RESULT: Here's how Carlow County Council looks after the 2019 Local Election
It was a marathon few days
It took two days between sorting and counting over the weekend but the make-up of the Carlow County Council for the next five years has finally been decided upon.
Two new councillors have been elected in Adrienne Wallace (PBP) and John McDonald (FF) with Fine Gael's Tom O'Neill also regaining the seat he lost in 2014.
With Walter Lacey deciding to retire from politics and not contest the Local Election; the two sitting councillors to lose their seats were Jim Deane and Denis Foley, we'll have more analysis on their defeats over the course of the day.
Credit has to go to the Council staff for their incredible hard work and diligence during the count and despite the fine margins in some cases - there were 38 votes between Jim Deane (SF) and John McDonald (FF) for the sixth seat in Tullow - there were no calls for a recount.
Ultimately, this Local Election has seen a big win for Fianna Fáil who gained an extra seat and have caught up with Fine Gael as both parties now share six seats each on the Council with both parties already trying to tip the the balance of power in their favour.
The Council breakdown:
Fine Gael (6 seats)
Fianna Fàil (6 seats)
Labour (2 seats)
Independents (2 seats)
Sinn Féin (1 seat)
People Before Profit (1 seat)
The councillors for 2019-2024:
Carlow Town (7 seat Local Electoral Area)
Fintan Phelan, Fianna Fáil – Count 1
Andrea Dalton, Fianna Fáil – Count 1
Fergal Browne, Fine Gael – Count 2
Ken Murnane, Fianna Fáil – Count 2
John Cassin, Independent – Count 9 (elected without reaching quota)
Tom O'Neill, Fine Gael – Count 9 (elected without reaching quota)
Adrienne Wallace, People Before Profit – Count 9 (elected without reaching quota)
Bagenalstown (5 seat Local Electoral Area)
Tommy Kinsella, Fine Gael – Count 1
Willie Quinn, Labour – Count 3
Andy Gladney, Sinn Féin – Count 4
Michael Doran, Fine Gael – Count 5
Arthur McDonald, Fianna Fáil – Count 5
Tullow (6 seat Local Electoral Area)
Charlie Murphy, Independent – Count 1
John Pender, Fianna Fáil – Count 1
Brian O'Donoghue, Fine Gael - Count 5
Will Paton, Labour – Count 5
John Murphy, Fine Gael – Count 7
John McDonald, Fianna Fáil – Count 8 (elected without reaching quota)