The 2014 Irish local elections were held in all local government areas of Ireland on Friday, 23 May 2014, on the same day as the European Parliament election and two by-elections (Dublin West and Longford–Westmeath).COUNCIL DECISION 2013/299/EU, Euratom of 14 June 2013 fixing the period for the eighth election of representatives to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage , published on 21 June 2013 by the Official Journal of the European Union, L 169/69 The poll in the Ballybay–Clones LEA on Monaghan County Council was deferred due to the death of a candidate.
Administrative changes These elections took place after the coming into force of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, under which city and county councils were contested under substantially redrawn local electoral area (LEA) boundaries, including an overall increase of seats to 949, up from 883 in the 2009 local elections. It also saw the abolition of borough and town councils. Municipal districts were created within counties outside of Dublin. Generally, a municipal district contained a single LEA, though a few districts around larger urban areas contain multiple LEAs.
Overview The elections took place a little over three years after the last general election, which led to a government of Fine Gael and the Labour Party. The elections were a major setback for Fine Gael and Labour. Fine Gael lost control of many councils, falling behind Fianna Fáil on some. Labour lost more than half of its local authority seats. Fianna Fáil showed a recovery, again becoming the largest party at local level with an increased share of the vote. The party also took control of some councils, while on others it formed alliances with Fine Gael. Sinn Féin was the main winner in this election, becoming the third-largest party at local level. There were also major gains for independents and smaller parties. As a result of its disastrous performance, the Labour leader Eamon Gilmore resigned.
Opinion polls Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. Only polls conducted in the period leading up to the election and immediately afterwards are shown.
+Opinion polls on voting intentions. DateSourcePolling agencyFine GaelLabour PartyFianna FáilSinn FéinGreen PartyAAA–PBPOthersSunday IndependentMillward Brown20520262225European election 22.35.322.319.54.93.323.9Local elections 24.07.225.315.21.62.925.5Sunday IndependentMillward Brown2062123227The Sunday Business PostRed C2511211825Sunday IndependentMillward Brown2962220221The Sunday TimesBehaviour & Attitudes2192020426The Irish TimesIpsos MRBI258252121The Sunday Business PostRed C269222122Sunday IndependentMillward Brown2782122220The Sunday TimesBehaviour & Attitudes309191824The Sunday Business PostRed C2911221622Sunday IndependentMillward Brown30122616115The Sunday Business PostRed C279231625Paddy PowerRed C2810221822The Sunday TimesBehaviour & Attitudes301121153<21
Results by party PartySeats±±% 26749430,04025.200.2 235105408,28923.928.3 159105258,65015.167.8 5181121,8987.147.6 14929,0511.700.9 141021,0971.240.3 12927,1681.590.7 113,1470.180.1 1New2,8790.17New 12,1390.12 111,9270.110.1 11,5610.09 0New3,6070.21New 03,1200.18New 0New1,8280.11New 0New9300.05New 04280.03 02150.01 19270388,72122.787.1Total949661,706,695100% Results from the Anti-Austerity Alliance are compared to the Socialist Party in the 2009 local elections. Republican Sinn Féin are not a registered party; therefore, their candidates appear on the ballot as Non-Party.
Detailed results by council Authority TotalDetailsCarlow5632218DetailsCavan77418DetailsClare1281728DetailsCork17161021055DetailsCork City105831431DetailsDonegal116911037DetailsDublin City9816851311263DetailsDún Laoghaire–Rathdown8113732640DetailsFingal76641421040DetailsGalway1212311139DetailsGalway City3432618DetailsKerry99521733DetailsKildare12955940DetailsKilkenny107321124DetailsLaois7621319DetailsLeitrim644418DetailsLimerick1312633340DetailsLongford78318DetailsLouth571022329DetailsMayo10103730DetailsMeath10138940DetailsMonaghan457218DetailsOffaly833519DetailsRoscommon831618DetailsSligo8321418DetailsSouth Dublin5794331840DetailsTipperary10105111340DetailsWaterford8861932DetailsWestmeath8532220DetailsWexford119521634DetailsWicklow78611032DetailsTotal2672351595114141211111192 949
Largest parties by council Council 1st party 2009 2nd party 2009 1st party 2014 2nd party 2014 Councillors Carlow (10) (5) (6) (5) 18 Cavan (13) (8)Tied – FF/FG (7) 18 Clare (12) (11) (12) (8) 28 Cork (22) (12) (17) (16) 55 Cork City (8) (7) (10) (8) 31 Donegal (10) (8) (11) (10) 37 Dublin City (19) (12) (16) (12) 63 Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown (11) (8) (11) (8) 40 Fingal (9) (6) (10) (7) 40 Galway (13) (8)Tied – FF/FG (12) 39 Galway City (5) (4) (6) (4) 18 Kerry (10) (7)Tied – FF/FG (9) 33 Kildare (9)Tied (12)Tied 40 Kilkenny (12) (7) (10) (7) 24 Laois (12) (8) (7) (6) 19 Leitrim (10) (8) (6)Tied 18 LimerickNew (13) (12) 40 Longford (10) (8) (8) (7) 18 Louth (8) (6) (10) (7) 29 Mayo (17) (7)Tied – FF/FG (10) 30 Meath (11) (8) (13) (10) 40 Monaghan (7) (6) (7) (5) 18 Offaly (9)Tied (8) (5) 19 Roscommon (10) (8) (8) (6) 18 Sligo (12) (7) (8) (4) 18 South Dublin (9) (8) (10) (8) 40 TipperaryNew (13)Tied 40 WaterfordNew (9)Tied 32 Westmeath (9) (8) (8) (5) 20 Wexford (10) (5) (11) (9) 34 Wicklow (9) (6) (10) (8) 32 All Councils (340) (218) (267) (235) 949
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External links Irish local elections, 2014 at Electionsireland.org