# 2019 Louth County Council election

An election to all 29 seats on Louth County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. County Louth was divided into 5 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).

## Boundary review

Following a recommendation of the 2018 LEA boundary review committee, the local electoral areas in County Louth were altered. The committee's terms of reference required a maximum number of councillors of 7 seats, which had been breached by the 10-seat Drogheda LEA used at the 2014 Louth County Council election. There were boundary adjustments in other LEAs to reflect by population shifts revealed by the 2016 census. The boundary committee recommended that Dundalk be designated a borough district. This was implemented in the initial statutory instrument, but reversed as being contrary to the terms of the Local Government Act 2001.

## Overview

Following the elections Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil emerged as the joint largest party with 7 seats. Sinn Féin lost 1 seat in Dundalk and 2 in Drogheda. Fianna Fáil gained a seat from Sinn Féin and also from the Green Party in Dundalk. Accounting for the defection of Kevin Callan after 2014, Fine Gael returned with 5 seats, a loss of 2 seats overall. The Labour Party increased their numbers by 1 seat to 3 by gaining another seat in Drogheda.
Kevin Callan won a seat in each of the 2 Drogheda LEAs. He chose to sit for Drogheda Urban. The casual vacancy was filled at a meeting of the council on 17 June 2019 by Declan Power, who had run for Fianna Fáil in 2019 but who had since quit the party.

## Results by party

| Party | Party | Seats | ± | 1st pref | FPv% | ±% |
| | Sinn Féin | 7 | 3 | 10,651 | 24.10 | 7.32 |
| | Fianna Fáil | 7 | 2 | 8,624 | 19.51 | 0.48 |
| | Fine Gael | 5 | 2 | 8,891 | 20.12 | 0.56 |
| | Labour | 3 | 1 | 3,501 | 7.92 | 2.95 |
| | Green | 1 | 1 | 2,829 | 6.40 | 2.54 |
| | Renua | 0 | | 1,463 | 3.31 | New |
| | Direct Democracy | 0 | | 142 | 0.32 | 1.59 |
| | United People | 0 | | 134 | 0.30 | New |
| | People Before Profit | 0 | | 101 | 0.23 | 0.06 |
| | Independent | 6 | 3 | 7,854 | 17.77 | 1.27 |
| Total | Total | 29 | | 44,190 | 100.00 | |

## Results by local electoral area

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

### Ardee

Ardee: 6 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| | Fine Gael | Dolores Minogue | 15.28% | 1,404 | | | | | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | Colm Markey | 15.11% | 1,388 | | | | | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Pearse McGeough | 10.96% | 1,007 | 1,011 | 1,018 | 1,040 | 1,055 | 1,113 | 1,411 | | |
| | Independent | Jim Tenanty | 10.40% | 955 | 978 | 983 | 1,048 | 1,178 | 1,295 | 1,396 | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | John Sheridan | 9.47% | 870 | 877 | 887 | 902 | 933 | 976 | 996 | 1,114 | 1,131 |
| | Independent | Hugh D. Conlon | 8.35% | 767 | 771 | 786 | 825 | 842 | 911 | 928 | 1,054 | 1,099 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Fintan Malone | 7.07% | 649 | 661 | 664 | 685 | 757 | 808 | 851 | 917 | 949 |
| | Green | Seán Connolly | 5.54% | 509 | 514 | 519 | 557 | 577 | 635 | 652 | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Brendan McKenna | 5.36% | 492 | 500 | 501 | 515 | 553 | 576 | | | |
| | Independent | Kevin Carroll | 4.57% | 420 | 426 | 428 | 483 | 512 | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | Finnan McCoy | 4.42% | 406 | 423 | 448 | 464 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Albert D. Byrne | 2.07% | 190 | 192 | 194 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Enda Murray | 1.40% | 129 | 132 | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 20,007 Valid: 9,186 Spoilt: 281 Quota: 1,313 Turnout: 9,467 (47.32%) |||||||||||||

### Drogheda Rural

Drogheda Rural: 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Fine Gael | Oliver Tully | 16.62% | 965 | 971 | 1,005 | 1,060 | 1,173 | | |
| | Labour | Michelle Hall | 16.60% | 964 | 977 | 1,000 | 1,035 | 1,095 | 1,097 | 1,214 |
| | Independent | Kevin Callan | 15.43% | 896 | 912 | 937 | 1,048 | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Tom Cunningham | 11.42% | 663 | 672 | 708 | 730 | 765 | 765 | 1,113 |
| | Sinn Féin | Leanne Saurin | 10.38% | 603 | 616 | 628 | 651 | 689 | 690 | |
| | Renua | Eamon Sweeney | 9.78% | 568 | 579 | 591 | 620 | 727 | 732 | 787 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Richard Cooney | 8.21% | 477 | 479 | 561 | 585 | | | |
| | Independent | Frank Godfrey | 5.46% | 317 | 323 | 343 | | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Declan Power | 4.46% | 259 | 261 | | | | | |
| | United People | Jeffrey Rudd | 0.88% | 51 | | | | | | |
| | Direct Democracy | Patrick Greene | 0.77% | 45 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,070 Valid: 5,808 Spoilt: 123 Quota: 1,162 Turnout: 5,931 (45.62%) |||||||||||

### Drogheda Urban

Drogheda Urban: 6 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| | Labour | Paul Bell | 14.76% | 1,292 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Pio Smith | 14.22% | 1,245 | 1,255 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Joanna Byrne | 10.54% | 923 | 927 | 939 | 959 | 975 | 1,109 | 1,129 | 1,372 | | | |
| | Independent | Kevin Callan | 10.25% | 897 | 902 | 905 | 913 | 936 | 951 | 996 | 1,012 | 1,030 | 1,124 | 1,292 |
| | Fianna Fáil | James Byrne | 9.10% | 797 | 801 | 804 | 804 | 807 | 816 | 838 | 848 | 853 | 1,076 | 1,251 |
| | Independent | Paddy McQuillan | 8.78% | 769 | 774 | 793 | 819 | 858 | 875 | 907 | 943 | 993 | 1,035 | 1,086 |
| | Fine Gael | Richie Culhane | 6.64% | 581 | 583 | 585 | 587 | 593 | 596 | 623 | 629 | 634 | 671 | |
| | Independent | Frank Godfrey | 5.92% | 518 | 523 | 525 | 527 | 551 | 560 | 646 | 664 | 681 | 772 | 881 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Anthony Moore | 5.78% | 506 | 507 | 510 | 511 | 521 | 524 | 577 | 586 | 589 | | |
| | Renua | Michael O'Dowd | 3.45% | 302 | 304 | 309 | 314 | 354 | 359 | | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | David Saurin | 3.19% | 279 | 280 | 290 | 295 | 303 | 367 | 373 | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Kenneth Flood | 2.98% | 261 | 262 | 265 | 271 | 278 | | | | | | |
| | Renua | Maria McCabe | 1.19% | 104 | 105 | 107 | 111 | | | | | | | |
| | People Before Profit | Angus Macdonald | 1.15% | 101 | 101 | 101 | | | | | | | | |
| | Direct Democracy | Christopher Faulkner | 1.11% | 97 | 97 | 108 | 117 | | | | | | | |
| | United People | Jeffrey Rudd | 0.95% | 83 | 83 | | | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 20,424 Valid: 8,755 Spoilt: 241 Quota: 1,251 Turnout: 8,496 (44.05%) |||||||||||||||

### Dundalk–Carlingford

Dundalk–Carlingford: 6 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Sinn Féin | Antóin Watters | 16.48% | 1,563 | | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | John McGahon | 14.31% | 1,357 | | | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Erin McGreehan | 12.14% | 1,151 | 1,216 | 1,222 | 1,237 | 1,535 | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Seán Kelly | 11.30% | 1,072 | 1,077 | 1,157 | 1,216 | 1,297 | 1,361 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Conor Keelan | 10.66% | 1,011 | 1,015 | 1,052 | 1,089 | 1,221 | 1,279 |
| | Sinn Féin | Edel Corrigan | 9.82% | 931 | 1,005 | 1,588 | | | |
| | Green | Eoin Daly | 8.68% | 823 | 834 | 875 | 976 | 1,112 | 1,180 |
| | Fine Gael | Roisin Duffy | 8.53% | 809 | 823 | 832 | 844 | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Eugene Garvey | 8.09% | 767 | 802 | | | | |
| Electorate: 20,308 Valid: 9,484 Spoilt: 254 Quota: 1,355 Turnout: 9,738 (48.55%) ||||||||||

### Dundalk South

Dundalk South: 7 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| | Independent | Maeve Yore | 15.52% | 1,701 | | | | | | | | |
| | Green | Marianne Butler | 13.66% | 1,497 | | | | | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Ruairí Ó Murchú | 12.99% | 1,423 | | | | | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | Maria Doyle | 12.28% | 1,346 | 1,409 | | | | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Tomás Sharkey | 10.37% | 1,136 | 1,185 | 1,201 | 1,264 | 1,289 | 1,333 | 1,336 | 1,825 | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Liam Reilly | 9.87% | 1,082 | 1,131 | 1,142 | 1,155 | 1,157 | 1,229 | 1,233 | 1,262 | 1,300 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Emma Coffey | 6.84% | 750 | 805 | 836 | 885 | 888 | 1,006 | 1,021 | 1,098 | 1,181 |
| | Fine Gael | Linus English | 5.80% | 635 | 660 | 679 | 701 | 702 | 778 | 792 | 806 | 832 |
| | Sinn Féin | Anne Campbell | 5.50% | 603 | 621 | 638 | 674 | 695 | 755 | 758 | | |
| | Renua | Niamh Boyle | 4.46% | 489 | 524 | 544 | 602 | 603 | | | | |
| | Independent | Oliver Morgan | 2.69% | 295 | 332 | 345 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 23,841 Valid: 10,957 Spoilt: 267 Quota: 1,370 Turnout: 11,224 (47.08%) |||||||||||||

### Footnotes

* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 See change below.

## Results by gender

2019 Louth County Council election Candidates by gender :
| Gender | Number of candidates | % of candidates | Elected councillors | % of councillors |
| Men | 46 | 76.7% | 20 | 69.0% |
| Women | 14 | 23.3% | 9 | 31.0% |
| TOTAL | 60 | | 29 | |

## Changes after 2019

| Party | Outgoing | LEA | Reason | Date | Co-optee |
| Independent | Kevin Callan | Drogheda Rural | Elected for two areas; chose to sit for Drogheda Urban | June 2019 | Declan Power |
| Fine Gael | Oliver Tully | Drogheda Rural | Death on 9 July 2019 | 16 September 2019 | Eileen Tully |
| Sinn Féin | Ruairí Ó Murchú | Dundalk South | Elected for Louth to the 33rd Dáil at the 2020 general election | 24 February 2020 | Kevin Meenan |
| Fine Gael | John McGahon | Dundalk–Carlingford | Elected for the Cultural and Educational Panel to the 26th Seanad at the 2020 Seanad election | 20 July 2020 | John Reilly |
| Fianna Fáil | Erin McGreehan | Dundalk–Carlingford | Nominated by the Taoiseach to the 26th Seanad | 20 July 2020 | Andrea McKevitt |
| Labour | Paul Bell | Drogheda Urban | Resigned on 28 June 2020 on his appointment to the Labour Court | 21 September 2020 | Fiachra Mac Raghnaill |
| Fine Gael | Colm Markey | Ardee | Co-opted to the European Parliament | 16 February 2021 | Paula Butterly |
| Independent | Hugh Conlon | Ardee | Death | July 2021 | Bernie Conlon |
| Labour | Fiachra Mac Raghnaill | Drogheda Urban | Resigned on 6 February 2023 | 21 March 2023 | Emma Cutlip Gallagher |

## Sources

* "Louth County Council - Local Election candidates". RTÉ. 14 May 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
* "Local Elections Results 2019". Louth County Council. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
* "Local Elections 2019: Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics" (PDF). Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG). pp. 152–157. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.