# 2019 Waterford City and County Council election

An election to all 32 seats on Waterford City and County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. The City and County of Waterford was divided into 6 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).
Voters in Waterford also took part in a plebiscite on whether or not to establish the position of a directly elected mayor for the council under the Local Government Act 2019. The proposal was rejected by a narrow margin of 50.8% No to 49.2% Yes. Two other council also held plebiscites on directly elected mayors: Cork City rejected the proposal, and Limerick was the only one of the three to vote Yes.

## Boundary review

Following the recommendations of the 2018 boundary review committee, there were significant changes to the LEAs in the 2014 election due to terms of references requiring a maximum of seven councillors in each LEA and changes in population revealed in the 2016 census.

## Results by party

| Party | Party | Seats | ± | 1st pref | FPv% | ±% |
| | Fine Gael | 7 | 1 | 11,043 | 25.01 | 0.09 |
| | Fianna Fáil | 7 | 1 | 8,248 | 18.68 | 0.82 |
| | Sinn Féin | 6 | | 6,216 | 14.08 | 1.92 |
| | Labour | 4 | 3 | 3,662 | 8.29 | 0.29 |
| | Green | 2 | 2 | 2,659 | 6.02 | 6.02 |
| | People Before Profit | 0 | | 332 | 0.75 | 0.35 |
| | Renua | 0 | | 253 | 0.57 | New |
| | Aontú | 0 | | 246 | 0.56 | New |
| | Independent | 6 | 3 | 11,501 | 26.04 | 1.26 |
| Total | Total | 32 | | 44,160 | 100.00 | |

## Results by local electoral area

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

### Dungarvan

Dungarvan: 6 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | Fine Gael | Damien Geoghegan | 20.03% | 1,716 | | | | | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Tom Cronin | 14.08% | 1,206 | 1,234 | | | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | Pat Nugent | 11.65% | 998 | 1,081 | 1,094 | 1,121 | 1,171 | 1,211 | 1,313 | |
| | Sinn Féin | Conor D. McGuinness | 9.01% | 772 | 818 | 842 | 1,007 | 1,054 | 1,137 | 1,216 | 1,221 |
| | Independent | Seamus O'Donnell | 8.32% | 713 | 737 | 746 | 771 | 861 | 965 | 1,079 | 1,096 |
| | Labour | Thomas Phelan | 7.87% | 674 | 724 | 741 | 758 | 795 | 913 | 1,026 | 1,038 |
| | Fine Gael | Ian Noctor | 6.69% | 573 | 669 | 688 | 707 | 751 | 819 | 953 | 980 |
| | Independent | Joe O'Riordan | 5.80% | 497 | 529 | 552 | 578 | 653 | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Ann Marie Rossiter | 5.73% | 491 | 560 | 587 | 628 | 686 | 774 | | |
| | Independent | Caren Hallahan | 4.40% | 377 | 403 | 449 | 471 | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Siobhán Whelan | 4.12% | 353 | 379 | 391 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Ciara Langan | 1.32% | 113 | 117 | | | | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Sean French | 0.99% | 85 | 92 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 16,197 Valid: 8,568 Spoilt: 135 Quota: 1,225 Turnout: 8,703 (53.73%) ||||||||||||

### Lismore

Lismore: 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | John Pratt | 31.55% | 1,385 | |
| | Fianna Fáil | James Tobin | 27.52% | 1,208 | |
| | Fine Gael | Declan Doocey | 23.71% | 1,041 | 1,205 |
| | Sinn Féin | Louise Brierley | 9.68% | 425 | 491 |
| | Green | Lynne Glasscoe | 7.54% | 331 | 388 |
| Electorate: 9,226 Valid: 4,390 Spoilt: 86 Quota: 1,098 Turnout: 4,476 (48.52%) ||||||

### Portlaw–Kilmacthomas

Portlaw–Kilmacthomas: 5 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Fine Gael | Seanie Power | 21.17% | 1,591 | 1,253 | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | Liam Brazil | 19.72% | 1,482 | 1,482 | 1,253 | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | John O'Leary | 14.94% | 1,123 | 1,163 | 1,204 | 1,273 | 1,253 | |
| | Labour | Ger Barron | 13.05% | 981 | 1,018 | 1,098 | 1,249 | 1,256 | |
| | Sinn Féin | Declan Clune | 9.84% | 740 | 762 | 771 | 860 | 861 | 1,028 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Ray Murphy | 8.19% | 616 | 708 | 721 | 770 | 778 | 963 |
| | Fine Gael | Mairead Coffey Jacob | 5.92% | 445 | 550 | 612 | 686 | 690 | |
| | Independent | Dolores Whelan | 3.72% | 280 | 305 | 319 | | | |
| | Independent | Ann Troy | 3.45% | 259 | 276 | 286 | | | |
| Electorate: 14,318 Valid: 7,517 Spoilt: 152 Quota: 1,253 Turnout: 7,669 (53.6%) ||||||||||

### Tramore–Waterford City West

Tramore–Waterford City West: 6 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| | Green | Marc Ó Cathasaigh | 14.28% | 1,122 | 1,126 | 1,123 | | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Joe Conway | 13.75% | 1,080 | 1,083 | 1,083 | 1,097 | 1,126 | | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | Lola O'Sullivan | 13.07% | 1,027 | 1,031 | 1,031 | 1,052 | 1,062 | 1,183 | 1,183 | 1,123 | | |
| | Independent | Joe Kelly | 12.09% | 950 | 963 | 964 | 976 | 1,002 | 1,014 | 1,062 | 1,069 | 1,102 | 1,143 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Eamon Quinlan | 9.70% | 762 | 769 | 770 | 836 | 844 | 868 | 920 | 946 | 969 | 1,002 |
| | Independent | Blaise Hannigan | 8.74% | 687 | 690 | 690 | 701 | 714 | 742 | 794 | 807 | 886 | 912 |
| | Sinn Féin | Jim Griffin | 7.39% | 581 | 589 | 589 | 596 | 614 | 620 | 626 | 629 | 691 | 979 |
| | Sinn Féin | Leslie Hughes | 5.03% | 395 | 399 | 399 | 405 | 425 | 430 | 437 | 439 | 523 | |
| | People Before Profit | Úna Dunphy | 4.23% | 332 | 333 | 333 | 341 | 349 | 368 | 385 | 394 | | |
| | Renua | Michael Gallwey | 3.22% | 253 | 257 | 257 | 260 | 263 | 273 | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | Maxine Keoghan | 3.16% | 248 | 250 | 251 | 254 | 257 | | | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Rita Lacey | 2.16% | 170 | 173 | 173 | | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Brendan Byrne | 2.15% | 169 | 176 | 176 | 182 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Melissa O'Neill | 1.03% | 81 | | | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 16,215 Valid: 7,857 Spoilt: 173 Quota: 1,123 Turnout: 8,030 (49.5%) ||||||||||||||

### Waterford City East

Waterford City East: 6 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Independent | Matt Shanahan | 20.32% | 1,736 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | David Daniels | 14.06% | 1,201 | 1,307 | | | | | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Eddie Mulligan | 10.91% | 932 | 1,010 | 1,071 | 1,083 | 1,153 | 1,195 | 1,267 |
| | Fianna Fáil | Adam Wyse | 10.44% | 892 | 966 | 1,032 | 1,052 | 1,122 | 1,202 | 1,308 |
| | Green | Jody Power | 8.95% | 765 | 833 | 908 | 928 | 975 | 1,038 | 1,141 |
| | Sinn Féin | Pat Fitzgerald | 6.87% | 587 | 602 | 611 | 615 | 664 | 936 | 1,086 |
| | Fine Gael | Sharon Carey | 6.77% | 578 | 612 | 639 | 653 | 831 | 871 | 950 |
| | Sinn Féin | Michael Doyle | 6.27% | 536 | 558 | 576 | 579 | 590 | | |
| | Independent | Lee Walsh | 6.12% | 523 | 563 | 607 | 615 | 661 | 700 | |
| | Fine Gael | Fiona Dowd | 5.64% | 482 | 515 | 531 | 536 | | | |
| | Independent | Michael Garland | 3.64% | 311 | 356 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 15,562 Valid: 8,543 Spoilt: 122 Quota: 1,221 Turnout: 8,665 (55.7%) |||||||||||

### Waterford City South

Waterford City South: 6 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| | Sinn Féin | John Hearne | 14.70% | 1,071 | 1,071 | 1,041 | | | | | | | |
| | Fine Gael | John Cummins | 11.83% | 862 | 876 | 877 | 899 | 915 | 929 | 959 | 1,025 | 1,067 | |
| | Fianna Fáil | Jason Murphy | 10.47% | 763 | 772 | 774 | 840 | 850 | 870 | 919 | 960 | 1,015 | 1,028 |
| | Independent | Donal Barry | 9.94% | 724 | 751 | 753 | 782 | 840 | 868 | 946 | 1,008 | 1,163 | 1,041 |
| | Labour | Séamus Ryan | 8.54% | 622 | 627 | 629 | 640 | 653 | 672 | 729 | 812 | 879 | 893 |
| | Independent | Laurence (Cha) O'Neill | 6.97% | 508 | 515 | 517 | 543 | 554 | 584 | 637 | 665 | 756 | 788 |
| | Independent | Andrew Power | 6.12% | 446 | 470 | 471 | 488 | 518 | 535 | 586 | 627 | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Breda Brennan | 6.09% | 444 | 456 | 464 | 471 | 502 | 649 | 702 | 774 | 835 | 863 |
| | Green | Susan Gallagher | 6.05% | 441 | 451 | 452 | 473 | 504 | 513 | 534 | | | |
| | Independent | Seán Reinhardt | 5.59% | 407 | 418 | 421 | 432 | 446 | 483 | | | | |
| | Sinn Féin | Warren Fitzgerald | 4.28% | 312 | 331 | 339 | 347 | 370 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Vivienne Burns | 3.68% | 268 | 280 | 281 | 290 | | | | | | |
| | Aontú | Ronan Cleary | 3.38% | 246 | 254 | 254 | | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Brendan Byrne | 2.35% | 171 | | | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,323 Valid: 7,285 Spoilt: 156 Quota: 1,041 Turnout: 7,441 (51.95%) ||||||||||||||

### Footnotes

* 1 2 3 See change below.

## Results by gender

2019 Waterford City and County Council election Candidates by gender :
| Gender | Number of candidates | % of candidates | Elected councillors | % of councillors |
| Men | 46 | 69.7% | 30 | 93.8% |
| Women | 20 | 30.3% | 2 | 6.3% |
| TOTAL | 66 | | 32 | |

## Plebiscite

2019 Waterford City and County Council Directly Elected Mayor plebiscite :
| Choice | Votes | % |
| No | 22,437 | 50.8 |
| Yes | 21,718 | 49.2 |
| Total votes | 44,155 | 100.00 |

## Changes after the 2019 election
### Co-options

| Party | Outgoing | LEA | Reason | Date | Co-optee |
| Green | Marc Ó Cathasaigh | Tramore–Waterford City West | Elected to the 33rd Dáil at the 2020 general election | 25 February 2020 | Laura Swift |
| Independent | Matt Shanahan | Waterford City East | Elected to the 33rd Dáil at the 2020 general election | 25 February 2020 | Mary Roche |
| Green | Laura Swift | Tramore–Waterford City West | Resignation on 6 May 2020 due to conflict with family mediation service | 24 June 2020 | Susan Gallagher |
| Fine Gael | John Cummins | Waterford City South | Elected to the 26th Seanad on the Labour Panel at the 2020 Seanad election | 24 June 2020 | Frank Quinlan |
| Fianna Fáil | James Tobin | Lismore | Death of councillor | July 2022 | Mairéad Tobin |
| Fianna Fáil | Eddie Mulligan | Waterford City East | Resignation | August 2022 | Stephanie Keating |

### Changes in affiliation

| Name | LEA | Elected as | Elected as | New affiliation | New affiliation | Date |
| Declan Clune | Portlaw–Kilmacthomas | | Sinn Féin | | Independent | 1 September 2020 |
| Mary Roche | Waterford City East | | Independent | | Social Democrats | November 2022 |