Local elections: Everything you need to know about the Bandon/Kinsale constituency

With six seats on offer in an area with 28,681 electors registered to vote, transfers could be key to getting the last candidates over the line, writes Noel Baker

Who is running?

 Ann Bambury – SD 

 Ann Coleman – Independent 

 John Collins – Independent Ireland

 Gillian Coughlan – FF 

 John Michael Foley – FG 

 Margaret Murphy O’Mahony - FF 

 Clare O’Callaghan - SF 

 Sean O’Donovan - FF 

 Deborah O’Driscoll - Irish People 

 Marie O’Sullivan - FG 

 Brendan Piper – Independent

 Gerard Seaman – FG 

 Stephen Spillane - Green Party

What you need to know 

The race to fill the six seats in the Bandon/Kinsale local electoral area will make a changing of the guard in more ways than one.

The election marks the end of a 36-year-stint on Cork County Council for retired dairy farmer Kevin Murphy of Fine Gael, a tenure which made him the second longest serving councillor.

Alongside him, party colleague John O’Sullivan, first elected in Skibbereen in 2009, is also stepping down from local politics.

A by-product could be the possible threat to two safe seats for the party in an area where, thanks to incumbent councillor Marie O’Sullivan, they currently hold three.

There must be a big question mark over whether the party can repeat the trick.

Alongside Marie O’Sullivan, Fine Gael is also running Bandon-based Gerard Seaman — who secured 875 first preference votes last time out but without ever seeming in real contention — and Timoleague resident John Michael Foley.

The party faithful will tell you that the election of Simon Harris as leader and the primacy of local issues over national events may mean three seats can be delivered, but it’s far from a safe bet.

Two seats are likely to be accounted for by Fianna Fáil councillor Gillian Coughlan and Belgooly councillor Alan Coleman.

Last time out, Ms Coughlan topped the poll and was elected on the first count with 2,762 votes, joined by Mr Coleman, an ex-Fianna Fáil member.

Social Democrats' Ann Bambury, Holly Cairns and Susan Doyle meet the locals during canvassing in Bandon. Picture: Denis Boyle

However, while Fianna Fáil councillor Sean O’Donovan will fancy his chances of a return to County Hall, the third candidate for the party, Margaret Murphy O’Mahony, will surely have a big impact.

A former TD, during which time she served as the party’s spokesperson on disability, Ms Murphy O’Mahony was aggrieved at losing her Dáil seat in the last general election and also had an unsuccessful tilt for the Seanad.

She is clearly no third wheel and, with her profile, will fancy her chances of strongly contesting for a return to the council chamber, where she previously served from 2014 to 2016.

While Fianna Fáil is clearly happy to run what it sees as strong candidates, there is also the nagging disadvantage that all three are in the Bandon side of the area — as is the man who could throw a further spanner in the works.

John Collins is a brother of Michael, and is contesting the local election under the banner of Independent Ireland.

If he’s anything like his siblings (Danny is a poll topper in the Bantry-West Cork constituency), he’ll know how to motivate people to vote

A resident of Bandon since the late 80s and owner of Chaplin’s Bar, he seems to attend GAA football matches at an obsessive rate, which might not be a bad way to touch base with punters.

This, aligned with his constituency work for Michael, means he could well feature in the shake-up, particularly with independent candidates tipped to do well overall.

With six seats on offer in an area with 28,681 electors registered to vote, transfers could be key to getting the last candidates over the line.

Others in the contest — including Ann Bambury of the Social Democrats, Clare O’Callaghan of Sinn Féin and Independent Brendan Piper — must hope that they get a healthy number of preferences down the list, as must another late entry on the ballot paper: Stephen Spillane for the Green Party.

Brendan Piper is running as an Independent in the upcoming local election. Picture: David Forsythe

All those names are new in the area when it comes to local elections.

Ms O’Callaghan, from Ballineen, has already been selected by Sinn Féin as her party’s candidate in the next general election.

However, if the figures from 2019 are a guide, she will be working from a relatively low base, with previous candidate Noel Harrington securing 376 first preferences in 2019.

Ms O’Callaghan, like Ms Bambury, must hope that a healthy national outlook for their respective parties is matched by local enthusiasm and that, if she falls short, the canvass has at least helped boost any chance of competing for a future Dáil seat.

Housing, roads, a sufficient number of school places — particularly in Bandon — are among the issues coming up on the doors, and with that town seemingly saturated with candidates — unlike Kinsale. It all points to a contest that will go the distance and, for many, is increasingly difficult to call.