The Mayo County Council results contained some surprises, particularly the gain for Fianna Fail of one seat in the four-seater Westport electoral area.
In that area, the Fine Gael candidate and sitting TD, Mr Michael Ring, once again topped the poll but was the only Fine Gael candidate to secure a seat in the area. He exceeded the quota of 1,516 by 1,178. Only 418 of these were added to the 655 first preference votes of his only running mate, Mr Peter McManamon. This did not translate into a seat for the party, leaving Fianna Fail with three out of four available seats.
One of these was won for the first time by a woman Fianna Fail candidate in Westport, outgoing urban councillor Ms Margaret Adams, who also succeeded in retaining her urban council seat. Another was won by Mr Peter Sweeney, a 24-year-old from Louisburgh, who ran for the first time. In Castlebar, Ms Beverly Cooper-Flynn TD, who faced the electorate as a Mayo County Council candidate for the first time having been co-opted to the council in 1994, was jubilant at topping the poll. Securing a first preference count of 2,047 votes, she exceeded the quota of 1,604 by 443. However, the outgoing Fianna Fail candidate, Mr John Devaney, lost his seat. This was partly due to boundary changes, but the seat was retained for Fianna Fail by the party's new candidate, Mr Sean Bourke.
In Swinford, Mr Sean McEvoy of Fine Gael unexpectedly lost his seat to party newcomer Mr Joe Mellett.
Another casualty was the sitting Fianna Fail councillor Mr Paddy Oliver. His seat was picked up by his party colleague and newcomer Mr Gerry Murray. In Belmullet, ail candidate, Mr Padraic Cosgrove, an Independent councillor for over 20 years and a former Fianna Fail candidate, lost his seat after a devastating first preference count of just 449 votes, almost 1,000 votes short of the 1,439 quota. Also in Belmullet, a total recount was called for by an Independent candidate, Mr Michael Holmes, after a difference of just one vote separated him from Fianna Fail's Mr Frank Lenehan on the sixth count. In Ballina, all outgoing candidates managed to retain their seats while in Ballinrobe, Mr Damian Ryan for Fianna Fail secured the extra third seat created as a result of changes in that area's boundaries.
In the three Urban District elections of Castlebar, Westport and Ballina in the Mayo constituency, Fianna Fail gained one seat in the nine-seater Castlebar Urban Council, claiming an unprecedented four seats. Fine Gael won two seats while Labour, which already held one seat, picked up a second. There was no change in the distribution of seats among the parties in Westport, while in Ballina, a total recount was called.