Higher voter turnout in Carrick-on-Suir ensured comfortable re-election of town's two councillors

A high turnout of voters in Carrick-on-Suir town was credited for the comfortable re-election of the town’s two councillors David Dunne of Sinn Féin and Kieran Bourke of Fianna Fáil.

Cllr Dunne repeated his 2019 election performance with his first preference vote of 1,659 securing him the second seat on the first count.

Meanwhile, Cllr Bourke was the fourth councillor elected on the fourth count having polled 1,334 first preference votes. Both councillors substantially increased their first preference votes from five years ago with Dunne’s ballot rising by 377 votes and Bourke’s by 363.

Cllr Dunne’s success was tinged with sadness as his beloved mother, Joan, passed away the previous week. He said it had been a particularly difficult campaign for him due to his mother’s failing health. She had been one of his biggest supporters.

There was a big cheer as his supporters hoisted him on their shoulders when his election was announced late on Saturday night.

“It’s a very big achievement for me and my family. It was a very emotional campaign under the circumstances,” he said. “My mam is looking down on me. She would be very proud of me. It’s the biggest vote I ever got and I have contested five elections. I am very proud of that achievement and proud of the people of Carrick and how they supported Carrick-on-Suir. Overall I am delighted.”

Cllr Dunne credited his success to simple hard work on behalf of his constituents.

He said he was always available to answer constituents’ phone calls and always tried his best to get back to them. He pledged to continue to work on their behalf for the next five years.

He paid tribute to his partner Caroline and all this family for the huge support they gave him during the campaign and to his canvas team. “Without them I would have been lost.”

Cllr Bourke, meanwhile, said he was “absolutely delighted” and “overwhelmed” with the number of votes he received in Carrick-on-Suir and surrounding areas and was relieved to retain his seat.

Five candidates from Carrick-on-Suir contested the 2019 election but this time Cllrs Bourke and Dunne were the only candidates from the town. This had worried rather than reassured Cllr Bourke.

He said the fact there were no other Carrick town candidates running had been a big concern as the transfers from the other Carrick candidates helped get him elected in 2019.

“The way I looked at it, the more candidates from a particular area, the better chance to get elected. Once I got my first preference vote in this election, I had no where to go. I didn’t have people behind me for transfers.”

He believed the high turnout of voters from Carrick, which was estimated to be about 58%, a few percentage points higher than the 54.3% turnout for Carrick LEA as a whole, was a big help in securing his re-election as these voters gave their 1 and 2 votes for the town candidates.

Like Cllr Dunne, he pledged to represent the voters of Carrick LEA to the best of his ability over the next five years with his constituency office open five days a week for people who require his help.

Cllr Dunne, meanwhile, was critical of the overall voter turnout in Carrick-on-Suir LEA and in county Tipperary as a whole. "I think any election should have a voter turnout of over 60%," he said.