The Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District had the smallest field five years ago – with just nine candidates contesting for the six seats.
Fine Gael’s John Moran, a councillor since 1991, retired prior to the election with his daughter Aisling replacing him on the ticket, and she took the final seat, after mostly maintaining the vote John had gotten five years previously.
Fianna Fáil’s Padraig Fleming topped the poll for the first time and was elected on the fist count, along with Sinn Féin’s Aidan Mullins and Fine Gael’s Tom Mulhall.
You can check out how the count unfolded below.
1st Count
- Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) – 1,761 – ELECTED
- Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – 1,614 – ELECTED
- Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) – 1,544 – ELECTED
- Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) – 1,416
- Ben Brennan (Independent) – 1,270
- Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) – 895
- Eoin Barry (Labour) – 756
- Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) – 542
- Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) – 365
2nd Count – Distribution of Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) surplus (309)
With the quota at 1,452, three candidates exceeded it on the first count. Their surplus was then duly distributed one by one, starting with the poll topper, Fianna Fáil candidate Padraig Fleming from The Swan who got 1,761 first preferences.
It meant that his surplus of 309 votes was distributed. Exactly 100 votes went to his party colleagues Paschal McEvoy in Stradbally (79) and Deirdre O’Connell Hopkins in Portarlington (21). But his relatively close political neighbour Ben Brennan in Cretttyard, a former Fianna Fáiler, got 80, Fine Gael’s Aisling Moran in Killeen got 69. Labour’s Eoin Barry in Wolfhill got 36.
The transfers were sufficient to get Paschal McEvoy past the quota and elected on the 2nd count.
- Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) – 1,761 – ELECTED
- Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – 1,614 – ELECTED
- Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) – 1,544 – ELECTED
- Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) – 1,495 (+79) – ELECTED
- Ben Brennan (Independent) – 1,350 (+80)
- Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) – 964 (+69)
- Eoin Barry (Labour) – 792 (+36)
- Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) – 566 (+24)
- Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) – 386 (+21)
3rd count – Distribution of Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) surplus (162)
Next to be dsitributed was Aidan Mullins’s surplus – the Sinn Féin candidate from Portarlington having once again been comfortably re-elected on the first count.
More than a third of his votes stayed in the town of Portarlington – going to Fianna Fáil’s Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins – but there was enough to make any material change to the overall running order.
- Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) – 1,761 – ELECTED
- Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – 1,614 – ELECTED
- Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) – 1,544 – ELECTED
- Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) – 1,495 – ELECTED
- Ben Brennan (Independent) – 1,387 (+37)
- Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) – 972 (+8)
- Eoin Barry (Labour) – 826 (+34)
- Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) – 586 (+20)
- Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) – 449 (+63)
4th count – Distribution of Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) surplus (92)
Tom Mulhall’s surplus of 92 was next to be divvied out. The Fine Gael candidate from Emo was elected on the first count.
Though not a massive surplus, almost 70% of the transfers remained with his Fine Gael colleagues with Aisling Moran getting 23 and Vivienne Phelan, closer geographically in Stradbally, getting 39.
It was this count that signalled the end of the road for Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins as nobody else had reached the quota – and as the lowest-placed candidate she was officially eliminated.
- Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) – 1,761 – ELECTED
- Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – 1,614 – ELECTED
- Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) – 1,544 – ELECTED
- Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) – 1,495 – ELECTED
- Ben Brennan (Independent) – 1,392 (+5)
- Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) – 995 (+23)
- Eoin Barry (Labour) – 833 (+7)
- Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) – 625 (+39)
- Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) – 467 (+18) – ELIMINATED after the 4th count
5th count – Distribution of Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) votes (467)
With the other Portarlington candidate – Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – already elected, as well as her two Fianna Fáil colleagues – Paschal McEvoy and Padraig Fleming – almost half of O’Connell-Hopkin’s votes were non-transferrable.
Fine Gael’s Vivienne Phelan got almost half of what was available with 112 while Eoin Barry got 47, Ben Brennan got 41 and Aisling Moran got 36.
- Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) – 1,761 – ELECTED
- Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – 1,614 – ELECTED
- Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) – 1,544 – ELECTED
- Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) – 1,495 – ELECTED
- Ben Brennan (Independent) – 1,433 (+41)
- Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) – 1,031 (+36)
- Eoin Barry (Labour) – 880 (+47)
- Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) – 737 (+112)
- Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) – 467 – ELIMINATED after the 4th count
6th count – Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) surplus (43)
It was now back to Paschal McEvoy’s surplus of 43, which wasn’t going to make any difference.
Though a small figure, it was still interesting that it was Fine Gael’s Aisling Moran that got the highest number – 16. Stradbally’s Fine Gael candidate Vivienne Phelan and Ben Brennan got 12 apiece while there was only two for Eoin Barry.
With nobody else at the quota, bottom candidate Vivienne Phelan was duly eliminated.
- Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) – 1,761 – ELECTED
- Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – 1,614 – ELECTED
- Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) – 1,544 – ELECTED
- Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) – 1,495 – ELECTED
- Ben Brennan (Independent) – 1,445 (+12)
- Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) – 1,047 (+16)
- Eoin Barry (Labour) – 882 (+2)
- Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) – 749 (+12) – ELIMINATED after the 6th count
- Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) – ELIMINATED after the 4th count
7th count – Transfer of Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) votes (749)
The elimination of the Stradbally-based Fine Gael candidate Vivienne Phelan brought the count to an end.
Almost half of her 749 votes (351) went to her party colleague Aisling Moran, more than enough to keep her ahead of Eoin Barry, who got 116.
Ben Brennan got 80, to get him over the quota. Moran didn’t reach the quota but was elected ahead of Barry for the final seat.
- Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil) – 1,761 – ELECTED
- Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin) – 1,614 – ELECTED
- Tom Mulhall (Fine Gael) – 1,544 – ELECTED
- Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) – 1,495 – ELECTED
- Ben Brennan (Independent) – 1,525 (+80) – ELECTED after the 7th count
- Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) – 1,452 (+351) – ELECTED after the 7th count
- Eoin Barry (Labour) – 998 (116) – ELIMINATED after the 7th count
- Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) – 749 – ELIMINATED after the 6th count
- Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins (Fianna Fáil) – ELIMINATED after the 4th count
SEE ALSO – Box by box – how your area voted in the 2019 Local Elections in Graiguecullen-Portarlington
