Longford votes for a new political generation
So the people of Longford have spoken, and like with many local election results it's difficult to make out exactly what they have said. Fianna Fail took the hit, but not as badly as expected.
Fine Gael increased its vote, but ended up losing a seat on the County Council.
The electorate ignored the invitation to vote in sufficient numbers for Sinn Fein or the Labour Party, and it told four of Longford's longest serving councillors that it was time to go.
While they were at it, the voters also gave three young first time candidates a resounding endorsement for the next five years.
There were a number of notable results that emerged from the count centre in the Mall over the weekend.
It felt like the changing of the guard when Fine Gael's Michael Carrigy and John Duffy romped home.
Fianna Fail's Padraig Loughrey also produced an outstanding vote to secure his seat on the County Council.
As these new and young candidates were making the headlines, their predecessors were making a tame exit from the stage.
Fine Gael's Adie Farrell and Maura Kilbride-Harkin, along with Independent councillors Peter Murphy and Michael Nevin, have been ever-present on the local political map.
Sunday's count confirmed their time was up, and that the baton has now passed to the next generation.
However, this new generation simply doesn't have time to indulge in an extended honeymoon period when they enter the county council chamber.
In normal circumstances new councillors have a couple of years to find their feet and learn the ropes of how the system works in the local authority. That can't happen this time.
Longford County Council faces challenging times in the coming months, as resources get more and more scarce.
The new blood that the voters have elected to the council will be tested early on, and no matter what the Party divisions are, the decisions that are in the best interests of the entire county must be made.
Attempting to live up to election promises may prove difficult for some of our new councillors, but they must be brave enough to leave their political views aside when the choices are difficult.
If they fail to bring a new brand of thinking into the chamber then their election has been a waste of time.
Longford needs its politicians to be bold and ambitious, and not just whinge and bitch from the sidelines.
The people have voted for change, so don't be afraid to give it to them.
Along with the new faces on the county council we have the return of a familiar one.
After a 10-year absence Mae Sexton is back on both the Town and County councils.
She returned to her natural home of the Independent ranks and by doing so she remobilised a significant personal vote.
Elsewhere, Peggy Nolan's poll topping performance had all the hallmarks of a candidate who will get a tilt at the Dail next time round. If the wind is still at Fine Gael's back by the time that election happens, Enda Kenny will find it hard to overlook Peggy Nolan.
The length of time it took to get the votes counted at the weekend baffled many onlookers.
Returning Officer Gerry Gillen and his team took their time to get it right, and in the end they succeeded.
That is the returning officer's choice, and we can be thankful the job was done thoroughly and in a professional manner.
The part of the election process that simply made no sense was the inclusion of the European ballots with the County Council votes.
If there are three separate ballots, we must have three separate boxes.
Colour code it and make it idiot proof, so that the right paper goes into the right box. This should be overseen in each polling station.
This would avoid the County Council votes having to be brought to Kenagh for separation, and with that, the 7-hour delay in getting those votes back to the Mall Complex would be eliminated.
It was ridiculous that the County Council votes remained uncounted until after 4pm on Saturday.
The political animal
A weekend spent in the company of 'political animals' is a stark reminder of what a cutthroat business this game of politics really is.
The Mall Complex was turned into one big hall filled with intrigue, backbiting and endless rumour.
Speculation about where certain 'expected' votes had gone, and where others had come from, dominated both Saturday and Sunday night.
As always it was the men with the battered pieces of paper, full of scribbled numbers and scratched out calculations, that suddenly became the centre of the Universe.
Everyone had a view about the impact the Supplementary Register had on the outcome, and there was the customary debate over where the transfers would go.
For candidates and their supporters there were moments of shear joy, along with some of downright depression.
The rollercoaster that is the count was in full swing, and while some people thrive on that kind of breakneck excitement, for others it proved just too much.
It's claimed that we have a private ballot in Irish elections, but the reality is the party people, and their number crunchers, can tell you within a hairs breath, how many votes they will get out of each ballot box. They know who will vote for them and who won't, and they also have a good idea of the transfers they will get from other candidates.
The act of voting may be considered private, but the truth of it is, the candidates probably know how you will vote long before you do.
Covering elections is a highlight of any year for people who work in the media.
It's a chance to sit in a front row seat at one of the most non-violent, but yet brutal and bloody events of the year.
For all the giving out we do about politicians in this country, we just love to witness the highs and lows of their chosen career.
In a way, we should be grateful that so many people are willing to put themselves up for election, full in the knowledge that it could all end in either a coronation, or a political beheading.
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Weather for Longford, Ireland
Thursday 17 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 6 C to 12 C
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Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
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Temperature: 7 C to 11 C
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