FF increases its vote in Offaly as FG fails to make significant inroads

Fianna Fáil remains the largest party on Offaly County Council, after the people of the county opted to show their support to the Taoiseach and his troops. Offaly is now one of only three county councils in the country where Fianna Fáil is the biggest party The party gained a seat on the council, increasing its representation to nine, on the back of an increased share of the vote. Across the county council"s four electoral areas, Fianna Fáil gained 35.2% of the first preference vote, up from the 33.8% recorded in 2004. On the other hand, Fine Gael actually suffered a fall in its vote, down from 29.3% to 27.7% again contrary to the national trend. However, it maintained its six-seat representation on the council. Fianna Fáil gained an extra seat in Tullamore and Edenderry, but lost one in the realignment between Birr and Ferbane areas. Fine Gael also lost a seat in the shake up between Birr and Ferbane, although gaining a new councillor in Edenderry. The independent representation remains significant on Offaly County Council, with six non-party candidates in the chamber. Labour failed once again to earn a county council seat, with newcomer Declan Leddin coming closest. Sinn Féin too almost made a major breakthrough but Brendan Killeavy lost out by a handful of votes in the race for the last seat from the Tullamore area. In total, six of the outgoing 23 councillors were not returned. The new councillors are: Tullamore: Sinead Dooley (FF); Ferbane: John Leahy (Ind) and Edenderry: John Foley (FF), Ger Plunkett (FF), Liam Quinn (FG) and Nichola Hogan (FG). Across the three town councils in the county, Fianna Fáil gained a seat. In Tullamore Town Council, Fianna Fáil added an extra seat, increasing its representation to four, whilst Sinn Féin also recorded a notable success. In Birr Town Council, Fianna Fáil doubled its representation to four and in Edenderry Town Council, the party lost two seats. See Pages 8/9 and 10 for full story.