Newcomer Declan Meehan elected to Donegal County Council on 4th count

Non-party election candidate Declan Meehan has been elected to Donegal County Council. 

The newcomer - who topped the polls with 2,074 votes - is the first to be elected in Milford LEA and was confirmed on the fourth count. 

He is the first openly gay man to be elected as a councillor in Donegal. 

Speaking following his election, he told his voters, "All I can say is thank you very much and that I will deliver for you and do my best every single day of this five year term, and it will not be a case of disappearing for four years and only turning up again in an election year. I will be there every day." 

Earlier in the day, candidate John O'Donnell threw in the towel as he relinquished his seat; he was just over 200 votes behind Pauric McGarvey after the fourth count. 

Their fellow candidate Liam Blaney (FF) shook Meehan's hand following the confirmation of his election. 

Blaney had 1,802 votes on the fourth count, and now needs just over 250 votes to surpass the quota of 2,058. 

Meehan ran a campaign that championed community development, social inclusion and rural regeneration.

Well known in the local area as the manager of Milford and District Resource Centre, he secured two million euro of funding for local initiatives over the past five years.

He also spearheaded successful community integration projects following new arrivals of refugees into north Donegal.