Labour not ruling out Dublin City Council coalition with Sinn Fein

Dublin City Council: Sinn Féin may have made the biggest gains on Dublin City Council but Labour will be more than happy with its result as it overtakes Fianna Fáil as the largest party in the local authority.

The prospect of Sinn Féin replacing Fianna Fáil as Labour's partner in controlling the council was not being ruled out by senior Labour politicians yesterday. However, Labour would find it easier to sell a pact with Fine Gael to its supporters.

In both cases, however, this would depend on the support of Independents or smaller parties in the 52-seat chamber, leaving Labour and Fianna Fáil as the most likely coalition partners.

Internal party discussions will get under way today only after the result of a recount in Clontarf, where Labour's Ms Orla Farrell lost by 12 votes to Fine Gael's Mr Naoise O'Muiri in the battle for the final seat.

Assuming there is no change in the result, the state of the parties in the 52-seat local authority will be: Labour (15), Fianna Fáil (12), Fine Gael (10), Sinn Féin (10), Independents (3), Greens (1) and PDs (1).

Sinn Féin's success was almost entirely at the expense of Fianna Fáil. The former party gained six seats, the latter lost eight. The Green Party dropped its representation by one, while Labour, Fine Gael, the PDs each gained one.

Apart from the gain in seats, Sinn Féin was buoyed by the manner in which they were won. Mr Larry O'Toole in Artane, Mr Nicky Kehoe in Cabra-Glasnevin, Mr Killian Forde in Donaghmede, and Mr Dessie Ellis in Finglas all swept in on the first count, topping the poll in their relative constituencies.

A large and boisterous group of supporters took over the RDS for much of Saturday afternoon, carrying each victorious candidate out the front door of the count centre amid waving Tricolours.

Sinn Féin believes the four poll-toppers, along with Mr Daithí Doolin, who took a seat in South-East Inner City, can form the backbone of a strong team to challenge in Dublin in the general election.

Likewise, Labour is taking encouragement from the particularly strong performance of Mr Eric Byrne in Crumlin-Kimmage, and Mr Sean Kenny in Donaghmede.

Fianna Fáil, meanwhile, had its moment of glory when Ms Deirdre Heney topped the poll in Clontarf.

Among the new faces joining the council are: Ms Lucinda Creighton, a former leader of Young Fine Gael; Labour's Mr Oisin Quinn, a son of businessman Mr Lochlann Quinn and nephew of former party leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn and Ms Wendy Hederman for the PDs, a solicitor and daughter of the former lord mayor Ms Carmencita Hederman.