The newly elected councillor received 2,376 first preference votes in the recent local elections for the Macroom local electoral area and was elected on the fifth count.
Her strong performance has led to increased speculation that she will be selected to run in Cork North West.
Cllr Lynch told The Corkman that all her focus had been on retaining her seat up until now, but she admitted she will now give it some consideration. “It is definitely something I will be taking into consideration. It is not something that I would have given great thought up until now because the priority up to now was to get back into the council. It is definitely something I would keep under active consideration.”
For now Cllr Lynch has secured her second successive term in Cork County Council. She is thrilled to be back representing the Macroom Municipal District. “I am absolutely delighted. I was honoured to get such a vote. I am just glad that all the work I have put in over the last five years and all the hard work my team have put in over recent months in terms of canvassing really paid off for us,” she said.
Ms Lynch said the response from the public during the recent campaign was ‘positive’ and expressed her delight that her party colleagues Michael Creed and Ted Lucey were re-elected. “In general the vast majority of people I met on the door were very polite and positive. There were obviously isolated incidents but you would have that anyway. Generally the response was positive. I am delighted that Ted and Michael also got re-elected. We got 40% of the vote and thankfully secured three seats in the end so we are thrilled. We are pleased to be back in.”
The councillor said she has a long list of issues she intends to prioritise in the Macroom MD. “My priorities are to get the infrastructure fixed in Coachford in terms of flooding issues, pedestrian access and footpaths. I want to see the delivery of affordable housing. We are one of the few municipal districts that doesn’t have an affordable housing scheme.
“I would like to work a bit closer with Rural Link in terms of developing more transport options in our area because they are just not there. There will be a consultation later in the year on the 40 route. It is very important that when we go to public consultations people engage with them as well. I also want to continue the work I have been doing with local clubs and organisations,” she added.
Independent councillor Martin Coughlan held off a strong challenge from Independent Ireland candidate Dermot Kelleher to retain his seat.
Cllr Coughlan who received 1,478 first preference votes was thrilled to clinch the final seat in the local electorate area. “I canvassed more of the area this time than I did ever before. It paid off in the finish. I was happy after the first preference votes were called out as I was 151 votes ahead of Dermot Kelleher. I have always been very transfer friendly and I knew the transfers would come from the Green Party candidate,” he said.
“We were fearful about how the Aontú transfers would go,” Cllr Coughlan admitted. “The Sinn Féin vote can go anyway but I normally get a nice bit from Sinn Féin especially around Rylane and Coachford. We had 450 votes to spare in the finish.
“I am looking forward to working with all the councillors again. We worked well as a unit over the last five years and hopefully we can continue that over the next five years. It is for the interests of Macroom Municipal District,” he added.
Cllr Coughlan intends to prioritise improving the transport service in many areas throughout the municipal district. “The issues in Cloughduv, Aherla and Crookstown and those areas is transport and bus services. People need better bus services to get to school and college. I would also be interested in the changes to Macroom due to the bypass. There will be big changes. One of the reasons that I ran again was to have an input into that as well.”
Macroom based Sinn Féin candidate John O’Sullivan secured 1,117 first preference votes. Mr O’Sullivan said issues at a national level affected him. “I don’t think we could have done any more on the canvassing and campaign trail. There were a few issues at government level that probably unfortunately impacted on us at local level. The people have spoken. I would have no regrets. Our message unfortunately didn’t get to people on the doors.”
Mr O’Sullivan said votes in the Macroom LEA stayed with the government parties. “It was tight enough but I think the voters stayed with the tried and tested government parties. Twelve months ago we would have been talking about a different story. Unfortunately in the area that I am in it is extremely conservative. We were always up against it from that regard.
“The issues of immigration and the recent referendums had a severe impact on us which was a bit harsh considering that we are not in government. Those few things really impacted. You can only respect the electorate and try again,” he added.
On a national level Sinn Féin experienced a difficult election. Eoghan Fahy from the Carrigaline LEA will be the sole party representative on Cork County Council. Mr O’Sullivan said the party will ‘regroup’. “I am confident our party will regroup. We are very quick to learn from mistakes. We are very proactive party and I would be confident that we will iron out a lot of the issues that we may have overlooked.”
The Millstreet man is optimistic Sinn Féin will have better and brighter days electorally. “I left County Hall disappointed with the result but I am optimistic. It has hardened my resolve to go again. I think a Sinn Féin public representative would make a big difference to Cork North West. I would be more than willing to put my shoulder to the wheel.”
