Local elections: Everything you need to know about the Cork City North West constituency
- Damian Boylan, FG
- Kenneth Collins, SF
- Tony Fitzgerald, FF
- Michelle Gould, SF
- Louise Jordan, Greens
- James Joy, Labour
- Ross Lahive, The Irish People Party
- Saoirse Mackin, Soc Dems
- Brian McCarthy, PBP/Solidarity
- Stephen Morrissey, Independent
- Mick Nugent, SF
- John Sheehan, FF
- Finian Toomey, Aontú
: 42,306
: 6
: 7,051
: Tony Fitzgerald (FF), Mick Nugent (SF), John Sheehan (FF), Kenneth Collins (SF), Brian McCarthy (Solidarity), Damian Boylan (FG)
While housing is the biggest single issue affecting voters in the Cork City North West local electoral area, the 13 candidates also face voter apathy.
In the last election in 2019, this LEA, with a population of just over 42,300 and an electorate of just over 33,500, recorded the lowest voter turnout of all the city LEAs. Little more than 42% of eligible voters turned out to cast their vote.
The vast ward extends from Blackpool all the way to Tower in Blarney, across to Inniscarra — taking in the heights of Farranree, Churchfield, Knocknaheeny, Hollyhill to name but a few.
Some areas have seen some of the benefits of being part of a city area extended in 2019 with, for example, a more regular bus service and more traffic calming and footpath improvement works.
But traffic volumes through Blarney and Tower are, however, a major issue on a route which has become — in effect — an unwelcome unofficial northern ring road.
Big issues also include housing and rents, and — surprisingly in a modern city — delivery of clean tap water.
Solidarity/People Before Profit Cllr Brian McCarthy, who was co-opted onto the council after Solidarity Cllr Fiona Ryan stepped down due to health reasons in May last year, has been among those actively involved in tackling the dirty water issue.
As highlighted in the , hundreds of homes and businesses in Cork have reported persistent discoloration of their water supply since the commissioning of the new €40m water treatment plant on the Lee Road in July 2022.
The results of a recent survey he undertook in the Knocknaheeny and Gurranbraher areas of the city show the scale of the ongoing dirty water crisis and the impact this is having on residents:
- 69% are buying bottle water — the average weekly spend is €18
- 77% have brown water coming out of their taps sometimes or often
- 74% don’t think the water is safe to drink
- 61% are concerned about their own, or their family's health
First-time candidate Michelle Gould, wife of Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould, has also made it a priority among the issues she sees as important to voters. A well-known camogie player and coach, Ms Gould has cited vacant homes, fixing footpaths and sorting out the dirty water as among her main issues.
“Housing is a huge issue. Second to that is housing maintenance, and the biggest issue I am encountering there is issues around mould and damp and issues around the repair of doors and windows.
“You’ve no idea of the amount of photos people send me to illustrate the need for repairs and remedial work. But I also regularly get sent photos of the coloured water.
“I’ve been involved with this issue now for about 18 months and have more than 700 signatures from local residents looking for action to be taken by Irish Water. It really gets to me, especially when you hear about the blind resident who can’t tell whether their water is discolored or not before they drink it.”
All six sitting councillors are running for re-election.
Former Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald topped the poll for Fianna Fáil in 2019, with just over 14% of the first preference vote, to take one of two seats for the party in this LEA. For him, there are four main issues — housing, housing maintenance, water quality and public transport.
“Whatever you think are the main issues, every issue someone brings to you is important to the person who brings it to you,” he said.
“Your job is to represent that person and to try and get their issue resolved. Without a doubt, one of the biggest issues people are talking to me about is the quality — or lack of it — of the water.
“What really is getting to people is them having to pay out for bottled water at a time when their disposable income is so limited. Housing and housing maintenance are other huge issues.”
He was followed in 2019 by Sinn Féin’s Thomas Gould, on almost 12%, who went on to be elected to the Dáil in the Cork North Central constituency, leading to the co-option in 2020 onto the council of party colleague Mick Nugent.
Sinn Féin’s leader on Cork City Council, Cllr Nugent has been a stalwart of his party’s local election efforts since the 1990s. He has since championed a range of issues including social housing, vacant properties and social inclusion, particularly when it comes to Traveller accommodation.
His party colleague, Kenneth Collins, a Peace Commissioner and Commissioner for Oaths who has been a city councillor since 2014, took the third seat in this LEA in 2019 with just over 9.7% of the first preference vote.
Fine Gael’s Damian Boylan, who is based in Blarney, took the LEA’s fourth seat in 2019 with just under 9% of the vote. The former deputy lord mayor said: “Everybody talks about potholes and roads.
“Then there are issues around a lack of broadband for people who want to work from home, and then, if we could just build more homes. The bread and butter stuff is things like potholes and street lighting, but the bigger issues will always revolve around issues like housing.”
Also standing again is Blackpool-based GP, and former Lord Mayor, John Sheehan who won a second seat for Fianna Fáil in 2019.
While a number of candidates have said immigration has been raised on the doorsteps, it is still considered a minor issue in an LEA where around 14.3% of the population was born outside Ireland.
Ross Lahive, of the Irish People Party, who is probably best known for protesting against LGBTQ+ reading material at Cork City Library, said the main issues he supports are the closure of Ireland’s borders and an end to what he regards as the over-sexualisation of school children.
James Joy, another first-time candidate, nearly pulled out of his attempt to get a seat for Labour after the sudden death of his partner, Marc Ó Foghlú. His priorities are “addressing critical issues” such as social housing.
Social Democrats’ Saoirse Mackin — Ireland’s first ever transgender candidate to run in a local election — wants to see “proper investment in public transport and cycling infrastructure”.
Other candidates include Independent Stephen Morrissey, Aontú’s Finian Toomey and the Green Party’s candidate Louise Jordan.
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