AN exhausting weekend spilled into Monday to decide the outcome of the election of councillors to the Tralee Municipal District of Kerry County Council.

After the 14th count was completed in the early hours of Monday, the gap between Anne O’Sullivan of Fianna Fáil and Independent candidate Thomas McEllistrim was just seven votes (1,252 to 1,245), so McEllistrim, understandably, asked for a recount which began at 11am this morning.

However, when that recount was completed in the John Mitchels GAA Complex by mid-afternoon, there was no change to the standings and Anne O’Sullivan took the final Tralee seat by six votes (there was one additional invalid vote).

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Shortly after 4pm, the official announcement of the election of O’Sullivan — and Fine Gael’s Angie Baily, who took the sixth seat — was made by deputy returning officer Damien Ginty of Kerry County Council.

There was a sense of relief and joy among the camps of both candidates as they could celebrate their elections in earnest…before the work on the Council begins!

The following councillors have been elected to the Tralee Municipal District of Kerry County Council

• Baily, Angie (Fine Gael)

• Daly, Paul (Sinn Féin) 

• Ferris, Deirdre (Sinn Féin)

• Locke, Sam (Non-Party)

• O’Brien, Terry (Labour) 

• O’Sullivan, Anne (Fianna Fáil)

• Sheehy, Mikey (Fianna Fáil) 

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