Westmeath latest - 2.40pm

PHOTO: Doing a top class job on the tallies, Caitriona McVeigh and Seamus Kincaid, both from Rathconnell, at the count centre in Athlone.

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The make-up of the new Westmeath County Council looks set to be significantly different to that of the last one, tallies from the count centre in Athlone are showing.

The headline news emerging here is the strong showing by Fianna Fáil and the collapse of the Sinn Féin vote. Sinn Féin won three seats on this authority in the 2014 local election – but will be lucky if it has one seat this time round.

Top class tallying coordinated by Fianna Fáil is giving the current vote breakdown as 36.7% to Fianna Fáil, 21.3% to Fine Gael, 18.6% to Independent parties, 11.3% to Labour, 6.2% to Sinn Féin and 3.6% to the Greens.

About 80% of the votes have been tallied so far - leaving roughly 5 boxes per area to beaccounted for.

In Athlone, Aengus O’Rourke and Frankie Keena looks home and dry for FF, with Keena ahead on 1,286 and O’Rourke just two votes behind.

FG’s John Dolan was looking shaky but has moved into fourth place, with 698 – but he’s substantially behind Independent candidate Jamie Moran who has 963. Alan Shaw of FG is on 552 – and in sixth place is SF’s Padraig Hegarty with Independent Paul Hogan on 451.

In Moate, as expected, FG’s Tom Farrell is heading the poll, followed by Fianna Fáil’s Vinnie McCormack who is understood to have got an incredible 71 per cent of the votes in one of the two boxes in his home village, Ballymore. In third position is Michael O’Brien (Ind) and Labour’s Johnnie Penrose is lying fourth on 881.

If Fianna Fáil wanted an excuse t o celebrate they have found it in Mullingar, where they look set to gain a seat. Heading the poll is Ken Glynn FF on 1,100; second is Independent Mick Dollard, on 1,019, with third place held by Bill Collentine FF on 725, with Aoife Davitt, FF, close on his heels at 718. Andrew Duncan FG is on 656 and Gerard Heery, FG, on 607. Sinn Féin’s Sorca Clarke looks set to be a casualty here, standing at 444 – just a vote behind Independent Sean Lynch, on 445.

Kinnegad’s Labour representative Denis Leonard, who lost his seat in 2014, looks set for a return to The Westmeath County Council chamber, having at present 960.Closest to him is John Shaw FF, om 884, with FG’s Emily Wallace a close third on 867. Paddy Hill, FF, with 672, is looking okay and his running mate Shauna Coyne is on 654.

If those who get elected in Kinnegad are as listed above, it will be the end of the unbroken record set by FG’s Frank McDermott, who holds the distinction of being Ireland’s longest-serving county councillor.

Cllr Una D’Arcy too will not be returning. Coming joint top of the poll five years ago when she debuted as a Sinn Féin councillor this time she was running as an Independent.

The make-up of the new Westmeath County Council looks set to be significantly different to that of the last one, tallies from the count centre in Athlone are showing.

The headline news emerging here is the strong showing by Fianna Fáil and the collapse of the Sinn Féin vote. Sinn Féin won three seats on this authority in the 2014 local election – but will be lucky if it has one seat this time round.

Top class tallying co-ordinated by Fianna Fáil is giving the current vote breakdown as 36.7% to Fianna Fáil, 21.3% to Fine Gael, 18.6% to Independent parties, 11.3% to Labour, 6.2% to Sinn Féin and 3.6% to the Greens.

About 80% of the votes have been tallied so far – leaving roughly 5 boxes per area to be accounted for.

In Athlone, Aengus O’Rourke and Frankie Keena looks home and dry for FF, with Keena ahead on 1,286 and O’Rourke just two votes behind.

FG’s John Dolan was looking shaky but has moved into fourth place, with 698 – but he’s substantially behind Independent candidate Jamie Moran, who has 963.

Alan Shaw of FG is on 552 – and in sixth place is SF’s Padraig Hegarty, with Independent Paul Hogan on 451.

In Moate, as expected, FG’s Tom Farrell is heading the poll, followed by Fianna Fáil’s Vinnie McCormack – who is understood to have got an incredible 71 per cent of the votes in one of the two boxes in his home village, Ballymore.

In third position is Michael O’Brien (Ind) and Labour’s Johnnie Penrose is lying fourth on 881.

If Fianna Fáil wanted an excuse to celebrate they have found it in Mullingar, where they look set to gain a seat.

Heading the poll is Ken Glynn FF on 1,100; second is Independent Mick Dollard, on 1,019, with third place held by Bill Collentine FF on 725, with Aoife Davitt, FF, close on his heels at 718.

Andrew Duncan FG is on 656 and Gerard Heery, FG, is on 607.

Sinn Féin’s Sorca Clarke looks set to be a casualty here, standing at 444 – just a vote behind Independent Sean Lynch, on 445.

Kinnegad’s Labour representative Denis Leonard, who lost his seat in 2014, looks set for a return to the Westmeath County Council chamber, having at present 960.

Closest to him is John Shaw FF, om 884, with FG’s Emily Wallace a close third on 867.

Paddy Hill, FF, with 672, is looking okay and his running mate Shauna Coyne is on 654.

If those who get elected in Kinnegad are as listed above, it will be the end of the unbroken record set by FG’s Frank McDermott, who holds the distinction of being Ireland’s longest-serving county councillor.

Cllr Una D’Arcy too will not be returning. Coming joint top of the poll five years ago when she debuted as a Sinn Féin councillor, this time she was running as an Independent.