2004 Irish local elections

2004 Irish local elections
← 1999 11 June 2004 2009 →
1,627 County, City, Borough and Town Council Seats
Turnout58.64% Increase8.45pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Bertie Ahern, January 2004 (cropped).jpg
Enda Kenny 2009.jpg
Pat Rabbitte, circa 2002.jpg
Leader Bertie Ahern Enda Kenny Pat Rabbitte
Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour
Leader since 19 November 1994 6 June 2002 13 October 2001
Percentage 31.8% 27.6% 14.2%
Largest Party on Council 16 10 4
Councillors 542 468 188
Councillors +/- Decrease129 Increase32 Increase18
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Gerry Adams, October 2005 (cropped).jpg
Trevor Sargent 2006 headshot.jpg
Mary Harney, 2004 (headshot).jpg
Leader Gerry Adams Trevor Sargent Mary Harney
Party Sinn Féin Green Progressive Democrats
Leader since 13 November 1983 6 November 2001 26 October 1993
Percentage 8.1% 3.9% 3.9%
Largest Party on Council 1 N/A N/A
Councillors 127 32 32
Councillors +/- Increase63 Increase15 Steady

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 on the amending the constitutional provisions on citizenship. Polling was delayed until 19 June 2004 in County Roscommon, due to the sudden death of Councillor Gerry Donnelly.

Turnout was the highest for 20 years at around 60%,[1] helped by the extra publicity of the referendum. The result was a setback for Fianna Fáil, which saw its share of the vote drop by 7 percentage points from its 1999 result to 32%, losing 20% of its council seats.[2] The party lost its majority on Clare County Council for the first time in 70 years, and fell behind Fine Gael in Galway, Limerick and Waterford city councils.[3] Labour's share of the vote remained static at 11% while Fine Gael dropped 1%. However, both parties gained seats with the Labour Party becoming the largest party on Dublin City Council. Major gains were made by Sinn Féin which managed to double the number of seats it held, mainly at the expense of Fianna Fáil.

These were the first elections since the Local Government Act 2001 modernised council structures and abolished the dual mandate. Many new councillors were elected for the first time, including 33 of the 52 of the councillors on Dublin City Council, which the city manager described as "unprecedented in the history of local government".[3] Many of the seats vacated by TDs and senators were won by family members.[4]

  1. ^ Donnelly, Seán (14 June 2004). "The best local election turnout in nearly 20 years". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  2. ^ Hennessy, Mark; O'Regan, Michael (15 June 2004). "'A very bad performance' – Ahern". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  3. ^ a b McDonald, Frank (15 June 2004). "FF will find loss of power a bitter pill to swallow". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  4. ^ O'Halloran, Marie (15 June 2004). "Politicians hit by dual-mandate ban opt to pass on council mantle to their relatives". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2008.