Tag Archives: Garret McPhillips

THE real drama of the weekend’s election count in Clare came after 5pm on Sunday, when the final seat in the Shannon Electoral Area was being decided. In the end, Gerry Flynn was elected to the council for a fourth term but he will never be pressed harder. Both he and Garret McPhillips were exactly level after a recount of votes. In such circumstances, what happens is that the candidate with the greater number of first preferences goes through and the 1,041 Flynn number ones was greater than McPhillips’ 939. While reporting on local politics can be dreary, that certainly wasn’t the case on Sunday evening. Shannon was the last electoral area to be counted and Cathal Crowe was way ahead of everyone else, with a massive 2,575 first preferences, far in excess of the 1,406 quota. The second count saw Fine Gael’s John Crowe home, his 1,308 first preferences topped up by another 121 from his namesake’s surplus. Count three …

AFTER a draining evening Garret McPhillips lost out, tying with Gerry Flynn, but not taking the seat because the Independent candidate had more number one votes. While they were dead even after six counts, one recheck and one recount, the greater number of first preferences is used as a means of separating candidates in such circumstances, although it almost never happens. In the immediate aftermath, Mr  McPhillips said he had advice that he could seek a more extensive recount to the one carried out on Sunday evening, but even at that stage he was inclined not to press ahead with that course of action. “Look, I don’t want to go down the legal road. When it says I’m entitled to a full recount it means a full recount of the whole Shannon district, I don’t know, I need more clarity. But at the moment it is what it is, I congratulate Gerry 100%, I congratulate Mike (McKee), especially with his …