BREAKING: Many new faces but FF and FG still hold sway on Offaly County Council

IN an election of change in Offaly, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have still managed to tighten their grip on the County Council.

Fianna Fail has retained its eight seats and will bring three new faces into the Aras an Chontae chamber, Ollie Bryant, Tullamore, Audrey Hennessy Kennedy, Birr and Claire Murray, Edenderry.

Fine Gael has extra reason to celebrate having gone up from four seats to five with the victory of Doon farmer Hugh Egan in the Birr Electoral Area.

It has been a great election for Sinn Fein because the party has managed to regain the three seats it lost in 2019 and it will introduce two new councillors, Tullamore woman Aoife Masterson and Edenderry Area representative Claire Murray. The latter's success means the new County Council has two women by the name of Claire Murray, both resident in the Edenderry Electoral Area.

The election has also given Offaly a councillor for the country's new political party, Independent Ireland.

Fergus McDonnell joined Independent Ireland having previously been non-party, PD and Fianna Fail and a great vote for him sees him back on the council after a long break in Edenderry.

There have been losers too, notably Mark Hackett, the Geashill farmer who could not hold the seat won by his wife, junior minister Pippa Hackett in 2019.

Clare Claffey, the Banagher woman who won a seat for the Social Democrats five years ago, was not returned this time but the margin was narrow in the finish behind Sinn Fein's Sean Maher in the Birr Area.

Sandy Feehan Smollen, Clara, lost her seat in the Tullamore Electoral Area. She had been sitting as an Independent after being co-opted in place of her husband Ken Smollen who was elected in 2019.

Feehan Smollen's exit means that Clara has just one resident councillor, Fianna Fail's Frank Moran. Robert McDermott, the Edenderry businessman elected for the first time for Fianna Fail five years ago, did not retain his seat.

The poll toppers in each area were Peter Ormond for Fianna Fail in Birr, Neil Feighery the sole Fine Gael candidate in Tullamore and Eddie Fitzpatrick in the Edenderry Area.

The election will also be remembered as the one which may have spelled the end of the Fianna Fail Dooley dynasty in Offaly.

Ferbane man Eamon Dooley, son of former councillor Eddie Joe, retired and his sister Barbara Daly was selected to fight for the seat but was unsuccessful.

There were many impressive individual performances including the extremely strong vote secured by long serving Tullamore Independent and former Labour Party man Sean O'Brien.

Seventeen of the 19 seats were filled by Monday night but a recount for the Birr Area took place today (Tuesday).

Earlier this evening, returning officer Monica Cleary announced that “most” of the candidates' votes had been examined and staff were moving on to the ballots of John Clendennen and John Leahy.

With all seven seats in the Tullamore Electoral Area and the six in the Edenderry Electoral Area filled by Monday, the entire count looked to have concluded before midnight after the 12th count in the Birr Electoral Area six-seater.

At that point Audrey Hennessy Kennedy, Fianna Fail and Sean Maher, Sinn Fein, had come in ahead of sitting Social Democrats councillor Clare Claffey.

Peter Ormond, Fianna Fail, John Leahy, Independent, John Clendennen and Hugh Egan, both Fine Gael had already been elected.

It appeared that Hennessy Kennedy and Maher had taken the last two seats but with the gap to Maher just 27 votes, the Social Democrats called for a recount and it began at 2pm today.

The result from Monday night stands so the state of the parties is - Fianna Fail 8 (no change), Fine Gael 5 (up one), Sinn Fein 3 (up three), Independent Ireland 1 (up one), and Independents 2.

The new councillors are Ollie Bryant, Tullamore, Audrey Hennessy Kennedy, Birr and Claire Murray, Edenderry (all Fianna Fail); Hugh Egan, Birr (Fine Gael); Aoife Masterson, Tullamore and Claire Murray, Edenderry (both Sinn Fein).

Sean Maher, Sinn Fein, has regained a seat lost in 2019 and ex-councillor and Independent Fergus McDonnell, Edenderry, has regained a seat as an Independent Ireland candidate.

The sitting councillors re-elected are Peter Ormond, Frank Moran, Declan Harvey, Tony McCormack and Eddie Fitzpatrick (all Fianna Fail); Neil Feighery, John Clendennen, Liam Quinn and Noel Cribbin (all Fine Gael); John Leahy and Sean O'Brien (both Independent).

The councillors who have lost their seats are Sandy Feehan Smollen, Tullamore Area (Independent), Robert McDermott, Edenderry (Fianna Fail), Mark Hackett, Edenderry (Green Party) and Clare Claffey, Birr (Social Democrats).

Three of the councillors elected five years ago have retired, Eamon Dooley, Birr and Danny Owens, Tullamore (both Fianna Fail) and John Foley (Independent, formerly Fianna Fail), Edenderry.