Longford Local Elections 2024: Skelly and Mimnagh hoping to shake things up in Ballymahon MD

There will be six councillors elected in Ballymahon Municipal District.

The six outgoing councillors are all running again - Mick Cahill, Mark Casey, Gerald Farrell, Colm Murray, Pat O’Toole and Paul Ross.

The only change sees Cllr Gerald Farrell, run as an independent, having fallen out with Fine Gael over their decision not to include his sister Lorraine on the party ticket.

The Lanesboro man, who received 621 first preferences in the 2019 election and has been a councillor since 2014, will be a strong contender to retain his seat, with his family having a long tradition of sitting in the council.

The other five councillors are all well established.

The poll topper five years ago was Cllr Paul Ross (FG) who received a huge 1,217 first preferences and he will be seeking a third successive election success this weekend.

REVEALED: Full list of candidates who will contest Longford Local Elections 2024!

A few reasonably high profile newcomers could be snapping at the heels of the outgoing sextet.

Probably the most notable of these is Martin Skelly. The former County Board GAA Chairperson and community activist is very well known. He is running for Fine Gael.

Based in Newtowncashel, he will be in the most interesting part of the district, with Fianna Fail’s Sean Mimnagh also vying for a seat in a very congested Lanesboro/Cashel area along with the vastly experienced Mark Casey (Independent) and Mandy Larkin (Irish People Party).

Mimnagh is well known in that part of South Longford and it will be interesting to see how he fares.

Cllr Casey, a former County Council Cathaoirleach, is very experienced. He was first elected in 2009 and he was subsequently reelected in 2014 and 2019. He secured 996 first preferences in the last election, exceeding the quota, which was a stunning performance.

In the Ballymahon/Kenagh part of the district, it is hard to see a shock with Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Mick Cahill (who was first elected in 2004 and in 2019 received 748 first preferences), outgoing County Council Cathaoirleach Colm Murray (Fine Gael, who is contesting his third election since his co-option in 2013 as a 24-year-old to replace the late Paddy Belton) and another wily and experienced campaigner, Cllr Pat O’Toole (Fianna Fáil), who is seeking a third electoral success. Murray and O’Toole claimed 633 and 669 first preferences, respectively, in 2019 when the quota was 949.

Niall Dowler (Independent) will be hoping that he can poll reasonably well in Ballymahon.

In Edgeworthstown, the only candidate from the town is John Rooney of Sinn Féin.

Cllr Paul Ross has been a very strong advocate for that part of the county. Rooney comes from a well known family but Sinn Féin will probably struggle for votes in rural areas of the district.

Cllr Ross has a strong base in Legan, while Cllr Mick Cahill has a similar foothold in Carrickedmond.

Ardagh resident Francesca Pawelczyk has a solid community background and if she can make some inroads in nearby Edgeworthstown, she could poll quite well. Rooney and herself are the only challengers in the Ardagh/Edgeworthstown area, which has a significant population.

Ballymahon MD would appear to be the most settled district in terms of representation but either Martin Skelly or Sean Mimnagh could seriously challenge for a seat.

Candidates - 12
(6 seats; * denotes outgoing councillor)
* Mick Cahill, Fianna Fáil
* Mark Casey, Non Party
Niall Dowler, Non Party
* Gerald Farrell, Non Party
Mandy Larkin, Irish People Party
Sean Mimnagh, Fianna Fáil
* Colm Murray, Fine Gael
* Pat O'Toole, Fianna Fáil
Francesca Pawelczyk, Non Party
John Rooney, Sinn Féin
* Paul Ross, Fine Gael
Martin Skelly, Fine Gael