COUNCIL PROFILE: LOUTH:LOUTH MAY be called the Wee County because of its geographical size but packed into it is a population that had reached 111,267 by the 2006 census.
Among its new residents are the 15,000 commuters who work outside Louth and the results here should be an accurate barometer for the next general election.
The Greens hope to secure their first county council seat with candidate Mark Deary who is running for the county for the first time, having been on Dundalk town council since 2004.
The party is quietly optimistic that Ardee-based Mary Kavanagh, who like Mr Deary took a test case against BNFL over the Thorp processing facility in the 1990s, can win a second seat and it is running new candidates elsewhere in the county with a view to raising its profile for the future.
Fianna Fáil has a lot of work to do, not least in resolving dissent in its ranks. Drogheda East candidate Frank Maher, the outgoing mayor of the town, has already spoken of the need for the Taoiseach to communicate more clearly on the economy.
Another seasoned party member said their vote could drop as low as 20 per cent. That would translate into a battle to win no more than a single seat in each electoral area giving a loss of four seats.
The Fianna Fáil candidates are hoping their work on local issues will stand to them and that they will not be penalised for decisions at national level. However, in Drogheda, where two of the party’s longest serving councillors are retiring from the borough council, they could be in danger.
Retirements also leave two empty Fianna Fáil seats on the county council and provide battlegrounds in Dundalk Carlingford and Drogheda West.
Fine Gael is not taking the good news in the opinion polls for granted and is hoping to retain all of its seats. Party sources locally say they know they must offer good candidates; in mid-Louth they have brought in two newcomers and hope to challenge Fianna Fáil in that area.
In Drogheda, they should easily retain their seats where they have strong candidates including the brother of sitting TD Fergus O’Dowd. The party has a good chance of adding to its seven seats on the county council.
The other party hoping to gain from the anticipated anti-Government backlash is Labour. For years Drogheda was represented in the Dáil by Michael Bell but that all changed in 2002 when Sinn Féin’s Arthur Morgan took his seat.
This time it hopes to build on its traditional stronghold in Drogheda and take two seats on the county council. It also has hopes for Leonard Hatrick in Ardee who defected from the PDs last year.
Sinn Féin was the winner last time round with four new seats giving it a strong voting bloc of five on the council. It has high hopes to hold on to all of them and possibly an extra one although some feel its vote may have peaked.
Another vacancy on the county council came with the death of Mary Grehan, Independent and former PD councillor and her votes for both Dundalk town council and the county are up for grabs. Her son Alan Grehan will stand as an Independent.
Among Independents, Martin Bellew is unlikely to lose out while Frank Godfrey, who lost his council and Drogheda borough council seat last time round, has decided to enter the race again.
HOW THE PARTIES STAND
(Outgoing)
FF9
FG7
SF5
Lab1
Others4
