The count has been completed and there are now 40 councillors elected to serve Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.

Sinn Féin were the ultimate victors of this year’s local elections right across Northern Ireland. The party had a runaway success in Fermanagh and Omagh with 21 of the 22 candidates they fielded getting elected as well as increasing their vote share right across the Council area.  

Significant gains were made in Enniskillen, Erne North, Erne West, and Erne East for the party.

There will be six first-time councillors for the party in the council chamber; Dermot Browne (Enniskillen); Noeleen Hayes (Erne East); Elaine Brough, Declan McArdle (Erne West); Catherine Kelly (Omagh) and Roisin Devine Gallagher (West Tyrone).

The Ulster Unionists have held on to their six council seats in the Fermanagh area of FODC. When it came down to the wire, the TUV transfers helped finalise their vote share.

However, they are down two seats overall losing former Fermanagh South Tyrone MLA Rosemary Barton and Omagh’s Matthew Bell.  A new face joining the Council chamber will be Mark Ovens (Erne West), a former Special Advisor to the former Health Minister Robin Swann MLA.

The DUP will be pleased with their performance having gained one seat and have held their vote steady across the Council area. David Mahon (Erne North) makes a return to the council chamber; his running mate outgoing councillor Paul Stephenson was eliminated.

Mirroring the trend across Northern Ireland for the party, the SDLP grouping in Fermanagh and Omagh has shrunk. The SDLP suffered significant losses in the elimination of Mary Garrity (West Tyrone), Paul Blake (Enniskillen) and John Coyle (Erne North). They will still have representation in the Council chamber in the form of Adam Gannon (Erne West), Garbhan McPhillips (Erne East) and Bernard McGrath (Mid-Tyrone)

One major change for this mandate of the Council is the emergence of the Alliance grouping. Eddie Roofe (Enniskillen) will join Councillor Stephen Donnelly.  Roofe polled a strong first preference vote and was the second candidate elected to the Enniskillen DEA.

This election showed a poor showing for the Independents. The 2019 mandate had four Independents and now the Council will return with one solo Independent in Josephine Deehan (Omagh).

Also failing to be re-elected was CCLA’s Donal O’Cofaigh who was first elected for the CCLA back in 2019. He had served in the legacy Fermanagh District Council as a Sinn Féin councillor.

 


The council groupings are as follows

Sinn Féin - 21 councillors (+5)

UUP- Seven councillors (-2)

DUP- Six Councillors +1)

SDLP - Three councillors (-2)

Alliance - Two councillors (+1)

IND - One Councillor  (-3)


Enniskillen – Keith Elliott, DUP; Eddie Roofe, Alliance; Tommy Maguire and Dermot Browne, SF; Robert Irvine and Roy Crawford UUP

Erne East – Sheamus Greene, Thomas O’Reilly, Noeleen Hayes, SF; Paul Robinson, DUP: Victor Warrington, UUP; Garbhan McPhillips, SDLP

Erne West – Anthony Feely, Elaine Brough, Declan McArdle, SF; Adam Gannon, SDLP; Mark Ovens, UUP

Erne North- Debbie Coyle and John Feeley, SF; Diana Armstrong UUP; David Mahon, DUP; John McClaughry, UUP.

Omagh – Barry McElduff, Catherine Kelly, Marty McColgan SF, Errol Thompson DUP, Stephen Donnelly Alliance, Josephine Deehan Ind

West Tyrone - Glenn Campbell, Ann-Marie Donnelly, Stephen McCann and Colette McNulty SF, Mark Buchanan DUP, Allan Rainey UUP.

Mid Tyrone - Padraigin Kelly, Anne-Marie Fitzgerald, Patrick Wither and Roisin Devine Gallagher SF, Shirley Hawkes DUP, Bernard McGrath SDLP.