FF vote in North Cork Central plummets

Fianna Fáil's vote in Cork North Central has plummeted, with the Opposition coalition of Fine Gael and Labour making strong gains, an exclusive Red C poll for the Evening Echo has shown.

Despite a 10% drop in support for Fianna Fáil, the party’s sitting TDs, Noel O’Flynn and Billy Kelleher, manage to hold their seats.

The biggest loser on the Fianna Fáil side is outspoken TD Noel O’Flynn, who sees his vote drop

by two points, to 14%.

This is in sharp contrast to the 2002 General Election, when he topped the poll and took the first seat in the constituency.

Overall, Fine Gael and Labour see a 13% increase in their vote, and a massive 59% of voters say they want to see a change of Government.

Bernard Allen is the biggest winner from the swing towards the Opposition. His vote increases from 12% of the first preference vote to 19%, which makes him the constituency poll-topper.

However, Fine Gael don’t take an extra seat in the four-seat constituency, with the party’s second candidate Cllr Gerry Kelly only making a marginal gain.

Despite the 10% drop in Fianna Fáil first preferences, the party comfortably holds its two seats in Cork North Central, which has been reduced from a five-seater to a four-seater since the last election.

According to a count-by-count analysis of this Red C poll, the four sitting TDs in the constituency will be re-elected in the following order - Kathleen Lynch (Labour); Bernard Allen (Fine Gael); Billy Kelleher (Fianna Fáil) and Noel O’Flynn (Fianna Fáil).

While both Sinn Féin Cllr Jonathon O’Brien and Socialist Cllr Mick Barry make gains, they don’t pose a serious challenge for the last seat in the constituency. Their increased vote could be a marker for future election success, however.

There’s no surge in support for the Green Party in Cork North Central, with Cllr Chris O’Leary improving on the party’s 2002 share of the vote by just 2%.

Workers’ Party candidate Ted Tynan and Independent John Mc-Carthy are both eliminated after the first count.