It was a bruising election for Sinn Féin in Derry and Strabane, where the party lost five seats and its position as the largest party on the council.
Going into the election, Sinn Féin had 16 councillors on Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC), twice as many as the SDLP’s eight. Now a gain of three by the SDLP puts both parties on 11 seats each.
Smaller parties also increased their vote – the Alliance Party elected its first two councillors in Derry in more than 30 years and People Before Profit got its first council representation and two seats. Retired GP Dr Anne McCloskey, who was elected for Aontú, is the party’s sole councillor in the North.
Much of the focus ahead of the voting had been on the Moor district electoral area (DEA) where Gary Donnelly – a sitting Independent councillor and former spokesman for the dissident republican 32 County Sovereignty Movement – and veteran campaigner Eamonn McCann, of People Before Profit, were both standing for election.
Electoral prospects
There had been speculation that Mr Donnelly’s electoral prospects would be damaged by the murder of 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee by the New IRA in the same area of Derry in April.
Mr Donnelly was elected on the first count and polled almost 1,400 first-preference votes, an increase on his tally at the last election in 2014.
He said his election was an endorsement of the work he had been carrying out on behalf of his constituents. He refused to answer when asked by The Irish Times about the murder of Ms McKee.
In a post on social media immediately after Ms McKee’s murder, Mr Donnelly said it had been “wrong” and added that he “would plead with those behind this attack to desist from any further attacks and seriously consider the consequences of their actions.”
Mr McCann, elected alongside his party colleague Shaun Harkin, said the election showed “an increasing appetite for alternatives to parties which are colour-coded either orange or green”.
The subdued faces of Sinn Féin representatives contrasted with the confidence of the SDLP
Referring to Mr Donnelly, Mr McCann said he was seen in Creggan “as a diligent worker within the community rather than somebody who is involved in political violence”.
Opposed to violence
In Strabane, Paul Gallagher – who previously stood for the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) and who describes himself as a dissident republican who is opposed to violence – was re-elected as an Independent councillor.
As the results began to be announced in the Foyle Arena in Derry, the subdued faces of Sinn Féin representatives contrasted with the confidence of the SDLP.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the party’s renewed success at council level was the start of a “resurgence” which he hopes will see the SDLP retake the Westminster seat at the next UK general election.
“It’s early days for us in terms of the renewal project,” Mr Eastwood said, “but what we’re finding across the North is that in places where we run new, young, talented candidates and put a good campaign behind them, we can win seats.”
Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney said that “when the electorate speak to you, you have to listen”.
“We will go away, and we will examine this. Across the picture the Sinn Féin vote has held up well, but we have to focus on our own message that we have received here,” he said.
