The 2004 Irish local elections were held in all the
counties, cities and towns of Ireland on Friday, 11 June 2004, on the same day as the
European elections and
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
on the
twenty-seventh amendment of the constitution. Polling was delayed until 19 June 2004 in
County Roscommon
"Steadfast Irish heart"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces of I ...
, due to the sudden death of Councillor Gerry Donnelly.
Turnout was the highest for 20 years at around 60%,
helped by the extra publicity of the referendum. The result was a major setback for
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
, which saw its share of the vote drop by 7 percentage points from its
1999 result to only 32%, losing 20% of its council seats. The party lost its majority on
Clare County Council for the first time in 70 years, and fell behind Fine Gael in
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
,
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
and
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
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, coordinates ...
city councils.
Labour's share of the vote remained static at 11% while Fine Gael dropped 1%. Both parties however won seats with the Labour Party becoming the largest party on
Dublin City Council. Major gains were made by
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...
which managed to double the number of seats it held, mainly at the expense of
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
.
These were the first elections since the
Local Government Act 2001
The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in the Republic of Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and a ...
modernised council structures and abolished the
dual mandate
A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...
. Many new councillors were elected for the first time, most notably on
Dublin City Council, where 33 of the 52 members were first-timers, which the City Manager described as "unprecedented in the history of local government".
Many of the seats vacated by TDs and senators were won by family members.
Results
Voters received different-coloured ballot papers for the European election, city/county council election, and referendum, all of which went into the same ballot box and were separated by colour once the boxes arrived at the count centre for the city/county. Not all voters received all ballots as
the franchises differ. Voters in towns with
town council
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
s received an additional ballot for that election, cast in a separate ballot box and counted locally within the town.
County, city and town council seats
County and City Councils
County councils
City councils
Town councils
Borough councils
Town councils
See also
*
Local government in the Republic of Ireland
The functions of local government in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-one local authorities, termed County, City, or City and County Councils. The principal decision-making body in each of the thirty-one local authorities ...
*
:Irish local government councils
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Local Elections, 2004
Local
Local
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
June 2004 events in Europe