Thousands to vote in council poll

Thousands to vote in council poll

21 May 2014

VOTERS go to the polls tomorrow to elect 41 councillors to the new Newry, Mourne and Down Council.

The new super council will be the third largest in Northern Ireland following a major shake-up of local government which will slash the current number of 26 district councils down to just 11.

Sixty eight candidates are contesting the 41 seats up for grabs in the Downpatrick, Rowallane, Slieve Croob, Mournes, Crotlieve, Slieve Gullion and Newry areas.

The final outcome of tomorrow’s election is the toughest to call in decades given the number of interesting battles taking place right across the district.

In Downpatrick — where five seats are up for grabs — Independent councillor Cadogan Enright has been working overtime in a bid to cause a major surprise.

Favourites for the seats are the SDLP trio of Dermot Curran, Colin McGrath and Gareth Sharvin taking three seats, with the other two won by Sinn Fein’s Éamonn Mac Con Midhe and Naomi Bailie. But councillor Enright is confident he can produce a shock result.

The UUP’s Graham Furey — who failed to secure a seat for the party in the Rowallane area in 2011 — and the DUP’s Yvonne Moore, are both standing in Downpatrick but are unlikely to secure a seat.

One of the biggest battlegrounds will undoubtedly be Rowallane which now includes the Ballynahinch electoral area, with attention focusing on how TUV candidate Philip Hamilton will fare against his DUP and UUP rivals.

The DUP’s Billy Walker and Harry Harvey are expected to be comfortably elected, with the UUP hoping its two candidates, Robert Burgess and Walter Lyons, can get across the line.

Terry Andrews, who was elected on an Independent ticket in 2011, is standing for the SDLP three years after he left the party after being overlooked to contest the last council election. He was selected by the party to replace current Down Council chairwoman Maria McCarthy who is not contesting the election.

Elsewhere in Rowallane, Independent councillor Mickey Coogan is hoping to out poll Sinn Fein’s Eddie Hughes, while it will be interesting to see how NI21’s Alister Straney and Alliance’s Ciaran McAvoy fare.

The newly created Slieve Croob electoral area — where five seats are up for grabs — includes the wards of Ballydugan, Ballyward, Castlewellan, Drumaness and Dundrum and is something of unknown quantity for candidates and voters.

Sinn Fein is fielding two candidates, Stephen Burns and Pól Ó Gribín, but there is some surprise the party did not opt to run a third candidate.

Elsewhere, former Newcastle Chamber of Commerce president Audrey Byrne is flying the flag for the SDLP alongside former Down GAA star Shane King and Ballynahinch businessman Mark Murnin.

The DUP’s Garth Craig is hoping to be returned to the new council by securing a seat in Slieve Croob, while Alliance’s Patrick Clarke and the UUP’s Dessie Patterson are hoping their respective work over the past three years can get them across the finishing line. Elsewhere in Slieve Croob, Matthew Morrison is NI21’s candidate, with UKIP’s Alan Lewis confident of a good showing.

The newly created Mournes ward — which includes Newcastle — promises to be particularly interesting, with Sinn Fein’s Willie Clarke hoping to be elected. His party running mate is Sean Doran.

Laura Devlin, who was co-opted to Down Council last December to replace retiring SDLP councillor Eamonn O’Neill, is hoping her canvass will have resonated with voters to secure a seat alongside the party’s Brian Quinn.

UKIP’s Henry Reilly is one of the most experienced politicians standing in the Mournes, with the UUP flag bearers Jill Macauley and Harold McKee. Glyn Hanna is the DUP’s sole candidate, with the list of prospective new councillors completed by Annette Holden (NI21) and Alliance’s Ciaran McEvoy.

The Slieve Gullion, Crotlieve and Newry electoral wards — where a total of 19 seats are up for grabs — are located in the southern end of the constituency with the battle for electoral support there set to be as intense as those in the other areas.