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06 Dec 2025
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06 Dec 2025
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The drive for five is on for Team Lowry!
It was a frantic end to counting on Day One at the Count Centre in Thurles for the Tipperary Local Elections.
Overall, Tipperary will remain a strong supporter of Independents (seventeen ran with sixteen elected to the council in 2019).
Kevin O'Meara in Carrick-on-Suir looks set to lose his seat to Labour candidate in that LEA, Michael "Chicken" Brennan - and he is not the last of the newcomers in the mix with Cashel-Tipperary poll-topper John O'Heney, Liam Browne and Pamela Quirke O'Meara already elected to their LEAs.
Fine Gael will be thrilled with its performance with ten of their twelve candidates looking like getting elected, while Fianna Fáil could well gain a seat through another newcomer in Kay Cahill Skehan - taking the party to ten seats - up from nine in 2019 - although it could be a scrap yet for the last few.
This would be an interesting result if Fine Gael were to secure ten seats and Fianna Fáil ten seats in a 40-seater County Council.
Sinn Féin look set to hold their two seats but at the expense of Tony Black, with Annemarie Ryan "Shiner" likely to pip him to the post in the Cashel Tipperary seven-seater LEA and David Dunne securing a seat for the party in Carrick-on-Suir.
Team Lowry's Eddie Moran (Roscrea/Templemore) will join the ranks when he is declared elected on Sunday.
First-time candidate for Team Lowry Pamela Quirke O'Meara was a huge success as she was elected in the Newport LEA at the first attempt.
Quirke O'Meara will now take up the mantle from retired and long-time former Councillor John "Rocky" McGrath.
Labour Party candidate Fiona Bonfield was the runaway leader from the get-go after the first count with the Newport-based councillor registering over 28% of the votes to retain her seat easily.
In Clonmel, poll-topper Michael Murphy said that his performance in the Local Elections, when he recorded the highest vote in the county, has given him a great boost heading into the General Election.
In Roscrea-Templemore, Fianna Fáil's Michael Smith topped the poll with 2,460 votes and you could see from his reaction it meant a lot to him.
Lowry Group's Shane Lee followed closely behind him with 2,231 votes.
That is two of LEA's four seats won with counting to resume on Sunday.
In Clonmel, three councillors were elected.
Fine Gael's Michael Murphy topped the polls with 2,746 votes - the highest vote received by any candidate across the county and Murphy is the poll-topper for Tipperary.
Pat English followed with 1,574 and Fianna Fail's Siobhán Ambrose with 1,512 votes.
Clonmel is a six-seater LEA, so half the seats are now filled.
In Cashel-Tipperary Independent John O'Heney is the story of the Local Elections really and came out of nowhere with 2,534 votes.
Declan Burgess (FG) came in at 1,852 votes and Liam Browne (Ind) - with another surprise victory but one tipped as a possibility in commentary in the Tipperary Star and Nationalist - with 1,665 votes.
Cashel-Tipperary has four seats up for grabs in the morning and incumbent Tony Black of Sinn Féin could well lose his seat here to running mate and newly appointed party candidate, Annemarie Ryan "Shiner".
In Thurles, Jim Ryan (Ind) topped the poll with 2,435 votes, retaining his seat.
No surprises, Micheál Lowry (LOW) followed closely on 2,184.
And Fianna Fail's Sean Ryan also retained his seat with 1,683 votes.
In Newport, there were four seats available, and three are now filled.
Labour's Fiona Bonfield led with 2,346 votes, followed by Dr Phyll Bugler (FG) with 1,636 votes.
Newcomer Pamela O'Meara Quirke (LOW) was elected with 1,665 votes, all having reached the quota on the first count.
Two councillors were elected in five-seater Nenagh.
Independent Joe Hanigan was elected on 2,233 votes - topping the poll in that LEA, while Independent Michael O'Meara was elected on 1,822.
In Cahir, two of the four seats were filled by Máirín McGrath (Ind) with 2,079 votes and Andy Moloney (Ind) with 1,762. A surprise result here with the young Máirín knocking Andy Moloney off the top spot in Cahir.
And finally, two seats were filled in Carrick-on-Suir by Sinn Fein's David Dunne and Imelda Goldsboro (FF).
David Dunne was elected on 1,759 votes and Imelda Goldsboro on 1,898 in the five-seater.
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