Sligo Local Council Elections 2024

OpenAllHours

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122159460#Comment_122159460

Interesting. Or perhaps as you mentioned before when Ballymote didn't elect someone from their own town he feels they might do the same and wishes to cash in?

Are people receiving canvassers? I've only had two so far in the Sligo-Strandhill area.

miamee

Have only had one, we're in the Sligo-Drumcliffe constituency

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122160875#Comment_122160875

Three at the door, one as I was going to the shop. Fair point on that re: Clarke actually, I didn't think of it that way!

miamee

Sorry I was also introduced to Barry Cowen as I tried to leave Tesco last weekend, does that count (for Europeans)? 😂

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122161284#Comment_122161284

That's who I met outside the shop too😂

OpenAllHours

So the candidates have been published by Sligo CoCo. https://www.sligococo.ie/Elections2024/NoticeofPoll/

Sligo-Strandhill 14 for 6 seats
Sligo-Drumcliffe 10 for 5 seats

Ballymote-Tubbercurry 15 for 7

Mullinabreena

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122159460#Comment_122159460

Clarke has been canvassing Tubbercurry too plus lots of poster up in the area. He called to my house as did Gorman from SF. I wasn't at home both times.

OpenAllHours

Right I'm going to be brave and two weeks out call each area with the poll topper. These are in no particular order.

Sligo-Strandhill:
Bree, O'Boyle, Gibbons, MacSharry, Nealon. Kilgannon and Cosgrove to fight it out for the last and I'll give the nod to Cosgrove as she should do better on transfers. Bree to top the poll.

Sligo-Drumcliffe:
Casserly, Healy, Walsh, Fox. The FF battle starts then and I'm going to pluck for Gilroy but this is a real toss up I think. Walsh to top the poll.

Ballymote-Tubbercurry:
Clarke, Queenan, Taylor, Henry, Mulvey, Mullaney. Then its the Tubbercurry battle between Connolly and Gallagher. I'll go with Gallagher. Clarke to top the poll based on what posters are saying here that he's putting in a big campaign outside his area.

So overall that'll give a council of 5 FF, 5 FG, 4 IND,2 SF, 1 PBP, 1 LAB. Not exactly seismic change!

Anyone else to put their head on the block?

Andy From Sligo

we have 2 easy to read signs on our front door . one says 'NO CANVESSERS PLEASE' the other underneath says ' No Junk Mail please' , we have even asked our postman politely to, if we get election bumpf , can they just put it in one of the outside bins for us - yet still we get canvassers from the parties on the step waiting for reply from the doorbell and their litter posters/leaflets through the letterbox! - they come at the most inconvenient times , half of them we have never heard of or seen over the years so dont just be turning up for votes for your own gain - we already know who we are voting for and have for a while now . - if we wanted to seek out your blurbs and promises and what you stand for we would have seek you out , not wait for you to descend on our property!

I dont want to single out any particular politician but take last night for example - we looked back later at footage and 2 women going around in our area on behalf of Cllr. Martin Connolly FG Tubbercurry (never heard of him) - the women read the signs on the door and then still proceeded to post the leaflet through the letter box after reading the signs! - they are not the only ones and I am sure in this next couple of weeks will not be the last!

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122173319#Comment_122173319

Don't really know the other areas but Ballymote/Tubbercurry I think Taylor will top the poll actually. Mulvey, Clarke and Queenan safe enough bets too. Last three seats there'll be a battle in Tubber between Connolly, Gallagher and Gorman of SF as you say so one seat there. Another potential battleground is Riverstown and the surrounding area for Martin Bakers seat. Mullaney might have a fight there with SF running Donal O Connor who is from Geevagh. Henry to pick up the final seat then.… I'd expect an anti-government party vote pushing one of the SF candidates into a seat if I'm honest. Not sure which one though.

OpenAllHours

You complain about politicians you say you never heard of yet you don’t want them to call to give them a chance to introduce themselves and what they’re about?

I happily accept all canvassers and literature as I can only imagine it’s a tough enough job without being impolite. A neighbour doesn’t ever vote and she has no canvassers up on the window for the last few weeks and that’s fine but at the same time she won’t give out about any of them because she has decided not to engage in the electoral process.

Andy From Sligo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185454#Comment_122185454

yes thats about it - I dont need to have a politician call around the house to have heard of him/her I watch the news on TV and listen to the local radio station and read local news online - if i havent heard of a particular candidate and what they are doing/have achieved then I dont think they would be worthy of a vote.
What would they do if they did come around and i saw them and spoke to them they would either get an earful about what is not getting done , or they would promise me things that they cannot deliver or keep because all they want is a vote to get them in. Its a form of door to door salesmen , people coming around door to door to sell raffle tickets, Jehova witnesses , eir and electricity reps coming around and knocking on the doors for their gain - I dont like them calling on me either.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185623#Comment_122185623

Now now Andy! Comparing Jehovah Witnesses to Eir Reps is an insult to the JW's. 😂

Andy From Sligo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122186278#Comment_122186278

😁 True I suppose - point being they are all uninvited

waywill1966

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185454#Comment_122185454

Yea I’m like that too, not interested in any of them and despite my no canvassing sign I’m getting all their leaflets too.

Andy From Sligo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122186367#Comment_122186367

I dont think I have much confidence in any candidate who cannot follow simple instructions of clear signs on a front door by the letterbox

waywill1966

Have to wonder about their motivations for getting involved in all this. I barely have 5 minutes to myself with work and family commitments, they must be financially well off to take time off work and family to go around annoying people at their front doors in the evenings, especially when most would have been working during the day and want to wind down in the evening .

Andy From Sligo

precisely - evenings and weekends , you know relax and chill time, maybe watch telly or something in the evening or going out whatever, not get het up discussing politics on the doorstep with them and hearing false promises of what they will do if you vote for them, or what they have achieved since being in power have been doing good, and pushing for, in the last month because there is an election coming up.

I suppose they choose evening and weekends to call around because most of the time they wont find people at home in the daytime.

OpenAllHours

So just 8 days out from the election anyone else want to get in with their predictions?

OpenAllHours

Making some slight alterations to my predictions based on some conversations with people in different areas at work. Looking forward to the count, will Ocean FM be doing their YouTube feed again?

Sligo-Strandhill:
Bree, O'Boyle, Gibbons, MacSharry, Nealon. Kilgannon and Cosgrove to fight it out for the last and I'll give the nod to Cosgrove as she should do better on transfers. Bree to top the poll.

Sligo-Drumcliffe:
Casserly, Healy, Walsh, Fox. McSharry to pip Gilroy for the FF seat. Walsh to top the poll.

Ballymote-Tubbercurry:
Clarke, Queenan, Taylor, Henry, Mulvey, Mullaney. Then its the Tubbercurry battle between Connolly and Gallagher. I'll go with Connolly just about but my source said that Gorman SF local transfers will decide which it is. Taylor to top the poll. Perhaps a one candidate strategy would have been better for SF here given the big geographic gaps between them?

So overall that'll give a council of 6FG, 4FF, 4 IND,2 SF, 1 PBP, 1 LAB.

shanec1928

I'd say you're spot on with two of those! Ballymote tubbercurry will be a tight one,which like you said will be dictated on transfers, do agree that taylor will top the poll again. The quota has gone up in areas so maybe no one elected on the first count!

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122225789#Comment_122225789

I looked back at the last election votes on Wikipedia there last night and while Taylor topped the poll he didn't actually get elected until the 3rd count. With one seat gone and a higher quota expected I think we will be in for a couple of days of interesting radio from the always excellent Ocean FM count centre coverage.

As for predictions you're dead right. Mullaney is in a dog fight with O Connor and Brennan for one seat out in east Sligo, his seat isn't guaranteed given he only got in by 27 votes the last time out.

Tubbercurry will be another major battle between Gallagher, Connolly and as OpenAllHours mentions if Gorman isn't in the mix his number 2s may decide that one.

Henry needs a big vote out of Ballymote to stand a chance I reckon, anything less than 650/700 and he's in trouble as he really struggled for transfers the last time out.

Mullinabreena

Just on Tubber, I'd say Connolly should swing it. But very tight. While Party politics go out the window with the locals somewhat I think If Gallagher stayed independent he'd win it no problem

OpenAllHours

how do ya mean one seat gone? It was reduced from 8 to 7 in 2019 so it’s still the same???

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122228663#Comment_122228663

That's my mistake whoops!

OpenAllHours

Well it looks like I wasn’t too far off with the predictions. However Ballymote appears once again to have shot itself in the foot and not supported their candidate. Transfers crucial in that count to decide last two seats.

Walsh topping poll as expected too.

Mullinabreena

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122234988#Comment_122234988

Would Ballymote have been a Fine Geal town traditionally? I've heard people say Henry wouldn't have the people skills to get the vote. I think SF running 3 unknowns in Tubbercurry-Ballymote was a poor strategy

OpenAllHours

Stupid SF strategy indeed and then so many of them non transferred in the end which was also stupid as they didn’t get to decide on where the votes went.

I don’t know the fella so can’t comment on your peoples skills comment but watched his interview live and I have to say he was the best speaker of the whole count in my view given what happened in his own circumstances. Certainly would be happy to have him on my ballot paper if he was in my area. Sooner an honest intelligent person than a backslapping spoofer.