Garry Murtagh, the highest vote getter in county Longford Picture: Shelley Corcoran
The election for the Granard Municipal District kicked into life dramatically in the early hours of Monday morning as Fianna Fáil managed to avoid a wipe-out and retain a long-held seat for the party, heading off a quadruple sweep by Fine Gael.
His namesake from the Partridge Family David Cassidy once famously sang “How Can I Be Sure” and the Granard candidate of the same name must have been asking himself the same question after his election at the very last hurdle.
It would take a full recount on Monday before the results were confirmed and Cassidy would join Cllrs Garry Murtagh, Turlough McGovern, Paraic Brady and newcomer Pádraig McNamara.
From the tallies in the count centre in TUS Athlone on Saturday, it looked as if Fianna Fáil would come up blank in the Granard Municipal District.
Tallies showed Cassidy a distant sixth with it looking like four seats for Fine Gael along with impressive polling from independent Turlough McGovern, increasing his vote second time out and being elected on the first count.
And for much of Sunday it looked like things would pan out this way.
However, things took a dramatic twist in the early hours of Monday morning when Fianna Fáil candidates Marett Smith and Susan Murphy were eliminated.
Their transfers, and Murphy’s in particular, would see a decisive shift in Cassidy’s favour at the expense of Cllr Colin Dalton who had looked set to retain his seat.
It had been a very strong showing for Fine Gael early on as Cllr Garry Murtagh topped the poll with 1,450 first preferences, just ahead of independent candidate Turlough McGovern (1,413), with a second Fine Gael candidate, Cllr Paraic Brady (1,211) also safely through on the first count.
Cllr Colin Dalton (820 first preferences) was positioned in fourth position at this stage and seasoned Fianna Fáil candidates did not hold out much hope of Cassidy (543) securing a seat. In fact the only person in the whole count centre who seemed to give Cassidy a fighting chance was Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty.
On Sunday, three candidates were elected on the first count, with Cllr Garry Murtagh topping the poll impressively.
Independent Cllr Turlough McGovern was also delighted with his showing.
"Yeah, it was a battlefield, but look, I think we pulled the troops out in good time... and timed it very well, you know. As an independent candidate, it's always more of a challenge, and the fact that you topped the poll the last time, I think people would have sort of assumed that this year would be more difficult," Cllr McGovern said.
Reflecting on another incredible performance, which saw him get 1,413 first preferences, a surplus of 228 he said: "a lot of people would have said I'd never get that vote again, and to come out and top it again up, I mean, nearly 125 votes, it's a fair record for an independent standing on his own against all the big guns, you know.
"But I suppose us in that little Granard area there loves that challenge, you know, and the McGoverns were never known for lying down," he said.
Cllr Murtagh praised all those who had put their name forward, and were awaiting results. “It’s easy for me to sit back and enjoy that,” he said.
“It’s a stressful time in fairness to them and it’s worth mentioning that any candidate who puts their name forward on the ballot paper, they have to be admired and applauded for that. And I’m sure the experience of that will bring them along, and they will always be able to look back and say I had a go,” he said.
Cllr Paraic Brady had the luxury of pounding a punch-bag upstairs in the count centre in Edgeworthstown on Sunday afternoon after he was also elected on the first count.
However, none of the candidates were fully aware of the drama that would unfold later, around 4 am the following morning.
On count 6, Cassidy trailed Colin Dalton by just four votes on 1,055 to Dalton’s 1,059, after the first-time candidate picked up 338 transfers to Dalton’s 87 from Fianna Fáil candidate Susan Murphy.
Also read: Fine Gael strike deal with Independents to retain control of Longford council
Both were still short of the quota and transfers of Cllr Paraic Brady’s surplus of 26 votes would ironically push the Fianna Fáil candidate ahead of his Fine Gael counterpart, right at the death, as geography rather than party loyalty intervened. Cassidy picked up 16 votes and Dalton eight, leaving Cassidy the victor by 1,071 to 1,067. A recount was called and no discrepancies or errors found.
This meant that Fine Gael would retain three seats for the Granard Municipal District, with one non-party and Cassidy retaining the seat held by outgoing Cllr PJ Reilly.
Also read: Six new faces and three recounts as Longford local elections produce plenty of drama
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