Two elected on the first count in Ballyjamesduff
The first round of votes have been counted from the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District and the numbers reflect what was anticipated by the tally men. Trevor Smith (FG) topped the poll with 1,826 votes, while Shane P O'Reilly (FF) was also elected on the first county.
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The figures in the nine candidate race suggest the MD will be made up of candidates from the two main political parties. The big gains in the 2019 local elections in Ballyjamesduff went to Fianna Fáil (4,240) and Fine Gael (4,899) who have secured 9,139 of the 11,475 first preference votes.
The picture after the first count looks grim for Sinn Féin as both of the parties representatives are in the bottom three rungs of the ladder. Between them lies Gráinne McPhilips who secured a respectable 778 votes as a first time Antú candidate. Despite her parties great showing in the Balileborough MD it's unlikely McPhilips can make up the 830 votes needed to reach quota.
Fianna Fail look likely to welcome Craig Lovett as the newest addition to Cavan County Council while Fine Gael will have Smith and TP O'Reilly as their new councillors.
There is a good bit of counting to go before the full make up of the local authority is done and dusted, however it would be an extraordinary twist to contradict the expected outcome. The count staff will start tomorrow, Sunday, by redistributing Trevor Smith's 215 surplus votes.
The numbers are:
Electorate 20,222
Total Poll 11,475
Spoiled Votes 204
Total Valid Pole 11,271
Quota 1,611
Bennett, Winston: 1,497
Brady, 'The Gunner' Philip: 1,328
Connell, Noel: 804
Geraldine Harten: 469
Lovett, Craig: 1,290
McPhilips, Gráinne: 778
O'Reilly, Shane: 1,703
O'Reilly, TP: 1,576
Smith, Trevor: 1,826