2014 Irish local elections
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949 County and City Council Seats
  First party Second party Third party
 
Micheal Martin (official portrait) (cropped).jpg
Enda Kenny 2009.jpg
Gerry Adams 2015.jpg
Leader Micheál Martin Enda Kenny Gerry Adams
Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Sinn Féin
Leader since 26 January 2011 2 June 2002 13 November 1983
Seats won 267 235 159
Seat change Increase49 Decrease105 Increase105
Percentage 25.5% 24.0% 15.2%
Swing Increase0.1% Decrease8.2% Increase7.8%
Largest party 19 7 4
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Eamon Gilmore TD 2014 (cropped).jpg
PBP
Anti-Austerity Alliance Logo infobox.png
Leader Eamon Gilmore — —
Party Labour People Before Profit Anti-Austerity Alliance
Leader since September 2007 — —
Seats won 51 14 14
Seat change Decrease81 Increase9 Increase10
Percentage 7.2% 1.7% 1.2%
Swing Decrease7.5% Increase0.9% Increase0.3%
  Seventh party
 
Eamon Ryan 2015.jpg
Leader Eamon Ryan
Party Green
Leader since 27 May 2011
Seats won 12
Seat change Increase 9
Percentage 1.59%
Swing Decrease 0.7%

The 2014 Irish local elections were held in all local government areas of Ireland on Friday, 23 May 2014, on the same day as the European Parliament election and two by-elections (Dublin West and Longford–Westmeath).[1][2][3] The poll in the Ballybay–Clones LEA on Monaghan County Council was deferred due to the death of a candidate.[4]

Administrative changes

These elections took place after the coming into force of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, under which city and county councils were contested under substantially redrawn local electoral area (LEA) boundaries, including an overall increase of seats to 949, up from 883 in the 2009 local elections.[5] It also saw the abolition of borough and town councils. Municipal districts were created within counties outside of Dublin. Generally, a municipal district contained a single LEA, though a few districts around larger urban areas contain multiple LEAs.

Overview

The elections took place a little over three years after the last general election, which led to a government of Fine Gael and the Labour Party. The elections were a major setback for Fine Gael and Labour. Fine Gael lost control of many councils, falling behind Fianna Fáil on some. Labour lost more than half of its local authority seats. Fianna Fáil showed a recovery, again becoming the largest party at local level with an increased share of the vote. The party also took control of some councils, while on others it formed alliances with Fine Gael. Sinn Féin was the main winner in this election, becoming the third-largest party at local level. There were also major gains for independents and smaller parties. As a result of its disastrous performance, the Labour leader Eamon Gilmore resigned.

Opinion polls

Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. Only polls conducted in the period leading up to the election and immediately afterwards are shown.

Opinion polls on voting intentions.
Date Source Polling agency Fine Gael Labour Party Fianna Fáil Sinn Féin Green Party AAA–PBP[a] Others
7 June 2014 Sunday Independent[p 1] Millward Brown 20 5 20 26 2 2 25
23 May 2014 European election — 22.3 5.3 22.3 19.5 4.9 3.3[b] 23.9
23 May 2014 Local elections — 24.0 7.2 25.3 15.2 1.6 2.9[b] 25.5
19 May 2014 Sunday Independent[p 2] Millward Brown 20 6 21 23 2 27
1 May 2014 The Sunday Business Post[p 3] Red C 25 11 21 18 — 25
19 April 2014 Sunday Independent[p 4][p 5] Millward Brown 29 6 22 20 2 21
19 April 2014 The Sunday Times[p 5][p 6] Behaviour & Attitudes 21 9 20 20 4 26
3 April 2014 The Irish Times[p 7] Ipsos MRBI 25 8 25 21 — 21
30 March 2014 The Sunday Business Post[p 8] Red C 26 9 22 21 — 22
28 February 2014 Sunday Independent[p 9] Millward Brown 27 8 21 22 2 20
22 February 2014 The Sunday Times[p 10] Behaviour & Attitudes 30 9 19 18 — 24
22 February 2014 The Sunday Business Post[p 10] Red C 29 11 22 16 — 22
24 January 2014 Sunday Independent[p 11] Millward Brown 30 12 26 16 1 15
22 January 2014 The Sunday Business Post[p 11] Red C 27 9 23 16 — 25
9 January 2014 Paddy Power[p 12] Red C 28 10 22 18 — 22
15 December 2013 The Sunday Times[6] Behaviour & Attitudes 30 11 21 15 3<[c] 21[c]

Results

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Results from the Anti-Austerity Alliance are compared to the Socialist Party in the 2009 local elections. Republican Sinn Féin are not a registered party; therefore, their candidates appear on the ballot as Non-Party.

Party Seats ± 1st pref FPv% ±%
Fianna Fáil 267 Increase49 430,040 25.20 Decrease0.2
Fine Gael 235 Decrease105 408,289 23.92 Decrease8.3
Sinn Féin 159 Increase105 258,650 15.16 Increase7.8
Labour 51 Decrease81 121,898 7.14 Decrease7.6
People Before Profit 14 Increase9 29,051 1.70 Increase0.9
Anti-Austerity Alliance 14 Increase10 21,097 1.24 Increase0.3
Green 12 Increase9 27,168 1.59 Decrease0.7
Workers' Party 1 Decrease1 3,147 0.18 Decrease0.1
United Left 1 New 2,879 0.17 New
SKIA 1 Steady 2,139 0.12 Steady
WUA 1 Decrease1 1,927 0.11 Decrease0.1
Republican Sinn Féin 1 Steady 1,561 0.09 Steady
Direct Democracy 0 New 3,607 0.21 New
Éirígí 0 Steady 3,120 0.18 New
Inds. 4 Change 0 New 1,828 0.11 New
Fís Nua 0 New 930 0.05 New
Letterkenny Residents Party 0 Steady 428 0.03 Steady
Communist 0 Steady 215 0.01 Steady
Independent 192 Increase70 388,721 22.78 Increase7.1
Total 949 Increase66 1,706,695 100% —

[7]

Detailed results by council

Authority FF FG SF Lab PBP AAA GP WUA WP UL RSF SKIA Ind Total Details
Carlow 5 6 3 2 2 18 Details
Cavan 7 7 4 18 Details
Clare 12 8 1 7 28 Details
Cork 17 16 10 2 10 55 Details
Cork City 10 5 8 3 1 4 31 Details
Donegal 11 6 9 1 10 37 Details
Dublin City 9 8 16 8 5 1 3 1 12 63 Details
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown 8 11 3 7 3 2 6 40 Details
Fingal 7 6 6 4 1 4 2 10 40 Details
Galway 12 12 3 1[d] 11 39 Details
Galway City 3 4 3 2 6 18 Details
Kerry 9 9 5 2 1 7 33 Details
Kildare 12 9 5 5 9 40 Details
Kilkenny 10 7 3 2 1 1 24 Details
Laois 7 6 2 1 3 19 Details
Leitrim 6 4 4 4 18 Details
Limerick 13 12 6 3 3 3 40 Details
Longford 7 8 3 18 Details
Louth 5 7 10 2 2 3 29 Details
Mayo 10 10 3 7 30 Details
Meath 10 13 8 9 40 Details
Monaghan 4 5 7 2 18 Details
Offaly 8 3 3 5 19 Details
Roscommon 8 3 1 6 18 Details
Sligo 8 3 2 1 4 18 Details
South Dublin 5 7 9 4 3 3 1 8 40 Details
Tipperary 10 10 5 1 1 13 40 Details
Waterford 8 8 6 1 9 32 Details
Westmeath 8 5 3 2 2 20 Details
Wexford 11 9 5 2 1 6 34 Details
Wicklow 7 8 6 1 10 32 Details
Totals 267 235 159 51 14 14 12 1 1 1 1 1 192 949

Largest parties by council

Council 1st party 2009 2nd party 2009 1st party 2014 2nd party 2014 Councillors
Carlow Fine Gael (10) Labour (5) Fine Gael (6) Fianna Fáil (5) 18
Cavan Fine Gael (13) Fianna Fáil (8) Tied – FF/FG (7) 18
Clare Fine Gael (12) Fianna Fáil (11) Fianna Fáil (12) Fine Gael (8) 28
Cork Fine Gael (22) Fianna Fáil (12) Fianna Fáil (17) Fine Gael (16) 55
Cork City Fine Gael (8) Labour (7) Fianna Fáil (10) Sinn Féin (8) 31
Donegal Fianna Fáil (10) Fine Gael (8) Fianna Fáil (11) Independent (10) 37
Dublin City Labour (19) Fine Gael (12) Sinn Féin (16) Independent (12) 63
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Fine Gael (11) Labour (8) Fine Gael (11) Fianna Fáil (8) 40
Fingal Labour (9) Fine Gael (6) Independent (10) Fianna Fáil (7) 40
Galway Fine Gael (13) Independent (8) Tied – FF/FG (12) 39
Galway City Labour (5) Independent (4) Independent (6) Fine Gael (4) 18
Kerry Fine Gael (10) Fianna Fáil (7) Tied – FF/FG (9) 33
Kildare Fine Gael (9) Tied Fianna Fáil (12) Tied 40
Kilkenny Fine Gael (12) Fianna Fáil (7) Fianna Fáil (10) Fine Gael (7) 24
Laois Fine Gael (12) Fianna Fáil (8) Fianna Fáil (7) Fine Gael (6) 19
Leitrim Fine Gael (10) Fianna Fáil (8) Fianna Fáil (6) Tied 18
Limerick New Fianna Fáil (13) Fine Gael (12) 40
Longford Fine Gael (10) Fianna Fáil (8) Fine Gael (8) Fianna Fáil (7) 18
Louth Fine Gael (8) Sinn Féin (6) Sinn Féin (10) Fine Gael (7) 29
Mayo Fine Gael (17) Fianna Fáil (7) Tied – FF/FG (10) 30
Meath Fine Gael (11) Fianna Fáil (8) Fine Gael (13) Fianna Fáil (10) 40
Monaghan Sinn Féin (7) Fine Gael (6) Sinn Féin (7) Fine Gael (5) 18
Offaly Fianna Fáil (9) Tied Fianna Fáil (8) Independent (5) 19
Roscommon Fine Gael (10) Fianna Fáil (8) Fianna Fáil (8) Independent (6) 18
Sligo Fine Gael (12) Fianna Fáil (7) Fianna Fáil (8) Independent (4) 18
South Dublin Labour (9) Fine Gael (8) Sinn Féin (10) Independent (8) 40
Tipperary New Independent (13) Tied 40
Waterford New Independent (9) Tied 32
Westmeath Fianna Fáil (9) Fine Gael (8) Fianna Fáil (8) Fine Gael (5) 20
Wexford Fine Gael (10) Fianna Fáil (5) Fianna Fáil (11) Fine Gael (9) 34
Wicklow Fine Gael (9) Labour (6) Independent (10) Fine Gael (8) 32
All Councils Fine Gael (340) Fianna Fáil (218) Fianna Fáil (267) Fine Gael (235) 949

Footnotes

  1. ^ Single party from September 2015. Includes the Socialist Party.
  2. ^ a b Contested as separate parties.
  3. ^ a b Others figure of 24% includes 3% for the Green Party.
  4. ^ Republican Sinn Féin is an unregistered party; therefore Curraoin appears on official lists as non-Party.

References

  1. ^ "Coalition as unpopular as last days of Cowen government". Irish Independent. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Return of the old guard sparks Fianna Fail backlash". Irish Independent. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Poll shows rise in support for Labour and independents". Irish Examiner. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  4. ^ McConnell, Daniel (19 April 2014). "Support for Labour party at all time low". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Contrasting fortunes for FG in polls; Independents rise". BreakingNews.ie. 19 April 2014. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  6. ^ McInerney, Sarah (19 April 2014). "Sunday Times/B&A". Twitter. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Fine Gael support declines as Fianna Fáil recovers ground". The Irish Times. 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  8. ^ Bohan, Christine (29 March 2014). "Both Government parties down as Sinn Féin surges in latest poll". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  9. ^ Sheahan, Fionnan (1 March 2014). "Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil all down in dramatic Sunday Independent MillwardBrown opinion poll - Independent.ie". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Fine Gael stay top but mixed news for Labour in new polls". Irish Examiner. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  11. ^ a b Brophy, Daragh (25 January 2014). "Good news (and bad) for coalition as opinion polls give contrasting takes". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  12. ^ Ferry, Declan (9 January 2014). "Paddy Power Red C poll: Fine Gael and Labour lose support in first opinion poll of New Year". Irish Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.

Sources

Citations

  1. ^ "Local and European elections to be held on 23 May". RTÉ. 22 January 2014. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  2. ^ Reilly, Gavan (16 April 2013). "MEPs ask for next year's local and European elections to be moved". The Journal. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  3. ^ COUNCIL DECISION 2013/299/EU, Euratom of 14 June 2013 fixing the period for the eighth election of representatives to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage Archived 13 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine, published on 21 June 2013 by the Official Journal of the European Union, L 169/69
  4. ^ McArdle, Patsy (23 May 2013). "Monaghan local election candidate dies suddenly". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Report of the Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee" (Press release). Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013. The Minister in publishing the Report announced that he has accepted in full the recommendations in the Report and that he will be making the necessary local electoral area orders to give effect to these in due course.
  6. ^ "Sunday Times poll boost for Coalition". RTÉ News. 21 December 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  7. ^ Reilly, Gavan, County & City Council results (by @gavreilly), archived from the original on 18 April 2016, retrieved 31 May 2014

External links

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