Where all the parties won (and lost) votes

Fianna Fáil has emerged as the largest party in local government after an election that defied expectations.

With all councillors now elected after a marathon vote count, Fianna Fáil narrowly won the battle to become the biggest party, securing 248 seats compared to Fine Gael’s 245.

Sinn Féin now has 102 councillors, an increase from the 81 council seats won in 2019, but party leader Mary Lou McDonald has admitted the result fell below expectations.

The Social Democrats gained an extra 16 councillors to reach 35 overall, while new party Independent Ireland secured 23 seats across the country.

The Coalition parties did sustain losses in the local elections, with Micheál Martin’s Fianna Fáil dropping by 31 seats.

The Green Party lost more than half its councillors but leader Eamon Ryan said the party avoided a “wipeout”.

Nonetheless, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil each attracted about 23 per cent of first-preference votes, a drop on their 2019 result but above what…

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Breakingnews.ie