Total poll: 15,011
Valid poll: 14,848
Seats: 7
Quota: 1,857
COUNT ONE
Barrett Harry Lab765
Burke Cyril FG ,747
Crowley Aiden FF 588
Durcan Frank Ind 1,574
Feeney Mickey FF 737
Gavin Blackie FF 804
Guthrie Kevin FG 645
Kenny Henry FG 1,929
Kilcoyne Michael Ind 2,323
McCormack Eugene FG 1,084
McDonnell Al FF 1,753
Ruane Therese SF 902
Henry Kenny and Michael Kilcoyne elected. Kilcoyne’s surplus will be distributed next count.
COUNT TWO
Barrett Harry Lab 817 (+52 )
Burke Cyril FG 1,793 (+46 )
Crowley Aiden FF 606 (+18 )
Durcan Frank Ind 1,663 (+89 )
Feeney Mickey FF 764 (+27 )
Gavin Blackie FF 841 (+37 )
Guthrie Kevin FG 684 (+39 )
McCormack Eugene FG 1,139 (+55 )
McDonnell Al FF 1,801 (+48 )
Ruane Therese SF 957 (+55 )
No one elected or eliminated. Henry’s surplus will be distributed next count.
COUNT THREE
Barrett Harry Lab 817 (+0 )
Burke Cyril FG 1,793 (+0 )
Crowley Aiden FF 607 (+1 )
Durcan Frank Ind 1,669 (+6 )
Feeney Mickey FF 766 (+2 )
Gavin Blackie FF 844 (+3 )
Guthrie Kevin FG 693 (+9 )
McCormack Eugene FG 1,162 (+23 )
McDonnell Al FF 1,804 (+3 )
Ruane Therese SF 960 (+3 )
Aidan Crowley eliminated. Crowley’s votes will be distributed next count.
COUNT FOUR
Barrett Harry Lab 868 (+48 )
Burke Cyril FG 1,834 (+25 )
Durcan Frank Ind 1,741 (+72 )
Feeney Mickey FF 904 (+138 )
Gavin Blackie FF 926 (+82 )
Guthrie Kevin FG 722 (+29 )
McCormack Eugene FG 1,213 (+51 )
McDonnell Al FF 1,889 (+85 )
Ruane Therese SF 997 (+37 )
Al McDonnell elected. McDonnell’s surplus will be distributed next count.
COUNT FIVE
Barrett Harry Lab 868 (+0 )
Burke Cyril FG 1,835 (+1 )
Durcan Frank Ind 1,743 (+2 )
Feeney Mickey FF 915 (+11 )
Gavin Blackie FF 935 (+9 )
Guthrie Kevin FG 723 (+1 )
McCormack Eugene FG 1,216 (+3 )
Ruane Therese SF 1,001 (+4 )
Kevin Guthrie eliminated. Guthrie’s votes will be distributed next count
COUNT SIX
Barrett Harry Lab 934 (+65 )
Durcan Frank Ind 1,799 (+56 )
Feeney Mickey FF 953 (+38 )
Gavin Blackie FF 1,002 (+67 )
McCormack Eugene FG 1,463 (+247 )
Ruane Therese SF 1,049 (+48 )
Cyril Burke elected. Burke’s surplus will be distributed next count.
Harry Barrett called for a recount after count seven. Errors showed up.
COUNT SEVEN (Revised figures after recount )
Barrett Harry Lab 942 (+19 )
Durcan Frank Ind 1,812 (+10 )
Feeney Mickey FF 955 (+3 )
Gavin Blackie FF 1,006 (+8 )
McCormack Eugene FG 1,543 (+83 )
Ruane Therese SF 1,053 (+3 )
Harry Barrett eliminated. Barrett’s votes will be distributed next count.
COUNT EIGHT
Durcan Frank Ind 2,007 (+195 )
Feeney Mickey FF 1,018 (+63 )
Gavin Blackie FF 1,078 (+72 )
McCormack Eugene FG 1,785 (+242 )
Ruane Therese SF 1,219 (+166 )
Frank Durcan elected. Durcan’s surplus will be distributed next count.
COUNT NINE
Feeney Mickey FF 1,032 (+14 )
Gavin Blackie FF 1,099 (+21 )
Ruane Therese SF 1,255 (+36 )
Mickey Feeney eliminated. Feeney’s votes will be distributed next count.
COUNT TEN
Gavin Blackie FF 1,526 (+427 )
McCormack Eugene FG 2,023 (+183 )
Ruane Therese SF 1,383 (+128 )
Eugene McCormack elected. Blackie Gavin elected without reaching the quota. Therese Ruane eliminated.
‘The cosy cartels are over’ vows Durcan
One of Mayo’s most outspoken politicians has been returned to Mayo County Council after a gap of 20 years. It was Frank Durcan’s ‘stop the waste’ campaign which saw him receive a massive first preference vote in both Castlebar town and county council elections.
The straight talking Durcan is either loved or hated by the Castlebar public, there seems to be no in between where this man is concerned. But he is not worried about what people think of him. He is back and his anti-corruption campaign will be well and truly ignited.
“I’m back to do a very tough job. There is a lot to be done. Questions to be asked. Answers to be got and looked at carefully,” he told the Mayo Advertiser after he was re-elected to Mayo County Council on Sunday following a lengthy recount called by Labour candidate Harry Barrett. Durcan’s 1,574 first preference votes saw him in a position to claim the fifth seat on the Castlebar Electoral Area, a scenario which was realised after the eighth count.
Durcan feels that the town and county councils should be completely separated. “Castlebar is one of the few towns whose industrial estates are not within the town precinct so Castlebar is not benefiting from rates gathered in the industrial estates. This has to be changed,” he said.
Wastage of public money is what Durcan’s campaign centred on and it is an issue he will carry into his upcoming five year term.
When asked if he could enact any change due to Fine Gael’s dominance Durcan said he has achieved many things on his own in the past and he is not afraid to do so again. “I will make my voice heard regardless.”
It was a weekend for the Independent candidates on Mayo County Council, having taken five seats, only two behind Fianna Fáil who secured seven, and Durcan feels the two major political parties in the county are coming to the end of the day. “They have served the people badly in recent years. It is time to stop playing tiddlywinks in Leinster House and most of the country’s problems are emanating from Leinster House. The days of cosy cartels are over. The gravy trains must be scrapped. There will be full accountability in future and the wastage of public money must be stopped.”
The other major success story in Castlebar was the poll topping performance of Michael Kilcoyne with his impressive 2,323 first preferences. Kilcoyne, a one-time Labour politician, narrowly missed out on a seat to Mayo County Council five years ago.
At the other end of the scale, the fight for the last seat between Therese Ruane (SF ) and Blackie Gavin (FF ) was fierce with early indicators signalling that Ruane would pip Gavin to the seat. But Fianna Fáil votes stayed within the party and the elimination of Mickey Feeney buoyed Gavin’s tally to see him across the line ahead of a very disappointed Ruane.
While these were the big stories of the day, Henry Kenny (FG ) will be more than satisfied with his 1,929 first preferences which also saw him exceeding the quota of 1,855 votes after the first count. Long serving Fianna Fáil councillor Al McDonnell was next over the line with a final tally of 1,889 in the fourth count. They will be joined by Cyril Burke (FG ), Frank Durcan (Ind ), Eugene McCormack (FG ), and Blackie Gavin (FF ). The make up of the Castlebar Electoral Area now consists of Fine Gael three seats, Fianna Fáil two, and Independents two, with the two Independents sure to keep officials on their toes over the next five years.
Castlebar Electoral Area
Henry Kenny FG
Cyril Burke FG
Eugene McCormack FG
Al McDonnell FF
Blackie Gavin FF
Frank Durcan Ind
Michael Kilcoyne Ind
FG-3, FF-2, Ind-2
