Fianna Fáil’s dominance of Co Offaly’s political scene held up in the local elections, while Fine Gael also had a good showing in a result one returning councillor described as a sign that the “centre is holding”.

After being wiped-out here in 2019, the only way was up for Sinn Féin and it managed to take a seat in each of the three electoral areas. Seán Maher, who was a councillor from 2014 to 2019, was the last elected candidate to find out his fate after surviving a full recount in Birr on the fourth day of counting.

Fianna Fáil matched its 2019 result by winning eight of the 19 council seats. In Birr, poll-topper Peter Ormond (FF) said voters had been telling him they were generally content with how his party and Fine Gael were operating in Government. He said he was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2020 general election, during which he “felt the opposite of that”.

With all five of its runners elected, Fine Gael increased its representation by one. Candidate strategy played a role in Neil Feighery topping the poll in Tullamore and winning back his seat on the first count. He was the sole Fine Gael candidate in this area, where Fianna Fáil successfully ran four contestants.

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Mr Feighery said he was “heartened and encouraged” by the local electorate’s decision to hold the centre and reward honest, hardworking politicians.

There was a slight buck of national trends in Offaly as the number of Independent councillors fell from four in 2019 to two, or three if one includes Independent Ireland’s Fergus McDonnell.

Independent Sandy Feehan-Smollen, who took over the seat vacated by her husband due to illness, was a casualty this time around. The Green Party’s Mark Hackett also failed to hold the seat won in 2019 by his wife, Minister of State and Senator Pippa Hackett.

Claire Claffey of the Social Democrats lost her seat leaving the party without representation in Co Offaly. She was granted a full recount of the votes in Birr after coming up 27 behind her nearest rival on the 12th and would-be final count. She narrowed the difference in the rerun, but only marginally and ended up 26 votes behind Mr Maher (SF).

Offaly was known during the last term for its lack of gender diversity, with no more than two female councillors at any given time. Now, there will be four women, including two Claire Murrays, one FF and one SF, in the Edenderry area.

Birr: 6 seats

Edenderry: 6 seats

Tullamore: 7 seats

[ View 2019 Offaly County Council results ]

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