Penrose canvassed almost 9,000 houses

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” were the words of Cllr Johnnie Penrose, returned in the Moate LEA.

“It’s a great honour for me and my family to represent this area: this is my sixth election to win and I am proud of that and I have to give great credit to my family and my canvassers – and the people who voted for me, which is most important.

Cllr Penrose said he and his team canvassed a phenomenal 9,000 houses in what is in large part a very rural area, and he was “thrilled to bits” that it had paid off, as was evidenced by the geographical spread of the areas in which he obtained votes.

He had, he continued, done well in his home area, Ballynacargy, and also in Loughnavalley, Milltown, Streamstown, Tyrrellspass, Walshestown and right across the county.

“We ran a huge campaign,” he said, adding that consistently, the word coming back from his brother Willie and the rest of the canvass team had been that things had looked good on the ground, so he had not been unduly worried at any stage.