Independent councillor Vincent Jackson was made Lord Mayor of Dublin by the luck of the draw last night when his name was pulled out of a hat by the outgoing lord mayor, Catherine Byrne.
The Fine Gael/Labour alliance, which has assured those parties the mayoralty for several years, was defeated when Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Independent councillors joined together to elect Mr Jackson.
The draw was made after Mr Jackson and Labour councillor Paddy Bourke tied on 26 votes each in the second round of voting. Mr Bourke had led in the first round, receiving votes from the 15 Labour councillors, nine Fine Gael councillors, PD councillor Wendy Hederman and Green Party councillor Bronwen Maher. Mr Jackson got 12 votes from Fianna Fáil and four from the Independent councillors, while Sinn Féin candidate Christy Burke got 10 votes from his party. No Fianna Fáil candidate was put forward.
A majority of 27 votes from the 52-member council is required for election, preventing Mr Bourke from taking the chair, despite having the highest number of votes. On the second round, Sinn Féin voted for Mr Jackson, leading to the tie.
The Fine Gael/Labour pact had looked set to deliver another Labour Lord Mayor but was scuppered when former Fine Gael councillor Niamh Cosgrave, now Independent, voted for Mr Jackson. Ms Cosgrave was ejected from Fine Gael when she failed to attend last year's mayoral election. Labour councillor Aodhán O'Riordáin was elected deputy Lord Mayor.
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