Fourth time the charm for SF’s O’Brien in city constituency

THERE were four seats for the taking in Cork North Central but the big winner was certainly Jonathan O’Brien, the Sinn Féin city councillor who after three hard-fought but unsuccessful general election campaigns finally got a Dáil seat for the party in Cork city.

O’Brien, a full-time Cork city councillor since 2000, is renowned for his work ethic and has built a steady base over the past 10 years in the urban working-class areas of the city.

However, this time around, he saw his support spread well beyond his North West ward (where incidentally he picked up 35% of the vote) and, according to tallies, he doubled his vote on last time in the county. For instance, in the Glanmire, Grenagh and Blarney areas of the county, tallies suggest he may have doubled and even trebled his vote. Without doubt, Mr O’Brien picked up a lot of outgoing Fianna Fáil TD, Noel O’Flynn’s old vote in the eastern end of the city and county.

The father-of-four topped the poll on 7,923 votes — just 27 votes ahead of Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher, picking up 15.2% of the first preference vote. Mr O’Brien was elected at the end of the eighth count, gaining well from the transfers of independent votes.

Former junior minister, Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher was elected on the 11th count — and it must have been with huge relief to party leader, Micheál Martin, as it meant his decision to ask Mr O’Flynn to stand aside had paid off.

Mr Kelleher won 15.1% of the first preference vote, with him and Fine Gael’s Pat Burton wiping the board in the county. However, unlike Mr Burton, Mr Kelleher had all his party vote to himself and built himself up steadily with transfers.

The former junior minister’s high level of first preferences had not been in dispute in advance of the election. However, his transferability had been in question but he bucked the national trend for FF candidates by gaining transfers, particularly from county candidates.

In the last count, he benefited from the fact that Kathleen Lynch’s transfers were split between two Fine Gael candidates. Both he and Fine Gael’s Dara Murphy were then elected without reaching a quota.

For Gardiner’s Hill-based, Dara Murphy, who was making his first attempt at winning a Dáil seat, it was also some achievement. Both he and his party colleague Pat Burton, another first-timer, polled strongly across the county with their division of the constituency, into east and west, working well. For most of the count the two were neck and neck, with observers changing their minds on every count as to which would take the seat. In first preferences, Mr Murphy picked up 6,597 votes while Mr Burton won 7,072.

However it was the former lord mayor who prevailed, benefiting from the fact that Labour’s John Gilroy had unexpectedly been eliminated in the ninth count and Kathleen Lynch elected in the subsequent count. Mr Murphy scooped up 1,148 of her 3,660 surplus votes with his city base paying off dividends in that final carve up.

Sitting TD, Kathleen Lynch’s seat had never been in doubt and she polled a strong 7,676 first preferences — but never managed to pull in that second Labour seat that many had predicted.

There had been high hopes for her Glanmire-based party colleague, John Gilroy, who topped the poll in the 2009 Cork County Council ballot, winning the highest number of votes of any Labour candidate. This time, his first preferences were largely focused in the county and he failed to make real inroads in the city area. In contrast, his rivals built up steadier blocs of support in both urban and rural areas. Inevitably, Labour party HQ will also be asking questions about vote management here as Ms Lynch polled well in the county as well as her high traditional city vote.

The Socialist Party’s Mick Barry secured 4,803 first preference votes, about 30% less than his biggest rival, Jonathan O’Brien of Sinn Féin.

According to polls, Mr Barry topped the poll in the North Central ward but failed to realise votes in the all-important county. In a constituency that is now 50:50 urban/rural, that weakness will have to be overcome if he is to take a Dáil seat in the future.