LE19 – Four of the old guard remain intact as former Mayor drops out on seventh count
By Hayden Moore
THE OLD GUARD remained intact as four sitting councillors were all re-elected in the Firhouse- Bohernabreena ward, but one of the biggest shocks of the whole election came when a former mayor fell just short of the mark.
Possibly as an effect of the boundary change, Sinn Féin’s Sarah Holland, who was elected to South Dublin County Council in 2014 through the Rathfarnham ward, lost her seat on the seventh count.
Cllr Emma Murphy after winning her seat
Elected Mayor in 2015, the now former councillor was the only Sinn Féin candidate running in that Local Electorate Area (LEA) and with her bowing out, no member of that party will be on the Firhouse-Bohernabreena area committee moving forward.
All five candidates that led in the early tallies were ultimately deemed elected in the end, with Fianna Fáil’s Deirdre O’Donovan coasting through on first preference votes to retain her seat.
Coming in 483 votes above the 1861 quota, her surplus of votes got the Green Party’s Francis Duffy through on the second round, with Brian Lawlor (FG) and Emma Murphy (FF) following suit on the fourth and fifth counts respectively.
With all already sitting councillors elected into four of the five seats, it ultimately came down to Independent new-runner Alan Edge and veteran Sarah Holland.
Newly elected Independent councillor Alan Edge with Minister Katherine Zappone at the count centre
Some new blood did trickle in on the very last seat with Alan Edge getting in by just 37 votes, but neither of the candidates reached the 1861 quota and made it in purely through the process of elimination.
Candidates elected
Firhouse – Bohernabreena (5 Seats)
1st Deirdre O’Donovan (FF)
2nd Francis Duffy (GP)
4th Brian Lawlor (FG)
5th Emma Murphy (FF)
8th Alan Edge (Ind)
