Full house for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in Longford municipal district

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael fielded four and three candidates respectively in Longford Municipal District and all seven were elected in convincing fashion.

The successful candidates were Gerry Hagan (FG), Martin Monaghan (FF), Seamus Butler (FF) and Peggy Nolan (FG), all of whom exceeded the 854 quota on the first Count.

It took until Count 14 to elect Niall Gannon (FG), Uruemu Adejinmi (FF) and Kevin Hussey (FF) and this trio did so without reaching the quota.

Among the four FF and three FG representatives elected, there are two new faces in Niall Gannon (FG) and Kevin Hussey (FF) while the five other successful candidates are outgoing councillors.

John Browne (FG) didn’t seek re-election, while Independent Gerry Warnock also didn’t seek re-election as he intends to run in the general election.

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The count may have stretched to three days, but the Returning Officer figures on Sunday presented a clear early picture for the electoral area that surrounds Longford town.

Even earlier, once the tallies were completed in TUS Athlone there was a sense of fait accompli. The first batch of numbers indicated that four sitting councillors would not have to endure many counts, while the main parties were happy transfers would see them in a strong place.

The headline story was Fianna Fáil securing four seats from four candidates, while the remaining three seats went to Fine Gael.

Longford Municipal District threw up an interesting footnote as four councillors passed the post on the first count.

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With a total poll of 6,920, once the 95 invalid ballot papers were removed from the mix the Total Valid Poll was 6,825.

Seven seats were up for grabs for the 18 candidates, meaning the candidates had to receive 854 votes to be elected. The first count saw four candidates exceed the quota; two Fianna Fáil and two Fine Gael councillors were elected.

Shouts of “Up the Hag” reverberated around Edgeworthstown Community Centre as soon as the Returning Officer, Mary Gouldsbury, announced that Hagan, Gerry (FG) had 1,071 first preference votes in the first count.

Speaking to the Leader after his election, Cllr Hagan, who previously served in the Granard District, after being selected to replace Cllr John Duffy in April 2018, was delighted with the achievement.

“Thanks to the people who came out in their hundreds and voted for me,” he said. “They've put their faith back in me for the next five years and I intend to work every bit as hard and harder for the people of the Longford Municipal area as I've done for the last five years,” Cllr Hagan enthused.

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Martin Monaghan, was the first Fianna Fáil representative over the line with 1,051, while party colleague Seamus Butler was only 10 votes behind with 1,041.

Cllr Monaghan remarked on the achievement of having four of the FF candidates on the ballot paper elected: “I said it on the day of the tally, on Saturday, this is a Fianna Fáil town. That said, I got a lot of personal votes from the town. Seamus polled extremely well and our two other candidates, Uruemu and Kevin, put in a great campaign.”

He spoke of the increase in his support: “I'm overwhelmed with the belief that people have put in me. To go from 576 first preference votes in 2019 to 1,051 in this election is just mind blowing for me.

“I delivered projects worth €4.5m in Newtownforbes, and I don't say that to sound big headed. Anyone who has asked me to do work for them, I have done to the best of my ability. It isn't always good news, but I'm always honest,” he said.

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Just after 5pm on Sunday Ms Gouldsbury took to the podium to announce the results of a count that started at 9am in Athlone the previous morning. There was a palpable sense of relief from the four councillors whose race had come to a positive end.
“The longer you wait, the more stressful it becomes,” Cllr Seamus Butler said of the count, “but it was worth waiting for. It's historic that in a first count in a Municipal Area you get four candidates exceeding the quota.”

Cllr Peggy Nolan (FG) is one of the elder states persons of the local authority and has been a councillor for Longford Municipal District since 2004.

The emotion of her 2024 result was apparent when she spoke to the Longford Leader after her election: “It didn't surprise me. I worked. I worked very hard,” she said.

“I'm not taking the people of Longford for granted. My heart and soul is in what I do. I'm extremely emotional. It's like a family occasion. This, for me, is a huge occasion,” the newly elected councillor said.

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Longford MD elections went to 14 counts before the elimination of Sadia Athar (Ind) confirmed that the lead Kevin Hussey (FF) had over James Donnelly (SF) was unassailable. Higher up the list Niall Gannon and Uruemu Adejinmi were also elected without reaching the quota.

The next phase of the process will see the horse trading that is part and parcel of forming a council. Members will make a case for who is best positioned to take the lead in the Longford County Council chamber.

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Cllr Butler says the new authority already has set goals: “I think it augurs well for the new council. It will be a mixture of very experienced councillors along with some new faces to freshen it up.

“The challenge is delivery; we have to work on delivering on regeneration projects and the dual carriageway between Mullingar and the Leitrim border.”

PICTURES | Large crowds crunching the numbers in Longford Local Elections