Five talking points from elections day one
Shane King
The election count got underway yesterday evening in Moate following a lengthy process of segregating the votes in Athlone. The tallies were completed and provided a good indication of where the candidates stand in their respective fields.
Although there was much speculation that a first count would be provided last night, no white smoke materialised and the counting was suspended until the morning.
The fate of the political parties and independents will become clear throughout the day as counting resumes this morning.
Here are five talking points from yesterday's action.
1. 'Boxer is Back'
The phenomenal performance of former Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, just over four years after he lost his Dáil seat, is the big story in the Athlone-area race for Westmeath County Council.
Boxer is expected to top the poll with a large surplus later today when the first count is announced. The tallies have him on 3,725 first preference votes, this is well above the expected quota, which is predicted to be 1,567.
The interest of count of watchers now turns to where his surplus will go and who will gain. Early indications last night show that they are going to a variety of candidates.
It's fair to say the boxer is back and he's won a knockout round!
2. The Kinnegad battle
The Kinnegad LEA has appeared to be the most interesting of all as it looks set to be a dog fight for the final seats.
Denis Leonard (LB) is comfortable at the top and is almost guaranteed to get elected. Fianna Fáil's Alfie Delvine is polling very well according to the tallies and he too should win a seat.
Delvin candidates David Jones (SF) and Niall Gaffney (FF) are performing very well and are hopeful to do well out of transfers as candidates get eliminated.
Fine Gael's Séamus McDermott and Emily Wallace will be battling it out to win the final seat in Kinnegad. The party currently hold two seats in this area, however, with the retirement of Frank McDermott it was always going to be a difficult task to retain the seat.
There is never a dull day in politics and this local electorate area will be very interesting as the day progresses.
3. No change in Moate
The line-up in the Moate LEA of Tom Farrell (FG), Johnnie Penrose (LB), Vinny McCormack (FF) and Liam McDaniel (FF) dosen't look as if it will change.
Tom Farrell was elected on the first count this morning with a total of 2,185 votes. His surplus will now be distributed.
Despite a good showing from Independent candidate Michael O'Brien, the word around the count centre is that he may not have enough transfers to get over the line.
4. Green party face an uphill battle
The green party are facing into an uphill battle to retain their seats today. Louise Heavin in Athlone and Hazel Smyth in Mullingar both look to be lacking in enough first-preference votes to get elected.
However, all is not lost just yet. Hazel Smyth did very well out of transfers in the 2019 elections to win a seat and a lot can happen as the day progresses.
5. Fianna Fáil looking strong
Fianna Fáil currently hold nine out of the twenty seats on the Westmeath County Council and indications are showing that they have a good chance of retaining all nine seats.
The nine candidates favoured to win a seat are Aoife Davitt, Bill Collentine and Ken Glynn in Mullingar. Liam McDaniel and Vinny McCormack look to be safe in Moate. Alfie Devine and Niall Gaffney are polling well in Kinnegad and Frankie Keena and Aengus O'Rourke are remaining strong in Athlone.
The action continues in Moate today and you can follow live updates as we have them here: