BALANCE OF POWER: DUBLINTHE DROP in support for Fianna Fáil in the local elections was greater in the four local authorities in Dublin than in most of the other 30 city and county councils.
Coalition partners the Greens suffered a meltdown, losing all nine of its local authority seats in the capital, marking a sweeping shift in the political mix in Dublin.
The performances of smaller socialist parties and a number of left-wing Independents means there is a strong left-leaning presence on all the authorities when Labour and Sinn Féin are factored in. The extent of the crisis facing Fianna Fáil in Dublin is reflected by the fact that the party no longer has an elected council member in eight local electoral areas (LEAs), almost one-third of the 27 LEAs in the capital.
They include former Fianna Fáil strongholds like Blackrock, the South Inner City and the North Inner City. Fianna Fáil now has only one councillor (Mary Fitzpatrick) in Dublin Central. Similarly, in the two Dáil constituencies of Dublin South East and Dublin South Central, there is only one Fianna Fáil councillor, Jim O’Callaghan, who was elected in Pembroke-Rathmines.
The party did not succeed in gaining more than one seat in any other LEA in Dublin, the majority of which have five or six seats. Fianna Fáil saw its representation on the four councils in the capital fall from 29 to 18, including the body blow of a six seat-drop on Dublin City Council, where it now has only six councillors compared to the 12 seats it won in 2004, itself a historically low result.
It has fallen to third place in the city behind Labour and Fine Gael. Fine Gael enjoyed a 10-seat gain in Dublin: its most impressive performance was South Dublin, where it returned eight councillors. Among these were the former Independent Derek Keating, who amassed 4,146 votes in the first count in the Lucan local electoral area.
Two other former Progressive Democrats were elected for Fine Gael: Tony Delaney in Clondalkin and Cáit Keane in Rathfarnham. Fine Gael also made modest gains in the three other councils.
Labour consolidated its position as the strongest party in Dublin. It was the main beneficiary of Fianna Fáil’s demise on Dublin City Council, winning two seats in many of the electoral areas; and three seats in Pembroke-Rathmines. There were also a few stunning personal results, none more so than Seán Kenny in Donaghmede with 4,119 votes.
Labour now has 19 seats on the city council. It also gained three seats in Fingal at the expense of the Greens – to bring its total to nine – as well as gaining two seats in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin, where the party now holds eight and nine seats respectively.
The two main Opposition parties have enough seats between them to control all four Dublin councils if they forge pacts. The Greens lost all four seats in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown; three in Fingal and two on South Dublin County Council. The party had held a seat on the city council in Clontarf, but Bronwen Maher defected from the party earlier this year, and did not retain the seat. The big winner here was Independent Damian O’Farrell, who secured over 4,000 votes in the first count.
The other big winners in Dublin were the smaller parties and Independents. People Before Profit won two seats on Dublin City Council and two on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Richard Boyd-Barrett topped the poll in Dún Laoghaire, elected on the first count with over 4,000 votes.
The Socialist Party also maintained its three seats in Dublin. There was one change in personnel and all its seats were won in Fingal. Joe Higgins topped the poll in Castleknock, but its sole councillor in South Dublin, Mick Murphy lost in Tallaght Central.
Independents performed strongly as they did elsewhere. A number of former Fianna Fáil councillors, including Niall Ring and Tony Fox won seats, as did the “Gregory candidate” Maureen O’Sullivan in the North Inner City.
Sinn Féin had a poor election in the capital, losing three seats on Dublin City Council and its one seat in Fingal. It retained its three seats in South Dublin.