Third Count Loughrea LEA: Canning highlights rural ‘disconnect

Back in 2016, he was co-opted onto Galway County Council when Fianna Fáil party colleague, Anne Rabbitte, was elected to the Dáil, so this election was his first time ‘facing the people’.

“I tried to make contact on a personal basis with every household in the electoral area. To put in mildly there wasn’t much free time over the past nine weeks – I never missed a day at work with the canvassing done on the evenings and weekends,” he told the Connacht Tribune.

He said that in many parts of rural Ireland there was a real sense of ‘disconnect’ between Dublin and the rest of the country which needed to be addressed on many levels.

“The same things just kept coming up . . . rural broadband, the closure of the post offices and the very real issue of unsustainable rate bills that businesses out the country are facing,” he said.

Canning’s surplus of 23 votes is currently being distributed. It is expected that Loughrea independent Pat Hynes will take the final seat.

Loughrea

Number of seats: 5

Electorate: 18,729

Total poll: 10,503

Spoiled votes: 165

Total valid poll: 10,338

Quota: 1,724

First count:

Michael ‘Moegie’ Maher (FG) 2,152

Jimmy McClearn (FG) 2,045

Shane Curley (FF) 1,581

Ivan Canning (FF) 1,564

Pat Hynes (Ind) 948

Pat Flanagan (FF) 738

Joe Campbell (Aontu) 661

Annmarie Roche (SF) 332

Eoin Madden (Ind) 321

Maher and McClearn elected

Second count

Distribution of Maher’s surplus

Shane Curley (FF) +161 1,742

Ivan Canning (FF) +25 1,589

Pat Hynes (Ind) +104 1,052

Pat Flanagan (FF) +76 814

Joe Campbell (Aontu) +13 674

Annmarie Roche (SF) +21 353

Eoin Madden (Ind) +28 349

Curley elected

Third count

Distribution of McClearn’s surplus

Ivan Canning (FF) +158 1,747

Pat Hynes (Ind) +48 1,101

Pat Flanagan (FF) +27 840

Joe Campbell (Aontu) +53 727

Annmarie Roche (SF) +22 375

Eoin Madden (Ind) +9 358