Not Galligan's day to take seat on Ballyjamesduff Municipal District

Fianna Fáil’s Nathan Galligan has been eliminated from the Ballyjamesduff Electoral Area race following the distribution of Grainne McPhillips’ (Aontú) 821 votes on the sixth count.

It was Lester Gordon (IP) who took the most transfers from McPhillips (176) bringing him into seventh position in the contest and behind Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Philip Brady whose vote now stands at 1,424 after securing 103 transfers from the Aontú representative.

The situation at present puts Noel Connell (SF) - who has 1,598 after gaining just seven votes from distribution - ahead of the pack to take the third seat on the Balllyjamesduff Municipal District. However, Fine Gael’s Winston Bennett Is hot on his heels with 1,595 votes where a total of just four votes now separate them.

Cllr TP O’Reilly (FG) is also in the race with 1,477 votes; he gained 78 from the distribution of McPhillips’ votes while Cllr Philip Brady (FF) looks likely to retain his seat after being first elected to the MD in 2019. He secured 103 votes from distribution and now has a total vote 1,424.

Galligan fought a battle to stay in this race and tallies from early on indicated that would be the case. His elimination also indicates the loss of one seat on the MD by Fianna Fáil - a party that secured three seats on the MD in 2019.