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23 Oct 2025
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23 Oct 2025
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It's big news in the city, with Cllr Andrew McGuinness once again topping the poll
A new record has been set at the count in Kilkenny today as Andrew McGuinness becomes the first-ever candidate to top the city poll in five consecutive local elections.
The results of Count 1 are in, and they show Councillor McGuinness - first elected to Kilkenny Borough Council by topping the poll in 2004 - winning the first seat here in 2024 also. He received 1,420 first preference votes.
Next in line is Fine Gael's David Fitzgerald, who received 1,231 first preferences and is also elected. The quota is 1,223.
Independent councillor Eugene McGuinness is within touching distance of a seat with his poll of 1,136. He has markedly improved on his 2019 result, when he was first elected to the sixth seat with 862 votes. 
Another sitting councillor, Joe Malone (FF) is also in a strong position, while Cllr John Coonan (FF) has polled 697 and has a good chance to make it three Fianna Fail seats in the seven-seater LEA.
The final two seats will be an enthralling tussle. With so many independent councillors in the race, transfers become hard to predict. Contenders include Green Party's Maria Dollard (595 votes), Labour candidate Seán Ó hÁrgáin (657), and Cllr Martin Brett (FG) on 488. There has also been a very respectable vote for Social Democrats candidate Martin O'Neill, a first time candidate who received 524.
Sinn Fein will wait to see how things pan out as counts progress. Their candidates polled as follows: Evan Barry (369), Aoife O'Brien (192) and Mark O'Farrell (130).
Full analysis and result of this first count in Kilkenny LEA to follow
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