and independent Niamh Kennedy were also elected.

Despite Fianna Fáil losing two seats and seeing its vote share drop by 6.6 per cent, the party claimed the most first preferences (17,459).

Sinn Féin was actually the only party to increase its vote share (up by 2.5 per cent to 16,801) and maintained its ten seats on the Council with Fine Gael dropping another seat.

They will be joined by nine independent councillors – three of whom topped the poll in their areas with 5,274 votes behind them: Newcomer Declan Meehan in Milford; Martin Scanlon, also a newcomer, in Lifford-Stranorlar; and sitting councillor Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig in Glenties. Jimmy Brogan, an administrative assistant to Deputy Thomas Pringle, was elected as an independent in the Donegal area, polling 1,356 number one votes.

Meehan threw his hat in the ring five years ago, but time and momentum were perhaps against the Milford man in 2019. No such issues this time as 1,739 votes sent him firmly to election, confirmed on the fourth count.

Meehan creates a piece of history in becoming the first openly gay councillor elected in Donegal.

Meehan wed his long-time partner Dr Pádraig McGuinness, a local GP, in 2019 after spending years campaigning on both sides of the border for the right to have their relationship recognised under the law.

Meehan's surge in the three-seater Milford LEA spelled trouble for someone.

Fianna Fáil's Liam Blaney was never likely to be the one to end up in a sticky spot when it came to amassing enough votes.

It came to a battle of the independents and John O'Donnell – the poll-topper five years ago – who conceded defeat on Sunday as it became apparent that Pauric McGarvey would hold sway. O'Donnell's vote plummeted by around 600 to 1,324 and it remains to be seen what – if anything – his political future holds.

There might've been few eyebrows raised across the Finn Valley when Glenfin man Martin Scanlon declared his candidacy.

Yet it was Scanlon who roared to the top of the poll, claiming a staggering 1,410 votes on the first count. Scanlon was held aloft on the fourth count amid jubilant scenes at the Finn Valley Centre.

His campaign was built on that great bastion of local politics: The local issue. Pointing to a neglect of rural areas stirred the rural folk of the area to the polling booths and Scanlon certainly shook the political plates of east Donegal.

Gerry Crawford had indicated that he was intending to step down, but the Fianna Fáil representative performed a subsequent U-turn. However, the Porthall man lost his seat and will not have a seat on the Council, ending a 25-year stint.

Fianna Fáil did not manage to secure a councillor to fill their vacancy in the Glenties area. After the sad death of popular Burtonport councillor Noreen McGarvey in December following an illness, the seat was left vacant.

While Anthony Molloy retained his seat in the Glenties area, Fianna Fáil have no elected representative north of the Gweebara; a once Fianna Fáil heartland left licking wounds that will be sore.

While Fianna Fáil were disappointed with that and the loss of Crawford's seat, there were some fine returns to show that the party has retained a large swathe of support in Donegal.

Micheál Naughton topped the poll in Donegal with 1,847 first preferences, while Donal 'Mandy' Kelly romped home in Letterkenny, the Glenswilly man sailing to election with 1,841 votes, and Martin McDermott managed to stave off apathy towards the party in north Inishowen, the Malin man's popularity contributing handsomely to a vote of over 2,000.

Although long-time councillor Rena Donaghey retired, Fianna Fáil also managed to hold its two seats in the Buncrana area, where Paul Canning will now be joined by Fionán Bradley.

The presence of Kellie Rodgers, a third Sinn Féin candidate, helped to take party colleague John Sheamuis Ó Fearraigh and Brian Carr over the line in Glenties on the 10th count.

The departure of Marie Therese Gallagher earlier this year opened the door for Carr to beco-opted and the Glenties man retained the seat.

Sinn Féin lost Convoy's Liam Doherty, who decided not to seek re-election, but the party also retained its two seats in the Lifford-Stranorlar area with election newcomer Nic Mheanman nicking the last place on the eighth count and knocking Crawford out of the running.

Sinn Féin also retained the seats of Noel Jordan and Michael McMahon in the Donegal area.

The independent voice on Donegal County Council will also be considerably boosted by Frank McBrearty (Lifford-Stranorlar) and Michael McClafferty (Glenties). Both stepped away from Fine Gael during the last term of the Council, but retained their seats; in the case of McClafferty by exceeding the quota.

Fine Gael saw Barry Sweeny and Johnny McGuinness lose their seats, although the latter has not ruled out legal action after citing a procedural issue related to the elimination of candidates. The party would've been decimated further but for the election of Manus Boyle in the Donegal area.

Killybegs-based representative Niamh Kennedy admitted to thinking she had lost her seat on Sunday evening. So sure was that notion, a farewell speech was penned as she looked set to be a victim of geography – a raft of candidates in her vicinity eroded votes from her poll-topping display in 2019. That speech was subsequently binned and Kennedy was re-elected on the 11th count.

Such is the changing nature of these weekends.

In Letterkenny, Sunday became Monday as ballot papers were like Santa's list-checking. They recounted twice at the Aura Centre before, finally, Donal Coyle (Fianna Fáil) and Michael McBride (Independent) retained their seats at around 10pm on Monday.

With 100% Redress candidate Devine elected, one of the sitting councillors had to miss out.

Bakery owner Kevin Bradley was the man to fall.

“I'll just carry on selling buns again,” was his magnanimous response.

For those elected, it could well be a case of coming out of the frying pan and into the fire.