CURRENTLY in seventh position, Noeleen Moran is reluctant to concede defeat. Speaking to the Champion she said the party is increasing in popularity. “We certainly grew our vote in this election, we hope we’re still in with a fighting chance, it’s far-out chance, but we’re hanging in there.” She said there was a good reception from the Clare public in recent weeks, for a party that is only starting to make the kind of gains here that have been seen in other areas. “We had a brilliant team, we were out in the worst of weather, we got a lot of positive responses, no hostility anywhere. There was an appetite for change. We can see that things have gone towards the independents and the government have been punished for their broken promises.”  

The recent Clare Champion 2016 General Election opinion poll has generally been borne out on polling day. Apart from some changes in the parties’ actual vote, the ‘Champion poll, which was taken two weeks previously, identified some of the key trends, which transpired on February 26. It revealed the emergence of Dr Michael Harty as a very strong candidate, who looks set to take the second seat in the Banner County. In addition to predicting a seat for outgoing Fianna Fáil Deputy Timmy Dooley and Pat Breen, Fine Gael, it indicated that Sinn Féin candidate, Noeleen Moran would be in contention for the last seat with Labour’s Michael McNamara and Fine Gael Deputy, Joe Carey. Some interesting findings have emerged when comparing the poll with the tally results. According to the tally,  Fianna Fáil is on 31.11% Fine Gael 25.98% Labour 7.8% Sinn Féin 7.18% Independents 23% Fís Nua 1.98% Green 2.95%. The poll  found Fianna Fáil was on 27.91, …

OUTGOING Clare Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley arrived at the county centre in Ennistymon shortly before 5pm on Saturday. Deputy Dooley is expected to top the poll and hold onto his seat according to the tallies. As regards forming a coalition government, Deputy Dooley is adamant that Fianna Fáil will keep their pre-election promises and not enter into a partnership with Fine Gael. “That has been thrown around for the last few weeks. There has been an awful lot of targeting of the two parties to resolve the government issue. There are going to be 158 people elected between here and Monday or Tuesday. There is a responsibility on everyone that gets elected to play a role in deciding who administers the state after this. In my view it should be down to policy platforms. We ran a campaign offering a change to the Irish people with a platform around investment in services and a platform that looked at spreading …

Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway has criticised what he has described as a “disastrous” Fine Gael election campaign nationally, however, he said he is hopeful of a positive Clare result. He said he felt sympathy for Clare County Councillor Mary Howard who he said was “put on the back foot” by Fine Gael by putting her forward as a General Election candidate too late. Senator Conway said he believes he could have performed well and attracted a significant vote if he had been chosen and the North Clare and West Clare areas were left “wide open” for Dr Michael Harty and other candidates by deciding not to select him. He said he believes Fine Gael made a “big mistake” by not selecting him but he is relatively confident Fine Gael can claim two seats. “Nationally at the moment it has been a disastrous election for Fine Gael. Our message clearly hasn’t resonated with the people. You could be forgiven for …

ALL 147 ballot boxes in the Clare constituency for General Election 2016 have been opened at the Fall’s Hotel, Ennistymon. By early afternoon after all the boxes were opened tally figures show a strong lead for Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley with 10,059 votes. First time candidate Independent Dr Michael Harty is coming in strong on 8,454, Fine Gael TD Pat Breen 6576, Fine Gael TD Joe Carey on 5,940, Fianna Fáil’s Michael ‘Malty’ McDonagh is on 4,750, Labour TD Michael McNamara 4,394, Sinn Féin’s Noeleen Moran 4,095, Fianna Fáil’s Clare Colleran Molloy 2,729. Independent Ann Norton 2,202, Fine Gael’s Mary Howard, 2058, Independent Ian Lynch, 1465, Green Party’s Fergal Smith, 1666, Fís Nua’s Niamh O’Brien, 1113 and both Independent Dermot Mulqueen and Independent André Sibo Hakizimana on 63 votes. Jessica Quinn

Fis Nua candidate Niamh O’Brien says she is not surprised by the Clare vote which has seen her struggle to compete for a seat as the results come in. She believes Independent candidates are at a big disadvantage when it comes to competing with the major campaigns and resources that the big traditional parties can rely on. “It’s a  strange one. I would have thought after all the talk about Independents over the last couple of weeks that we’d see a bit more of Independents but it seems that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are still very very  strong,” she said. “It’s not a surprise. I suppose when you have huge resources behind you it’s easy to get the message out there to people. We’ll soldier on anyway. I have a big voice in me and I won’t sit down and shut up so I’ll be heard anyway at some stage.” Trevor Quinn

History will be made in Cork this Saturday afternoon when University of Limerick and Mary Immaculate college Limerick clash in the final of the Fitzgibbon cup (inter Universities hurling championship). U.L, managed by Clare’s All-Ireland winning full back from1995 and 1997, Brian Lohan are seeking to retain the title for the first time while Mry Immaculate College are seeking to win the title for the first time. The holders scored a 3-14 to 0-16 win over UCD in the first of the semi-finals played on Friday while Mary I were two point winners, 0-11 to 0-9, winners over the Davy Fitzgerald managed Limerick I.T. There is a strong Clare representation in both finalists. Amongst those expected to feature in the champions line up are Jack Browne (Ballyea) Gearoid Ryan (Clarecastle), Aidan McGuane (Kilmaley), Kevin Hehir and David Fitzgerald (Inagh-Kilnamona), Cathal McInerney and Shane Gleeson (Cratloe). They will again be without the injured Tony Kelly (Ballyea) The Mary Immaculate line up …

It’s going to be another big day at the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon for the General Election 2016 Clare Constituency count. The Clare Champion captures the atmosphere in photos by John Kelly   DAY 2 IN PHOTOS:   DAY 1 IN PHOTOS: