*Photograph: Joe Buckley
ALL VOTES have been cast in Co Clare for the local elections.
Polling stations closed at 10pm on Friday evening as the people of Clare voted on who they wish to elect as their twenty eight county councillors and five MEPs.
Counting will begin at 9am in Treacy’s West County Hotel on Saturday. A hectic two day schedule is on the cards for the counting staff as they sort through votes. A first count is due by 3pm, Ennis Municipal District, Ennistymon Local Electoral Area and the Killaloe Municipal District are to be worked through initially with the results of the Kilrush Local Electoral Area and the Shannon Municipal District to be known on Sunday.
Turnout was high in parts of the county and much slower in others. Lisdoonvarna had 713 total voters working out at a 63 percent turnout.
Another strong attendance was witnessed in Ennistymon where 62 percent of those on the register cast their vote.
Of the electorate of 265 in Coolmeen, 145 voted which equates to 54 percent.
At Ennis CBS there was a final turnout of 51 percent. It was also noted that of this, there was a much stronger representation of older voters.
Drumbiggle in Ennis was reported to be busier than in most previous elections and it recorded a turnout of 50 percent.
Clarecastle’s final tally saw 55 percent of the eligible electorate come out to vote.
Officials at St Conaires in Shannon said it was a slower day than previous elections and a turnout of 49 percent was recorded.
Newmarket-on-Fergus had an official turnout of 52 percent, it was the first election in almost eight decades that the parish did not have a McMahon on the ballot paper to vote for following the retirement of Cllr Pat McMahon (FF).
A full half hour before boxes closed at Moy NS, the turnout was 70 percent.
The Clare Echo will be providing minute by minute updates from the local election count this weekend.
From the moment the boxes are opened until the last of the twenty eight councillors are elected, The Clare Echo will be covering every twist and turn from the count centre at Treacy’s West County Hotel.
Live updates will be running across the weekend on clareecho.ie with video footage to be shared across our social media platforms.
Boxes are to be opened at 9am on Saturday morning and counting will continue into Sunday with many political anoraks set to miss out on the Munster senior hurling final as a result.
Clare County Council will be broadcasting a live stream via its YouTube channel which will be available for the public to stream through their smartphones, computers and Smart TVs. Clare County Council was the first local authority to provide live streaming coverage of a local election count in 2019.
This stream will begin at 1pm on Saturday and run into Sunday night.
