By Brendan Carroll

Three candidates in the General Election were neck and neck in terms of vying for the top spot in Galway City … with new TD John Connolly of Fianna Fáil just edging it.

He took 15% of the vote in the city ballot boxes, with Independent Catherine Connolly and Sinn Féin’s Mairéad Farrell hot on his heels on 14% of the urban support, according to Fine Gael tallies.

While constituency poll-topper Farrell performed equally well in areas outside of the city, the urban vote was especially important to the other two main contenders, helping John Connolly to net 12% of the overall vote and Catherine Connolly 11% of the constituency total.

The tally figures come with a health warning: due to a number of factors, they were incomplete and so the shareout of the vote may not be entirely accurate … but they do give a good overall view of where candidates got most of their votes.

The official counts only give total votes for the entire constituency, which stretches from Oranmore to Annaghdown and across to the western coast of Connemara.

Fourth most popular with city voters was Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton on 12%, followed by Independents Noel Grealish (8%) and Mike Cubbard, who took 6% of the city vote, the same as Fine Gael hopeful Seán Kyne.

Eibhlín Seoighthe (Social Democrats) won 5% support in the city polling stations, followed by Labour’s Helen Ogbu and the Green Party’s Pauline O’Reilly.

City support for the rest of the field was as follows: 3% for Gráinne Seoige (Fianna Fáil), Noel Thomas (Independent Ireland) and Pádraig Lenihan (Aontú); 2% for Maisie McMaster (People Before Profit-Solidarity) and 1% or less for the remaining runners, AJ Cahill (The Irish People), Doran McMahan (Irish Freedom Party) and Independent Patrick Feeney.

Mairéad Farrell (SF) had the distinction of ‘topping the poll’ at the most city polling stations, with Ballybane providing rich pickings, a total of 29% of the vote there; and she also headed the field in Renmore (21%), Mercy Convent in the city centre (20%), Westside (18%) and Doughiska (17%).

John Connolly (FF) scored an impressive 20% in Knocknacarra, the biggest polling station in the city, and was joint best of the pack in Bushypark on 17%. On the edges of the city, he also took 30% of the Bearna vote and 27% in Buaile Beag.

Pictured: John Connolly (FF): Favourite of city voters. Photo: Brian Harding.