BJD selects their six

The numbers are in for the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District and it was a case of first past the post took the seats. The six contenders in pole positions after the first count all claimed seats when the totting up was finished after the fifth count.

 

The seats were taken by Trevor Smith (FG), Shane P O'Reilly (FF), TP O'Reilly (FG), with Winston Bennett (FG), Craig Lovett (FF) and Philip Brady (FF) who were all declared elected on the fifth count.

 

The final shoot out was a little more dramatic than had been initially anticipated, in heal of the hunt only 182 votes separated Sinn Fein's Noel Connell from Brady, who was elected without reaching the quota.

 

Connell's crash was one of the talking points of the election. From topping the poll with over 1,700 votes in 2014 to bowing out on the fifth count this was a dramatic shift in the SF candidate's fortune.

 

Connell would have have been hoping to score big on the transfer from Gráinne McPhillips, however the Aontú candidate had 246 non-transferable ballot papers scuppering any hope of a comeback. The lead established after the first count when the top six had over 1,300 votes, 525 clear of the next candidate, was unassailable.

 

There are some fresh faces going forward from the MD; poll topper Trevor Smith, TP O'Reilly and Craig Lovett are all new to the political representation game. The Ballyjamesduff MD has an even split of three FF and three FG to the Cavan County Council chamber for the next five years.

 

 

The numbers after the second count are:

 

Electorate 20,222

Total Poll 11,475

Spoiled Votes 204

Total Valid Pole 11,271

Quota 1,611