Chris Maxwell elected to Mayo County Council in ‘a victory for common sense’

INDEPENDENT Ireland has elected its first ever representative to Mayo County Council after the former Fianna Fáil local election candidate was elected on the second count. 

Cllr Maxwell, who only joined the newly-formed party after announcing he would stand as an Independent, received 1,939 votes on the second count after receiving 885 in transfers from the eliminated Karen Gallagher (Sinn Féin), Peter Nolan (Green Party) and Niall McCormack's (Irish Freedom Party) votes. 

The Louisburgh-based Cllr Maxwell commanded a strong vote in his native area to help him top the poll on the first count. 

He previously stood unsuccessfully for Fianna Fáil in the 2019 local elections. 

A battle is set to ensue between sitting councillors Christy Hyland (Independent), Brendan Mulroy (Fianna Fáil) and Fine Gael newcomer Keira Keogh for the remaining seats on Westport Municipal District Council. Sitting councillor Peter Flynn is expected to win the second seat as he currently commands 1,694. The quota is 1,865. 

Speaking to The Mayo News afterwards, Cllr Maxwell described his win as ‘a victory for common sense’. 

“I am overwhelmed with the support we have got. We did it for the people of rural Ireland because everyone we met is fed up with what's going on. Commonsense is gone out the window in everything people come up against. I want to bring commonsense back into our dealings and use the money that is there wisely and sensibly and try to make our communities better for young people and our elderly. People are just frustrated and felt neglected in rural Ireland,” he said.

Follow the latest updates on the Mayo County Council election on our live blog.