2014 Kerry County Council election

2014 Kerry County Council election

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All 33 seats to Kerry County Council 17 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Sinn Féin Seats won 9 9 5 Seat change 2 1 3   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Labour SKIA Independent Seats won 2 1 7 Seat change 2 4
Map showing the area of Kerry County Council
Council control before election Fine Gael Labour Party Independent Council control after election Fianna Fáil Fine Gael

An election to all 33 seats on Kerry County Council took place on 23 May 2014 as part of the 2014 Irish local elections, an increase from 27 seats at the 2009 election. County Kerry was divided into four local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). In addition, the town councils of Killarney, Listowel and Tralee were abolished.

Fianna Fáil emerged as the largest party on the council after the elections gaining 2 additional seats, 1 in Listowel and 1 in the Killarney LEA. The party ended up with 9 seats, the same numbers as Fine Gael, who lost 1 seat overall, and who were also slightly behind Fianna Fáil in terms of first preference votes. Sinn Féin had an excellent election, winning 5 seats overall and 4 in North Kerry where had they run a third candidate in Tralee they would have won a third seat. Labour had a very bad election losing half of their seats and both councillors returned were elected for the Tralee LEA. Michael Gleeson of SKIA retained his seat as did both the Healy-Rae's and Independents returned 7 councillors overall, 8 including SKIA. ^[1] The Listowel results were subject to a full recount in 2016. ^[2]

Results by party

Party		Seats	±	1st pref	FPv%	±%
	Fianna Fáil	9	2	15,526	22.25	4.68
	Fine Gael	9	1	15,207	21.79	5.58
	Sinn Féin	5	3	9,899	14.19	3.78
	Labour	2	2	4,597	6.59	8.39
	SKIA	1		2,039	3.07	0.23
	People Before Profit	0		390	0.56	New
	Independent	7	4	22,009	31.54	15.67
Total		33	6	69,817	100.00

Results by local electoral area

^  *: Outgoing councillor.

Kerry South and West

Kerry South and West: 9 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	Independent	Johnny Healy-Rae [*]	16.8%	3,495
	Independent	Michael Cahill [*] †††	11.1%	2,306
	Fianna Fáil	Michael O'Shea [*]	8.9%	1,846	1,942	1,978	1,993	2,044	2,278
	Independent	Dan McCarthy	7.5%	1,566	1,943	1,957	2,021	2,070	2,081
	Fianna Fáil	Norma Moriarty	7.3%	1,512	1,643	1,651	1,726	1,759	1,770	1,801	1,806	1,915	2,002
	Fine Gael	Seamus (Cosai) Fitzgerald [*]	6.8%	1,413	1,466	1,467	1,468	1,481	1,634	1,709	1,740	2,577
	Fianna Fáil	Breandan Fitzgerald	6.8%	1,406	1,444	1,448	1,462	1,469	1,499	1,510	1,522
	Fine Gael	P.J. Donovan [*]	6.3%	1,318	1,411	1,418	1,603	1,627	1,647	1,722	1,724	1,731	1,749
	Fine Gael	Patrick Connor-Scarteen [*]	6.2%	1,290	1,510	1,517	1,528	1,554	1,604	1,806	1,815	1,822	1,843
	Sinn Féin	Damian Quigg	5.9%	1,227	1,325	1,342	1,422	1,492	1,520	1,630	1,649	1,764	1,886
	Fianna Fáil	John Francis Flynn	4.9%	1,036	1,154	1,221	1,238	1,344	1,435	1,690	1,777	1,943	2,010
	Fine Gael	Matt Griffin [*]	3.4%	706	732	737	742	757
	Fine Gael	Johnny Porridge O'Connor	3.3%	692	749	780	785	910	988
	Independent	Donie O'Sullivan	2.4%	495	555	579	608
	Independent	Pádraig Garvey	3.2%	489	537	542
Electorate: 32,975  Valid: 20,797  Spoilt: 221  Quota: 2,080  Turnout: 21,018 (63.7%)

Killarney

Killarney- 8 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Independent	Danny Healy-Rae [*] ††	23.9%	4,388
	SKIA	Michael Gleeson [*]	11.7%	2,139
	Independent	Brendan Cronin [*]	11.2%	2,050
	Fianna Fáil	John Joe Culloty [*]	9.2%	1,683	2,249
	Fine Gael	Bobby O'Connell [*]	6.4%	1,176	1,321	1,340	1,343	1,381	1,395	1,406	1,423	1,522	1,572	1,619
	Independent	Donal Grady	5.8%	1,064	1,236	1,250	1,264	1,308	1,371	1,435	1,539	1,586	1,725	2,006
	Fine Gael	John Sheahan [*]	5.2%	957	1,119	1,137	1,146	1,269	1,291	1,340	1,398	1,458	1,539	1,705
	Fianna Fáil	Niall Kelleher	4.2%	771	1,100	1,152	1,159	1,180	1,214	1,319	1,427	1,598	1,731	1,839
	Sinn Féin	John Buckley	4.0%	739	935	957	963	973	1,063	1,100	1,147	1,189	1,288	1,448
	Labour	Seán Counihan [*]	3.8%	692	805	821	835	880	920	975	1,050	1,083	1,167
	Independent	Lynda Horgan	2.9%	541	691	701	709	724	799	839	922	994
	Independent	Tom Doherty	2.5%	462	573	586	598	624	657	720
	Fianna Fáil	John O'Shea	2.5%	456	556	562	571	604	635
	Fianna Fáil	Anne McEllistrim [*]	2.4%	441	603	631	635	657	672	741	805
	Independent	Brian McCarthy	2.1%	383	466	472	477	488
	Fine Gael	Cathal Walshe	1.9%	356	421	432	446
Electorate: 28,741  Valid: 18,298  Spoilt: 146  Quota: 2,034  Turnout: 18,444 (64.2%)

Listowel

A full recount began of the ballots for the Listowel LEA on 10 February 2016. This followed a court case taken by Dan Kiely, who ended the original count within five votes of two elected candidates. Voters filled in the ballot for the 2014 European Parliament election simultaneously with the local election ballot, and some put preferences 1-2-3 on one ballot and 4-5-6 on the other. The returning officers' official guidelines advised to accept the latter ballots, but the Supreme Court ruled they were invalid under Article 80(2) of the Local Election Regulations 1995. ^{[2] [3] [4]} When the "count afresh" began, "at least 10 ballots" were excluded based on the Supreme Court ruling. ^[5] Candidates' counting agents scrutinised about 300 "doubtful" ballot papers; 32 on which they could not agree were taken under Garda Síochána escort to Limerick, where a Circuit Court judge ruled 14 of them invalid. ^[6] After the eleventh and final count, in the early hours of 12 February, the same seven candidates had been returned as in 2014, with Kiely four votes behind Moloney. ^[7]

Listowel: 7 seats - 2016 recount ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Fianna Fáil	John Brassil [*] †	12.93%	1,905	1,905	1,905	1,905	1,843
	Sinn Féin	Robert Beasley [*]	12.62%	1,859	1,859	1,859	1,859	1,859	1,843
	Fine Gael	Aoife Thornton	10.76%	1,586	1,619	1,639	1,820	1,832	1,833	1,901	1,843
	Sinn Féin	Dianne Nolan	8.62%	1,270	1,291	1,348	1,384	1,388	1,396	1,480	1,490	1,546	1,681	1,843
	Fine Gael	Liam Purtill [*]	7.06%	1,040	1,056	1,095	1,111	1,113	1,113	1,135	1,142	1,329	1,413	1,573
	Fianna Fáil	Jimmy Moloney	6.82%	1,005	1,023	1,045	1,060	1,081	1,082	1,187	1,194	1,276	1,382	1,523
	Independent	Dan Kiely	6.32%	932	958	989	1,040	1,049	1,050	1,135	1,138	1,185	1,408	1,517
	Fine Gael	Mike Kennelly	5.74%	846	853	877	891	893	893	985	998	1,237	1,339	1,521
	Fine Gael	Tim Buckley [*]	5.65%	833	855	866	876	881	882	922	928	0
	Independent	Michael O'Gorman	5.44%	802	848	940	985	987	990	1074	1079	1128	0
	Labour	Pat Leahy [*]	5.15%	759	771	794	912	915	916	964	970	1,134	1,232	0
	Independent	Tom Walsh	4.47%	659	695	711	718	720	0
	Labour	Katie Lucid McCabe	3.83%	565	578	592	0
	People Before Profit	Brian Finucane	2.65%	390	426	0
	Independent	Kate Carmody	1.93%	285	0
Electorate: 24,685 (59.8%)  Valid: 14,736  Spoilt: 194  Quota: 1,843  Turnout: 14,930 (60.5%)

Listowel: 7 seats - Original 2014 count

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Fianna Fáil	John Brassil [*] †	12.96%	1,912
	Sinn Féin	Robert Beasley [*]	12.61%	1,861
	Fine Gael	Aoife Thornton	10.29%	1,518	1,619	1,639	1,822	1,836	1,837	1,904
	Sinn Féin	Dianne Nolan††††	8.61%	1,271	1,291	1,348	1,385	1,389	1,397	1,480	1,490	1,546	1,680	1,841
	Fine Gael	Liam Purtill [*]	7.06%	1,042	1,056	1,095	1,113	1,115	1,115	1,137	1,144	1,331	1,414	1,574
	Fianna Fáil	Jimmy Moloney	6.82%	1,006	1,023	1,045	1,061	1,084	1,085	1,191	1,198	1,281	1,388	1,529
	Independent	Dan Kiely	6.34%	935	958	989	1,043	1,053	1,054	1,139	1,142	1,189	1,414	1,524
	Fine Gael	Mike Kennelly	5.74%	847	853	877	893	895	895	987	1,000	1,239	1,341	1,526
	Fine Gael	Tim Buckley [*]	5.65%	833	855	866	876	880	881	921	926
	Independent	Michael O'Gorman	5.44%	802	848	940	986	988	991	1,076	1,081	1,130
	Labour	Pat Leahy [*]	5.14%	759	771	794	912	916	917	965	971	1,135	1,233
	Independent	Tom Walsh	4.47%	659	675	711	718	720	720
	Labour	Katie Lucid McCabe	3.84%	566	578	592
	People Before Profit	Brian Finucane	2.64%	390	426
	Independent	Kate Carmody	1.93%	285
Electorate: 24,685 (59.8%)  Valid: 14,756  Spoilt: 173  Quota: 1,845  Turnout: 14,929 (60.5%)

Tralee

Tralee: 9 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Sinn Féin	Toiréasa Ferris [*]	16.8%	2,679
	Sinn Féin	Pa Daly	13.3%	2,122
	Fianna Fáil	Norma Foley [*]	9.6%	1,541	1,680
	Labour	Terry O'Brien [*]	8%	1,285	1,402	1,469	1,574	1,584	1,649
	Fine Gael	Jim Finucane [*]	7.8%	1,242	1,310	1,352	1,387	1,390	1,460	1,671
	Fine Gael	Pat McCarthy [*]	7.3%	1,160	1,247	1,262	1,283	1,294	1,331	1,436	1,468	1,564
	Fianna Fáil	Tom McEllistrim	6.8%	1,087	1,184	1,215	1,231	1,246	1,284	1,319	1,322	1,569
	Labour	Graham Spring	5.6%	899	970	997	1,046	1,051	1,080	1,238	1,255	1,431
	Fianna Fáil	Ted Fitzgerald	5.2%	829	886	927	946	957	996	1,047	1,056
	Independent	Sam Locke	5.1%	815	933	1,051	1,081	1,089	1,253	1,316	1,321	1,439
	Independent	Johnnie Wall	4.8%	763	871	934	973	978	1,063	1,152	1,158	1,304
	Fine Gael	Grace O'Donnell	4.1%	657	701	725	795	802	836
	Independent	Tommy Collins	3.2%	511	631	697	725	731
	Labour	Gillian Wharton-Slattery [*]	2.5%	396	450	479
Electorate: 30,300  Valid: 15,986  Spoilt: 224  Quota: 1,599  Turnout: 16,210 (53.5%)

References

1. "Kerry County Council". Irish Independent. 26 May 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
2. "Recount for 2014 Listowel local elections underway -". RTÉ.ie . 10 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
3. Kiely -v- Kerry County Council [2015] IESC 97 Judgments & Determinations: Courts Service of Ireland. (Judgments of Justices: O'Donnell Donal, McKechnie, Clarke, Charleton.)
4. "S.I. No. 297/1995 - Local Elections Regulations, 1995". Irish Statute Book . Article 80(2). Retrieved 10 February 2016.
5. Brennan, Cianan (10 February 2016). "Two votes in it. 10 spoiled votes. This Kerry election recount just got interesting…". TheJournal.ie . Retrieved 12 February 2016.
6. "32 disputed ballots in Listowel recount identified". RTÉ.ie . 10 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
7. "Dan Kiely fails in bid to regain seat on KCC". Radio Kerry. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
8. "Two candidates elected in Listowel recount". RTÉ.ie . 11 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
9. Radio Kerry results, retrieved 12 February 2012: Count 2 Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Count 3 Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Count 4 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Count 5 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Count 6 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Count 7 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Count 8 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Count 9 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Count 10 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Count 11 Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine

Changes

• †Listowel Fianna Fáil Councillor John Brassil was elected as a TD for Kerry at the 2016 general election. John Lucid was co-opted to fill the vacancy on 14 March 2016.
• ††Killarney Independent Councillor Danny Healy-Rae was elected as a TD for Kerry at the 2016 general election. His daughter, Maura, was co-opted to fill the vacancy on 14 March 2016.
• †††Kerry South and West Independent Councillor Michael Cahill re-joined Fianna Fáil on 18 July 2016.
• ††††Listowel Sinn Féin Councillor Dianne Nolan resigned her seat in 2017 to take up a new job. Tom Barry was co-opted to fill the vacancy on 23 October 2017. Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• "Local Elections 2014 Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics" (PDF). Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2019.
• Official website
• http://irelandelection.com/council.php?elecid=157&tab=constit&detail=yes&electype=5&councilid=12&electype=5