Healy-Rae wins double the likely quota in Kerry
By Anne Lucey
Final tallies from Killarney are in and the quota is likely to be 2,000.
With all 54 boxes now open, Danny Healy-Rae comes in at 4,250 - more than two quotas. He is followed by Michael Gleeson at 2,132 votes, and Brendan Cronin at 2045.
All three are sitting county councillors.
Fianna Fáil’s John Joe Culloty is at 1606. The next Fianna Fáil candidate is Niall Kelleher at 798 followed by John O’Shea at 465 and Anne McEllistrim at just over 400 votes .
Sitting councillor Anne Mc switched areas to allow her brother Tom to run in Tralee and was added to the FF ticket a move by party bosses which caused disquiet amongst the three candidates selected at convention.
With Fine Gael, sitting councilor Bobby O’Connell is heading the three candidates - a former mayor of Kerry he is at 1085 followed by Cllr John Sheahan at 957 and outgoing town councillor Cathal Walshe at just 355.
The prediction at the moment is that Fianna Fáil will take an extra seat with Niall Kelleher likely to take the last seat, if transfers from the outgoing FF candidates Mc Ellistrim and O’Shea go well.
Sinn Féin’s John Buckley has ended up with just 686 votes - equalling the vote of the Labour councillor on 700. Both are likely to be eliminated.
The Labour seat in Kerry county council is likely to be lost to indpendent town councillor Donal Grady who is coming in at 1,052 according to the tallies.
The final tally for the new local area of South and West Kerry, a nine-seater, stretching from Kenmare across Iveragh to include Dingle and mid Kerry is just in.
The figures are as follows:
Heading the poll is the first time candidate Johnny Healy-Rae Indpendent. Healy-Rae is coming it at 3,503 first preferences.
He is followed by the indpendent councillor Michael Cahill - fomerly Fianna Fáil, constituency secretary for Tom Fleming TD also ex FF.
Independent Dan McCarthy who ran for Fianna Fáil last time out is coming in at 1560
Leading the Fianna Fáil pack is Michael O’Shea, sitting councillor from Milltown at 1838 in the tally.
FF's Norma Moriarty who was put on the FIanna Fail ticket to replace Paul O’Donoghue is at 1505 followed by Breandán Fitzgerald for FF, a first time candidate and the son of the late senator Tom Fitzgerald who is at 1410.
Youngest candidate in the field, Fianna Fáil’s John Francis Flynn, is at 1014.
Fine Gael’s Seamus Cosai, the mayor of Kerry is at 1410, followed by Patrick Connor Scarteen at 1314, PJ Donovan at 1293 and sitting councillor Matt Griffin, co-opted on the election of his cousin Brendan Griffin to Dail Eireann at 685.
Sinn Féin’s Quigg has come in at 1227 while Republican Sinn Fein’s Padraig Garvey is at just under 500 votes.
Labour did not run a candidate this time.
The prediction is that Fine Gael will lose a seat and that Sinn Féin are in with a chance.
