Analysis: Kilkenny City battleground could yet offer up a surprise or two in Local Elections

Kilkenny City is shaping up for one of the most hotly-contested elections of recent years, with 20 candidates positioning for just seven seats.

That means that 40% of candidates in Kilkenny are all seeking election in the same area, which means one thing: about two thirds of them will be going home disappointed. Fianna Fail candidate Andrew McGuinness again topped the poll in 2019 and he will be hoping to repeat that feat for a fifth time on Friday.

Joe Malone (FF) and David Fitzgerald (FG) — who both served a second term as Mayors of Kilkenny in the past five years — will also be hoping they have done enough to maintain their share of the public’s vote. In 2019, Malcolm Noonan of the Green Party also secured a big vote and was elected on the first count; Maria Dollard, who was co-opted to his seat will be hoping that the ‘Green wave’ still has retained some of its buoyancy.

The election of Independent Eugene McGuinness caused a stir in 2019, and he is very much still in the mix, now with five years’ experience under his belt. Veteran councillors John Coonan (FF) and Martin Brett (FG) both won back seats in 2019 after their 2014 campaigns ended in disappointment. All three men were elected on the final count (Count 11) in 2019, in a nail-biting finish that saw sitting Sinn Fein councillor Sean Tyrell lose out, despite a relatively strong first preference vote. It's highly likely there will be big battle for the last three seats in the area again this time.

The Labour Party is hoping to regain a seat in the city which was once a stronghold of the party thanks to the late Seamus Pattison. Andrea Cleere, who contested in 2019, is joined on the ballot by Sean Ó hArgain who last contested in 2014.

A number of other candidates who contested previous elections are also hoping to improve on their last showing, among them Luke O’Connor (IFP) and Noel G Walsh (Ind). Sinn Fein will run its largest contingent here, with three candidates going forward — Aoife O’Brien, Evan Barry, and Mark O’Farrell. All three are first-time candidates.

Other newcomers include Martin O’Neill (Social Democrats), Kevin Shore (People Before Profit), Liam Heffernan (Ind), Jony Aza (Ind), and Toluwani Akaehomen (Ind), who is one of four female candidates seeking a seat in the city.

HOT TOPICS
The big issues in the city are ever thus: Parking, commercial rates, tourism, crime/anti-social behaviour, housing, and so on.
As five years comes to an end, present councillors can look back on good work done around the area, including the opening of the new Mayfair Library, Butler Gallery, biodiversity park, new housing developments, and public realm/ footpath improvements in areas.

Lots of local groups and organisations, including many of Kilkenny’s all-important festivals, have been the beneficiary of some crucial funding allocations over the five years also.

The term hasn’t been without one or two divisive issues: A one-way system was temporarily brought in on High Street during Covid, and is still in place. In 2022, they voted to reverse the direction of it, but that hasn’t happened yet. There was also a kerfuffle when the majority voted to increase parking charges, but they later reversed most of these also.
The city is a busy area and a driver for the rest of the county, so expect plenty of talking points and developments to come.