Owen ends up a high-profile loser as other TDs find they have better luck

Fine Gael's deputy leader, Ms Nora Owen, was the most high-profile loser in the Fingal local authority area. The Dublin North TD, however, appeared resigned to her failure to win a seat in the Malahide ward.

Although it was a personal disappointment she said her party colleague, Mr Sean Dolphin (22), was elected as a new councillor in local politics. "Obviously nobody likes to lose their seat but the important thing is that our own vote is up by 5 per cent."

She personally had not wanted to run but the party leader had asked her to. She said that "we would have been struggling to retain the seat if I hadn't run". Last month local newspapers had headlined her "U-turn" decision to run in the elections after she had said she would not stand.

In any other ward 26 per cent of the vote would have given them a second seat, Ms Owen said, pointing out that Fine Gael had kept its seat while Fianna Fail had lost one of its two seats in the ward. This time around, she said, there was intense competition from the Green and Labour parties.

Ms Owen was not a councillor in the last authority. She had resigned her seat when she became a minister and Mr Philip Jenkinson had been co-opted onto the council. "I am a TD and there is a sense that if a TD has a running mate, then they should get the vote."

However, other TDs had better luck. Mr Sean Ryan of Labour topped the poll and was elected on the first count in Swords, with 2,392 votes, and a surplus of more than 800 votes. Labour won six seats in Fingal, bringing it level with Fianna Fail.

The Socialist Party TD, Mr Joe Higgins, also topped the poll, in Mulhuddart, with a comfortable 318 surplus. Nonetheless it wasn't sufficient to bring in his running mate, Ms Karen Allen. However, the Socialists won a seat in Swords with the election of Ms Clare Daly.

Fianna Fail's Dublin North TD, Mr G.V. Wright, was re-elected in Malahide, although the party failed to hold on to its second seat in the ward. The Green Party was a winner in Malahide with Ms Heidi Bedell taking a seat. Ms Bedell, who is married to the Green Party's Dublin North TD, Mr Trevor Sargent, used to run a beauty salon in the seaside town. After her weekend victory, she said she would be working full-time at her council job. However, she was disappointed that there would be no other Green Party councillors on the authority "which will make it a much more difficult job".

Mr Michael Joe Cosgrave, a Fine Gael TD, retained his seat in Howth along with party colleague Cllr Joan Maher, who topped the poll. Ms Aileen Woods, daughter of the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, took her first foray into the world of politics in the Howth ward which went from four seats to three, but was squeezed out in the end and her party colleague, Mr Liam Creaven was elected on the fourth count without reaching the quota.

In Castleknock, former Progressive Democrats councillor Ms Sheila Terry was the clear winner with 2,057 first preferences. Ms Terry had been dropped as the party's Dail candidate when Mr Tom Morrissey was imposed. He had quit Fine Gael to join the PDs. Observers said there was an element of sympathy but that Ms Terry received a lot of support for her opposition to the rezoning of the old Phoenix Park racecourse.

Mr Morrissey was also elected in Castleknock, in the seventh count, along with Ms Joan Burton, the former Labour minister of state and Mr Ned Ryan of Fianna Fail, who was elected without reaching the quota. Ms Burton was happy with the party's vote and said it was a very good result because Labour had a representative in each of the three Dublin West wards of Castleknock, Mulhuddart and Lucan/ Palmerstown.

The overall results in the Fingal County Council elections were:

Fianna Fail 6

Fine Gael 5

Labour 6

Socialist Party 2

Greens 1

Non-party 3