2019 Cork County Council election

An election to all 55 seats on Cork County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. County Cork was divided into 10 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

2019 Cork County Council election

← 2014 24 May 2019 2024 →
All 55 seats on Cork County Council 28 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Fine Gael Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Seats won 20 18 2 Seat change 4 1 8   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Labour Green Social Democrats Seats won 2 2 1 Seat change 2 1   Seventh party   Party Independent Seats won 10 Seat change
Results by Local Electoral Area
Council control before election Fine Gael Council control after election Fine Gael

Administrative changes

The election coincided with a transfer of land around Cork city from the administration of the County Council to that of Cork City Council.^[1] Several outgoing county councillors, based in areas transferred to the city, stood in the city council election. Compared to the previous election in 2014, the total number of councillors is unchanged, but following the recommendation of the 2018 Boundary Committee, there were significant changes to the LEAs, taking account of the transfer of land to the city, a maximum of 7 seats per LEA in its terms of reference, and population shifts revealed by the 2016 census.^[2][3]

Analysis

Compared with the 2014 election, Fianna Fáil increased its seat number by 1 to 18 and also polled more votes than Fine Gael. However, Fine Gael gained an additional 4 seats to emerge as the largest party with 20 seats. Both parties benefitted from the collapse of Sinn Féin who only returned with 2 seats, a loss of 8. However, there had been many defections within the party in the years since 2014 and several councillors did not seek re-election. Independents won 10 seats, the same total as in 2014. The Green Party gained 2 seats in the Cobh and Midleton LEAs. After a recount, Holly Cairns won a seat in Bantry–West Cork for the Social Democrats.

Results by party

Party		Seats	±	1st pref	FPv%	±%
	Fine Gael	20	4	42,656	31.88	4.21
	Fianna Fáil	18	1	45,143	33.74	5.09
	Sinn Féin	2	8	7,273	5.44	9.08
	Labour	2		4,368	3.26	3.95
	Green	2	2	3,863	2.89	1.76
	Social Democrats	1	1	3,369	2.52	New
	Aontú	0		2,394	1.79	New
	Inds. 4 Change	0		827	0.62	New
	People Before Profit	0		188	0.14	0.97
	Independent	10		23,719	17.73	1.63
Total		55		133,800	100.00

Results by local electoral area

^ *: Outgoing councillor elected in 2014.
^ †: Outgoing councillor coopted subsequent to the 2014 election.

Bandon–Kinsale

Bandon–Kinsale: 6 Seats^[4]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Fianna Fáil	Gillian Coughlan[†]	18.65%	2,762
	Independent	Alan Coleman[*]	15.87%	2,350
	Fine Gael	Kevin Murphy[*]	11.95%	1,769	1,845	1,861	1,930	1,973	2,007	2,077	2,277
	Fine Gael	John O'Sullivan[†]	11.00%	1,629	1,665	1,666	1,681	1,693	1,710	1,790	1,812	2,075
	Fine Gael	Marie O'Sullivan	9.07%	1,343	1,386	1,397	1,426	1,449	1,491	1,528	1,753	1,984
	Fianna Fáil	Sean O'Donovan	6.77%	1,002	1,197	1,201	1,233	1,265	1,301	1,594	1,658	1,931
	Fine Gael	Gerard Seaman	5.91%	875	980	981	995	1,006	1,038	1,073	1,089
	Green	Gordon Reid	5.90%	873	895	902	914	993	1,067	1,089	1,275	1,318
	Independent	Pat O'Regan	5.36%	793	810	839	865	927	1,048	1,084
	Fianna Fáil	Dermot Brennan	3.26%	483	601	603	623	643	673
	Aontú	Mairéad Ruane	2.94%	435	451	468	478	524
	Sinn Féin	Noel Harrington	2.54%	376	389	409	416
	Independent	Cormac Hayes	0.78%	116	121
Electorate: 28,220   Valid: 14,806   Spoilt: 192   Quota: 2,116   Turnout: 14,998 (53.15%)

Bantry–West Cork

Bantry–West Cork: 4 Seats^[5]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Independent	Danny Collins[†]	27.29%	3,148
	Fianna Fáil	Patrick Gerard Murphy[*]	12.80%	1,477	1,652	1,682	1,830	2,293	2,782
	Social Democrats	Holly Cairns[a]	11.06%	1,276	1,361	1,460	1,510	1,584	1,777	1,843	1,866
	Fianna Fáil	George Gill	9.92%	1,145	1,239	1,288	1,462	1,508
	Fine Gael	Katie Murphy	9.85%	1,136	1,272	1,319	1,539	1,917	2,292	2,376
	Independent	Finbarr Harrington	9.53%	1,100	1,233	1,300	1,439	1,624	1,777	1,852	1,865
	Fine Gael	Noel Harrington	8.91%	1,028	1,073	1,084	1,291
	Fine Gael	John Dinneen	7.62%	879	987	1,007
	Sinn Féin	Donnchadh Ó Seaghdha	1.82%	210	236
	Aontú	Lorraine Deane-Ross	1.20%	138	176
Electorate: 20,290   Valid: 11,537 (56.86%)   Spoilt: 135   Quota: 2,308   Turnout: 11,672 (57.53%)

Carrigaline

Carrigaline: 6 Seats^[6]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Fianna Fáil	Séamus McGrath[*]	32.48%	4,247
	Independent	Marcia D'Alton[*]	15.98%	2,089
	Fine Gael	Aidan Lombard[†]	14.49%	1,894
	Independent	Ben Dalton O'Sullivan	6.26%	818	1,032	1,054	1,198	1,234	1,272	1,447
	Fine Gael	Liam O'Connor	6.00%	785	1,303	1,321	1,354	1,407	1,728	1,779
	Green	Catriona Reid	5.56%	727	881	929	1,000	1,040	1,121	1,282
	Fianna Fáil	Audrey Buckley	5.31%	694	1,282	1,293	1,346	1,622	1,817	1,913
	Fine Gael	Michael Paul Murtagh	4.52%	591	771	794	815	851
	Sinn Féin	Michael Frick Murphy[*]	4.44%	580	762	818	841	914	932
	Aontú	John Weldon	3.27%	427	520	530
	Fianna Fáil	Michael Corcoran	1.70%	222	672	705	729
Electorate: 27,772   Valid: 13,074   Spoilt: 154   Quota: 1,868   Turnout: 13,098 (47.16%)

Cobh

Cobh: 6 Seats^[7]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Fianna Fáil	Pádraig O'Sullivan[*][a]	21.82%	2,608
	Fine Gael	Anthony Barry[*]	16.80%	2,009
	Labour	Cathal Rasmussen[*]	12.97%	1,550	1,593	1,605	1,653	1,667	1,747
	Fine Gael	Sinéad Sheppard[*]	11.46%	1,370	1,619	1,796
	Independent	Sean O'Connor	10.08%	1,205	1,229	1,239	1,256	1,267	1,392	1,501	1,662
	Green	Alan O'Connor	7.39%	883	983	1,032	1,084	1,110	1,153	1,242	1,358
	Inds. 4 Change	Karen Doyle	6.92%	827	844	853	903	912	972	1,138	1,252
	Sinn Féin	Louise Murphy	4.29%	513	543	556	577	581	618
	Independent	Peter Kidney	3.34%	399	412	415	440	444
	Fianna Fáil	John Paul Reilly	2.93%	350	759	777	788	810	845	901
	Social Democrats	Ken Curtin	2.02%	241	256	266
Electorate: 26,045   Valid: 11,955   Spoilt: 252   Quota: 1,708   Turnout: 12,207 (46.87%)

Fermoy

Fermoy: 6 Seats^[8]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Fine Gael	Noel McCarthy[*]	21.80%	3,228
	Fianna Fáil	Frank O'Flynn[*]	19.55%	2,895
	Fianna Fáil	Deirdre O'Brien[†]	15.02%	2,225
	Fianna Fáil	William O'Leary[a]	14.94%	2,212
	Fine Gael	Kay Dawson[*]	10.31%	1,527	2,095	2,412
	Independent	Frank Roche	6.07%	899	1,014	1,231	1,278	1,315	1,515	1,560	1,780
	Social Democrats	June Murphy[*]	4.56%	676	777	857	896	923	1,116	1,137	1,456
	Sinn Féin	Helen White	4.17%	617	696	769	790	818
	Labour	David Kenneally	3.59%	531	780	872	931	948	1,056	1,086
Electorate: 29,888   Valid: 14,810   Spoilt: 259   Quota: 2,116   Turnout: 15,069 (50.42%)

Kanturk

Kanturk: 4 Seats^[9]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	Fianna Fáil	Bernard Moynihan[*]	26.15%	2,843
	Fianna Fáil	Ian Doyle[*]	21.39%	2,325
	Fine Gael	John Paul O'Shea[*]	21.29%	2,314
	Fine Gael	Gerard Murphy[*]	18.26%	1,985	2,336
	Aontú	Paddy Scully	4.56%	496	637
	Sinn Féin	Lillian Meade	4.23%	460	570
	Green	Ted Bradley	3.28%	356	397
	Independent	Ado Mazombe	0.84%	91	116
Electorate: 21,110   Valid: 10,870   Spoilt: 204   Quota: 2,175   Turnout: 11,074 (52.46%)

Macroom

Macroom: 6 Seats^[10]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Fine Gael	Michael Creed[*]	17.06%	2,954
	Fianna Fáil	Gobnait Moynihan[†]	15.39%	2,665
	Fianna Fáil	Michael Looney	12.91%	2,234	2,250	2,259	2,300	2,351	2,633
	Fine Gael	Eileen Lynch	10.22%	1,770	1,857	1,870	1,880	1,898	1,947	1,972	2,046	2,282	2,422	2,473
	Independent	Martin Coughlan	9.62%	1,666	1,759	1,834	1,879	1,954	2,005	2,043	2,195	2,432	2,787
	Fine Gael	Ted Lucey[*]	8.39%	1,452	1,590	1,610	1,622	1,629	1,658	1,670	1,712	1,758	1,811	1,855
	Fine Gael	Áine Collins	7.73%	1,338	1,410	1,420	1,434	1,450	1,513	1,535	1,568	1,608	1,687	1,725
	Social Democrats	Síle Ní Dhubhghaill	4.14%	716	732	779	790	896	910	926	970	1,038
	Aontú	P.J. Feeney	3.48%	602	610	635	639	686	698	705
	Independent	Nigel Dennehy	3.37%	584	597	627	634	699	720	736	838
	Fianna Fáil	Jason Fitzgerald	3.04%	526	540	552	594	616
	Sinn Féin	Ronnie Morley	2.96%	512	517	537	542
	Independent	Mary O'Callaghan-Hallissey	1.69%	292	310
Electorate: 30,607   Valid: 17,311   Spoilt: 288   Quota: 2,474   Turnout: 17,599 (57.5%)

Mallow

Mallow: 5 Seats^[11]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Fianna Fáil	Pat Hayes	17.30%	1,806
	Fianna Fáil	Gearóid Murphy[†]	17.18%	1,794
	Labour	James Kennedy	17.17%	1,793
	Fine Gael	Tony O'Shea	16.18%	1,689	1,703	1,720	1,730	1,915
	Fine Gael	Liam Madden	15.88%	1,658	1,682	1,697	1,711	1,916
	Sinn Féin	Melissa Mullane[*]	11.45%	1,196	1,214	1,229	1,249	1,301
	Fine Gael	Cian Moriarty	4.85%	506	515	521	529
Electorate: 21,949   Valid: 10,442   Spoilt: 254   Quota: 1,741   Turnout: 10,696 (48.73%)

Midleton

Midleton: 7 Seats^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	Independent	Mary Linehan Foley[*]	17.80%	2,699
	Independent	Noel Collins[*]	15.64%	2,371
	Fine Gael	Michael Hegarty[*]	14.20%	2,154
	Fianna Fáil	James O'Connor[a]	10.12%	1,535	1,777	1,824	1,874	1,892	1,947
	Sinn Féin	Danielle Twomey[†]	9.91%	1,503	1,557	1,642	1,660	1,713	1,946
	Fine Gael	Susan McCarthy[*]	8.31%	1,260	1,289	1,404	1,519	1,561	1,565	1,704	1,940
	Green	Liam Quaide	6.75%	1,024	1,065	1,104	1,113	1,163	1,185	1,362	1,483	1,495	1,536
	Fianna Fáil	Rosarii Griffin	6.67%	1,012	1,058	1,144	1,173	1,201	1,210	1,308	1,410	1,420	1,429
	Labour	Eric Nolan	3.26%	494	515	550	559	597	610
	Fine Gael	John Phillips	3.24%	492	751	762	781	788	818	854
	Sinn Féin	Shane Neville	2.14%	324	397	411	414	425
	Independent	Martin Murray	1.95%	296	334	377	383
Electorate: 33,436   Valid: 15,164   Spoilt: 234   Quota: 1,896   Turnout: 15,398 (46.05%)

Skibbereen–West Cork

Skibbereen–West Cork:— 5 Seats^[13]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	Fianna Fáil	Christopher O'Sullivan[*][a]	19.54%	2,703
	Fianna Fáil	Joe Carroll[*]	16.51%	2,284	2,364
	Independent	Declan Hurley[*]	11.82%	1,635	1,666	1,679	1,742	1,787	1,850	2,017	2,181	2,861
	Fine Gael	Karen Coakley	8.84%	1,222	1,236	1,248	1,260	1,296	1,426	1,691	1,821	1,903	1,958
	Fianna Fáil	Deirdre Kelly	7.91%	1,094	1,138	1,140	1,150	1,163	1,181	1,263	1,304
	Fine Gael	J.J. Walsh	7.55%	1,044	1,105	1,109	1,137	1,174	1,189	1,339	1,463	1,536	1,611
	Sinn Féin	Paul Hayes[*][a]	7.10%	982	1,060	1,086	1,143	1,226	1,353	1,396	1,610	1,707	1,814
	Fine Gael	Yvonne Cahalane	5.46%	755	769	773	783	819	843
	Independent	Yousuf Janab Ali	4.32%	597	631	662	696	823	1,005	1,052
	Independent	Brendan McCormack	4.13%	571	579	599	612	700
	Social Democrats	Evie Nevin	3.33%	460	477	533	552
	Aontú	Séan Creedon	2.14%	296	307	313
	People Before Profit	Vanessa O'Sullivan	1.36%	188	193
Electorate: 25,355   Valid: 13,831   Spoilt: 155   Quota: 2,306   Turnout: 13,986 (55.16%)

Footnotes

1. See change below.

Changes

Co-options

Party		Outgoing	LEA	Reason	Date	Co-optee
	Fianna Fáil	Pádraig O'Sullivan	Cobh	Elected to 32nd Dáil at the 2019 Cork North-Central by-election[14][15]	24 February 2020	Sheila O'Callaghan[16]
	Fianna Fáil	James O'Connor[17]	Midleton	Elected to 33rd Dáil for Cork East at the 2020 general election	24 February 2020	Ann Marie Ahern[16]
	Social Democrats	Holly Cairns	Bantry–West Cork	Elected to 33rd Dáil for Cork South-West at the 2020 general election[18]	24 February 2020	Ross O'Connell[16]
	Fianna Fáil	Christopher O'Sullivan[18]	Skibbereen–West Cork	Elected to 33rd Dáil for Cork South-West at the 2020 general election	24 February 2020	Deirdre Kelly[16]
	Fine Gael	Aidan Lombard	Carrigaline	Job commitments[19]	26 June 2021	Michael Paul Murtagh[20]
	Fine Gael	Liam O'Connor	Carrigaline	Work commitments[21]	22 November 2021	Jack White[22]
	Fine Gael	Katie Murphy	Bantry–West Cork	Work commitments[23]	15 November 2021	Caroline Cronin O'Driscoll[24]
	Independent	Noel Collins	Midleton	Death.[25]	13 July 2022	John Healy[26]
	Fine Gael	Michael Paul Murtagh	Carrigaline	Resignation.[27]	24 October 2023	Úna McCarthy[28]
	Social Democrats	Ross O'Connell	Bantry–West Cork	Resigned[29]	January 2024	Chris Heinhold
	Labour	James Kennedy	Mallow	Resigned[30]	February 2024	Eoghan Kenny
	Fine Gael	Gerard Murphy	Kanturk	Death of councillor	April 2024	Vacant

Changes in affiliation

Name	LEA	Elected as		New affiliation		Date
Paul Hayes	Skibbereen–West Cork		Sinn Féin		Independent	May 2020[31]
Karen Coakley	Skibbereen–West Cork		Fine Gael		Independent	April 2022
Liam Quaide	Midleton		Green		Independent	April 2023[32]
Liam Quaide	Midleton		Independent		Social Democrats	November 2023[33]
Danielle Twomey	Midleton		Sinn Féin		Independent	December 2023[34]
William O'Leary	Fermoy		Fianna Fáil		Independent	March 2024[35]
Danny Collins	Bantry–West Cork		Independent		Independent Ireland	April 2024

Sources

• "Cork County Council - Local Election candidates". RTÉ. 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
• "Local Elections 2019". Cork County Council. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
• "Local Elections 2019: Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics" (PDF). Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG). pp. 77–88. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.