King of Clara lifted shoulder high by supporters at Offaly count centre

CLARA man Frank Moran was lifted shoulder high when he reached the quota and was declared elected to Offaly County Council.

The Fianna Fail sitting councillor looks set to lead another three party colleagues into the council chamber in the Tullamore Electoral Area.

Cllr Moran required just nine transfers in the third count after the elimination of Tim Farrell (Sinn Fein) and non-party candidate Deirdre Dillon and when he received exactly that number his seat was secured.

Fine Gael's Neil Feighery has already been elected in the Tullamore Area where there are still five seats to fill.

The remaining Sinn Fein candidate, Aoife Masterson, gained a very healthy transfer of 151 votes and is now just 41 votes away from the 1,459 quota.

Sitting Independent councillor, Sean O'Brien, is even closer at just 14 votes off the target and is almost certain to be elected in the next count with transfers from the eliminated Green Party candidate Liam Walsh.

The re-election of Fianna Fail councillor Tony McCormack might also take place in the next count as he needs only 30 votes to reach the quota.

The other Fianna Fail candidate, Ollie Bryant, is closing in on a seat because he has now reached 1,323.

Clara woman Sandy Feehan Smollen, who was co-opted onto the council in place of her husband Ken Smollen, a winner in 2019, is trailing behind on 863.