Dundalk South's McGuinness says 'massive amount of work to be done'

Newly elected councillor to Dundalk South, Shane McGuinness, has said that he is “so happy to be elected”, following his election in the early hours of Monday morning to Louth County Council.

The first time Fianna Fáil candidate told the Dundalk Democrat that, “I think the first preference votes, over 1,000, I'm being told is a massive achievement for a first time candidate. I think I worked very hard, I had to work very hard to get them type of votes, I knew it was going to be a hard task.

“I'm just so happy to be elected and I think that for Blackrock and Haggardstown in particular, to have no councillor for the last 13 years, for them I think this is going to be, for the next five years they're going to be in a much better place.”

He continued, “I think I topped every single box, And that was phenomenal. I have to say, Dromiskin and Knockbridge, I did really really well there, so certainly Dromiskin and Knockbridge, Blackrock and Haggardstown.

“But I think me being a local and being from the rural side [helped]. I live in Haggardstown, I was raised in Blackrock but I'm living in Haggardstown, I've been highly involved with the community and with football clubs and Tidy Towns, as chairman of the Tidy Towns.

“I think politics is local, And when you have a local councillor, they work very hard for that local area. I think to have maybe close to 13,000 people and not having had a local councillor has been unfortunate for Blackrock and Haggardstown, but now there's just a massive amount of work to be done, nd I'm going to work very hard for them.

The newly elected Cllr McGuinness added, “The big thing for me too is, to thank the team, to thank my team and to thank my family for the help they've given me.”