Fine Gael woman elected mayor of Dublin

Fine Gael councillor Catherine Byrne was last night elected Lord Mayor of Dublin by just one vote, defeating Independent candidate and Fianna Fáil mayoral choice Vincent Jackson.

Cllr Byrne is one of five city mayors elected through a Fine Gael-Labour voting pact in this year's mayoral elections.

Fine Gael candidates have taken the top elected positions in all city councils and a large number of town and county councils.

Yesterday former TD Deirdre Clune won the vote in Cork, while Hilary Quinlan was made mayor of Waterford city.

While the Labour-Fine Gael voting bloc was expected to deliver a Labour mayor in Limerick city, another Fine Gael councillor, Diarmuid Scully won the election last night.

Their elections follow last Monday's Galway city mayoral vote which resulted in Fine Gael's Brian Walsh becoming the city's youngest ever mayor at 32 years of age.

Voting pacts between the two parties established after last year's local elections mean that Fianna Fáil is likely to be excluded from the top positions of mayor and deputy mayor in the city councils for the next four years. The voting coalition has also resulted in Fine Gael and Labour successes in the election of mayors or chairpersons in several other local authorities.

Westmeath County Council last night chose Labour's Mark Nugent as its Cathaoirleach; a Labour candidate, Larry Kavanagh was also chosen in Laois.

Last Friday, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council appointed Fine Gael's Pat Hand as its Cathaoirleach; on the same day Fingal County Council voted in another Fine Gael councillor, Joan Maher.

On Monday of last week Labour's Marie Fitzpatrick became Mayor of Kilkenny Borough Council while Andrew Doyle of Fine Gael became Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council and in Tralee town, Labour's Terry O'Brien was elected mayor.

While the Labour-Fine Gael coalition is proving the dominant force in most local authorities, other parties have achieved successes in some councils.

Dessie Larkin, an Independent Fianna Fáil councillor secured the top spot in Donegal County Council, while Independent councillor Tom Crosby has been returned as mayor of Roscommon.

In Sligo, Fianna Fáil's Rosaleen O'Grady won the office of mayor for the second time, having served as mayor on the council in 1999/2000.

Fianna Fáil took the chairmanship of Wexford County Council with Jimmy Curtis on Monday of last week and is tipped to take the top position in Clare on Thursday with Pat Keane.

In Monaghan last Monday, Sinn Féin councillor Pat Treanor was elected mayor. Sinn Féin is expected to win the Kerry mayoral elections on Wednesday with the support of Fianna Fáil.

Longford will also hold its elections on Wednesday with Fine Gael councillor Frank Kilbride expected to win.

Taking chains:  Fine Gael wins mayoral laurels

Dublin: Catherine Byrne

Elected to the council on her first attempt in 1999, Cllr Byrne is the first female Fine Gael Lord Mayor of Dublin. Living in Inchicore, she represents the South West Inner City Ward where she has been involved with community and voluntary groups for more than 25 years. She failed to be elected as Fine Gael's candidate for Dublin South Central in the 1999 byelection, but topped the poll for the party in the local elections in 2004.

The 376th mayor of the capital, Cllr Byrne is the first Fine Gael Lord Mayor since Joe Doyle was elected in 1998 and the fifth female lord mayor in the history of the council. She was elected mayor by just 26 votes to Independent Cllr Vincent Jackson's 25. Her election was supported by Labour, the Green party and the Progressive Democrats. Olivia Kelly

Cork: Deirdre Clune

An Alderman for the South East Ward, Fine Gael Cllr Clune topped the poll in the 2004 local elections with 2,307 votes. She served as TD for Cork South Central between 1997 and 2002 when she lost her seat but she is widely expected to run again to try and regain the Dáil seat. Cllr Clune became the third generation of her family to hold the mayoralty in Cork, following in the footsteps of her father, Peter Barry who was Lord Mayor of Cork in 1970/71 and her late grandfather, Anthony Barry who was Lord Mayor in 1960/61.

Cllr Clune was elected in succession to Fianna Fáil's Cllr Seán Martin. She is only the third female Lord Mayor of Cork after the late Jennie Dowdall of Fianna Fáil who was Lord Mayor in 1959/60 and the late Chrissie Ahern, also of Fianna Fáil, who was Lord Mayor in 1989/90.  - Barry Roche

Limerick: Diarmuid Scully

A surprise winner, Fine Gael's Cllr Scully took mayoral office by nine votes to eight. The pact between Fine Gael and Labour had been expected to deliver a Labour mayor. Labour holds four seats and Fine Gael has five on the 17-seat Limerick City Council which should have given them a majority of one over the six Independent and two Fianna Fáil members. However, the Labour Party was unable to agree on a candidate. Cllr Maria Byrne was proposed by her party colleagues as the official Fine Gael candidate. But Cllr Scully was proposed by Independent councillor John Gilligan and secured the votes of the Independents and Fianna Fáil.

Cllr Scully, who was first elected to Limerick City Council in 1999, is a graduate of the University of Limerick and a former president of the Union of Students in Ireland. - Karl Hanlon

Waterford: Hilary Quinlan

Fine Gael councillor Hilary Quinlan has been elected mayor for the third time in his political career as a result of a pact between Fine Gael, Labour and the three Independents, who command a majority on the 15-member council. Cllr Quinlan - who previously served as mayor in 1991/1992 and 2001/2002 - succeeded Labour's Cllr Séamus Ryan under the pact which involves three Fine Gael members, three Labour members and Independents, Cllr Davy Daniels, Cllr Cha O'Neill and Cllr Mary Roche.

Married with three children, Cllr Quinlan has been a member of the Council since 1985 when he took the seat vacated upon the retirement of his uncle Cllr Billy Quinlan, and he has identified the provision of radiotherapy service for Waterford as his top priority in office.  - Barry Roche