The Galway City Council election result. The Journal - Flourish The Journal - Flourish

NOW THAT THE counting is done and the 18 seats on Galway City Council have been filled, let’s look at how the parties fared in this weekend’s vote.

What jumps out immediately from this weekend’s result is the disappearance of the Green Party, which lost the two seats it had won in 2019. 

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil has lost its top spot on the Council, dropping from five seats down to four while Fine Gael has gained a seat, moving up to four after securing three last time round.

Another noteworthy development is that Sinn Féin has entered the fray by winning one seat where it had none before. 

Labour and the Social Democrats have both made gains. Labour has gone from one councillor to three and the Social Democrats have gone from one seat to two. 

The number of independent councillors has fallen from six down to four. 

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of how the parties fared across the city’s three wards. 

Galway City Central (6 seats)

The Galway City Central saw some significant turnover, with three out of the six councillors in the area holding their seats.

They are Fine Gael councillors Eddie Hoare and Frank Fahy, alongside independent Mike Cubbard.

Labour has a new councillor in the ward in the form of John McDonagh and the same is true for the Social Democrats with Eibhlín Seoighthe.

Fianna Fáil’s Josie Forde is the third of the newcomers on the Council in the city centre. 

Galway City East (6 seats)

Independents fared poorly in Galway City East, where only one was elected – Declan McDonnell – after there being three in the are last time round.

The other councillors who retained their seats are Alan Cheevers of Fianna Fáil and independent Terry O’Flaherty.

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Again, Labour got a new councillor elected in this area in the form of Helen Ogbu. The same goes for Sinn Féin, whose candidate Aisling Burke won a seat, and for Fine Gael who got Shane Forde over the line. 

Galway City West (6 seats)

There was only one change to the Galway City West part of the Council this weekend. Alan Curran of the Social Democrats won a seat at the expense of the Green Party.

Incumbent councillors Donal Lyons (Independent), Clodagh Higgins (Fine Gael), John Connolly (Fianna Fáil), Peter Keane (Fianna Fáil) and Níall McNelis (Labour) all retained their seats.

Curious about other the makeup of other city councils? Read our reports on how the parties did in the Dublin and Cork City Council races.