On Saturday morning, when ballots were tallied for the DEA of Erne North, the Sinn Féin surge continued.
In this election, no new faces were elected to serve in the Erne North DEA, but the ward was host to a number of political comebacks.
Two seats were won by Sinn Féin in the constituency, with Councillor Debbie Coyle topping the poll and being elected in the first round with 1,561 votes against a quota of 1,061 ballots.
In an interview with The Impartial Reporter, Councillor Coyle stated, “Sinn Féin has made gains in the Fermanagh and Omagh region, so we are going back in with a very strong team to represent the people.”
Erne North DEA sees return of Fermanagh politicians
Later, she was joined by her campaign companion John Feeley, a councilman from 2014 to 2019 who failed to win election in 2019.
Councillor Feeley, elated by his return to municipal politics, exclaimed, “I’m overjoyed! It was a lengthy couple of days, but Sinn Féin came out on top.
It is the first time Sinn Féin has had two councillors in Erne North. “It means a lot to be back on; we had a tough loss in 2019 when we ran two candidates, and we ran them again; this is the first time Sinn Féin has had two councillors in Erne North.”
Councillor Feeley was the last Sinn Féin candidate elected to the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, contributing to the party’s 21-member absolute majority.
David Mahon of the DUP has also returned to the Council Chamber. First elected in 2014, Councillor Mahon lost his seat in 2019 to campaign companion and current DUP MLA Deborah Erskine (née Armstrong).
Councillor Mahon told The Impartial Reporter, “It has been a long four years, but I am delighted to be returning.
Although our vote share in Erne North is down marginally, we have won a number of important elections at the count centre.
He declined to comment on the overall composition of the Council, but stated, “I will work with whoever is there and do my best to serve the people.”
Diana Armstrong of the UUP was the second candidate elected. In her acceptance speech, Councillor Armstrong stated, “It will not always be peaceful sailing, but the people of Fermanagh and Omagh cannot be dominated by a single party.
“The upcoming term will be challenging, and we will scrutinize spending decisions to ensure the best possible outcomes for all.”
John McClaughry of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and John Coyle of the SDLP were in a close contest for the final council seat.
In the end, however, it was the elimination of Alex Elliott of the TUV that pushed Councillor McClaughry over the edge.
In an interview with this newspaper, Councillor McClaughry stated that he was “relieved” to be re-elected but was concerned about the low turnout of Unionists.
Across the board, I believe voter apathy affected Unionists’ performance.
“We are not seeing sufficient voter turnout. The percentages remain unchanged, and Unionists are not turning out to vote; this is an issue that all Unionist parties will need to address.
When prompted to clarify what he meant by voter apathy, he stated, “I believe the voters are not seeing leadership and direction, so they are asking, ‘Why should we come out and vote?'”
“Erne North was historically a region with a high voter turnout, but we are now down to 62%.” When my father was a councilman in the 1970s and 1980s, voter turnout was 90%.
