Mayo election wrap up: Independent Maxwell explodes on to council scene in Westport district
LOUISBURGH'S Chris Maxwell was returned as Independent Ireland's first member of Mayo County Council in explosive fashion.
His election campaign featured a double decker bus and it wasn't the only thing double about the campaign as he saw his votes go up by this figure on his last outing for a seat.
'Independents' dominated the headlines in the Westport Local Electoral Area over the weekend as boxes were opened and tallied.
However, while Maxwell was absolutely cruising as the chief vote-getter in the district, Christy Hyland was having an uncomfortable sleep on Saturday night with his seat very much in question.
His fate was ultimately confirmed at around midnight on Sunday when fellow Independent Johnny O'Malley and Fianna Fáil's Brendan Mulroy were installed in the final two seats.
The lineup to serve the district for the next five years is: Chris Maxwell, Peter Flynn, Brendan Mulroy and Johnny O'Malley.
Maxwell, of course, started out on this campaign as an Independent candidate (as in Non Party) before switching late on to align with the Independent Ireland Party.
The Louisburgh man's vote was astronomical. Five years ago, running on the Fianna Fáil ticket, he polled 899 No. 1 votes. On that occasion, local man Austin Francis O'Malley was also in the race.
This time, under a new banner (though the posters were printed before Independent Ireland Party became part of the conversation) his take home was double that with 1,793 votes - around 20% of the total votes cast.
He was a clear favourite with the population of Clare Island, where 46 people gave him their No. 1. The nearest candidate there was Fine Gael's Peter Flynn with five votes.
As you'd expect, Maxwell cleaned up in Louisburgh where the tallies showed he received 278 votes in Killeen NS where there was a 72% turnout, and a similar story in the two town boxes.
Louisburgh, it appears, is a town that knows the value of having a seat in the council chamber having been without local representation for a number of years now.
Maxwell took votes across town and country in the Westport district but particularly noteworthy is how he cleaned up in areas like Murrisk and Lecanvey.
The tally for Lecanvey NS showed he received 236 No. 1 votes. The eight other candidates, between them, shared 84 votes.
The Murrisk NS box was also strongly in support of Maxwell with 121 votes. The combined votes of sitting councillors in Murrisk was 108 - Peter Flynn (43), Hyland (40) and Mulroy (25).
Disappointment surely for the sitting members with those returns after they strongly led on ensuring a multi-million-euro water scheme that is being delivered to the communities there. And also supporting projects like renovated toilets at the foot of the mountain, a project that was particularly close to Christy Hyland's heart.
So where did it go wrong for Hyland?
That was the question being asked in many Westport conversations at the count centre on Saturday given that most would have bet a few bob and all their spare change on him topping the poll. 'I expected the rest to be rubbing the dust from his heels from their eyes' was one quote that jumps to mind.
Hyland is vocal, and he has been passionate about the people he represents.
His disappointment was clear as he faced the reality of a non-council future on Sunday night.
Was he the victim of 'safe seat syndrome', people thinking he was home and hosed before ever a vote was counted? Quite possibly. It's hard to see any other reason given how he has worked and given voice to so many issues affecting ordinary people in their everyday lives, particularly young people and the lack of affordable housing for them and also restrictions on getting social housing.
The tally figures showed his first preference vote was down from 1,372 last time out - a 4% drop from 17% of the vote to 13%.
Peter Flynn, never shy from calling out officialdom, will be pleased to see his vote taking a bounce in the right direction as he made significant gains.
His views on the controversial plans for a greenway in Murrisk don't appear to be have done him any harm either. He had 43 votes in the school box there, whereas Mulroy and Johnny O'Malley - who oppose the route - had 25 and 11 respectively.
As local Deputy Michael Ring celebrated 30 years in politics at the weekend, it would appear his legacy in Westport is in safe hands with Flynn and newcomer Keira Keogh.
Between them they took 2,800 votes, Keogh with an impressive debut as a first-time candidate with 1,184 votes. Definitely one to put on the 'ones to watch' list.
Brendan Mulroy and Johnny O'Malley had to wait until the final minutes of the day to learn that their seats were safe. Perhaps a few less than comfortable hours were lived through until they were officially declared but both saw an increase in their first preference vote and they'll reflect on the positives of that at the end of their five-year term and the beginning of the next one.