1991 Irish local elections

Nationwide local authority elections

1991 Irish local elections

* * *

| ← 1985 | 27 June 1991 | 1999 →

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Turnout| 55.65% 3.33pp
|   | First party  | Second party  | Third party

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Leader  | Charles Haughey | John Bruton | Dick Spring
Party  | Fianna Fáil | Fine Gael | Labour
Leader since  | 7 December 1979  | 21 November 1990  | 1 November 1982
Seats won  | 358  | 272  | 92
Seat change  | 83  | 5  |  32
Popular vote  | 531,659  | 372,633  | 149,571
Percentage  | 37.8%  | 26.5%  | 10.6%
Swing  | 7.7%  | 3.3%  | 2.7%

* * *

| Fourth party  | Fifth party  | Sixth party

Green

Leader  | Desmond O'Malley | Tomás Mac Giolla | N/A
Party  | Progressive Democrats | Workers' Party | Green
Leader since  | 21 December 1985  | 14 October 1962  |
Last election  | N/A  | N/A  | N/A
Seats won  | 37  | 24  | 13
Seat change  |  37  |  4  |  13
Popular vote  | 70,926  | 50,996  | 32,951
Percentage  | 5.0%  | 3.6%  | 2.3%
Swing  |  5.0%  |  0.4%  |  1.8%

* * *

| Seventh party  | Eighth party

Leader  | Gerry Adams | Neil Blaney
Party  | Sinn Féin | Independent Fianna Fáil
Leader since  | 13 November 1983  | 1972
Last election  | N/A  |
Seats won  | 9  | 5
Seat change  |  1  | 1
Popular vote  | 29,903  | 12,162
Percentage  | 2.1%  | 0.9%
Swing  |  1.0%  | 0.1%

The 1991 Irish local elections were held in all administrative counties and county boroughs on Thursday, 27 June 1991.

Ireland was divided into local government areas of administrative counties and county boroughs. There was a second tier of boroughs, urban districts and towns with boards of commissioners. The elections were postponed from June 1990.[1] This allowed the Local Government Act 1991 to be passed beforehand. Elections in non-county boroughs and towns were postponed until 1994.[2]

They were the first local elections contested by the Progressive Democrats, which had been founded in December 1985, and the first since Sinn Féin registered as a political party in December 1986.

## Results

[edit]

### Summary

[edit]

Party  | Seats  | ±  | 1st Pref. votes  | FPv%[3] | ±%

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| Fianna Fáil | 358  | 83  | 531,659  | 37.8  | 7.6
| Fine Gael | 272  | 15  | 372,633  | 26.5  | 3.3
| Labour | 92  | 32  | 149,571  | 10.6  | 2.7
| Progressive Democrats | 37  | 37  | 70,926  | 5.0  | New
| Workers' Party | 24  | 4  | 50,996  | 3.6  | 0.4
| Green | 13  | 13  | 32,951  | 2.3  | 1.8
| Sinn Féin | 9  | 1  | 29,903  | 2.1  | 1.0
| Independent Fianna Fáil[a] | 5  | 1  | 12,162  | 0.9  | 0.1
| Republican Sinn Féin[a] | 1  | 1  | 2,517  | 0.2  | New
| Donegal Progressive Party | 1  |  | 1,775  | 0.1  |
| Independent Socialist | 1  |  | 1,456  | 0.1  |
| Christian Principles Party  | 0  |  | 1,351  | 0.1  | New
| Independent | 78  | 14  | 150,418  | 10.7  | 2.0
Total | 883 | –  | 1,398,729 | 100.0 |

### By local authority

[edit]

Authority  |  | FF |  | FG |  | Lab |  | PD |  | WP |  | GP |  | SF |  | IFF[a] |  | RSF[a] |  | Ind | Total  | Details

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Carlow | 9  | 7  | 4  | 1  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 21  | Details
Cavan | 11  | 9  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5  | 25  | Details
Clare | 17  | 8  | 1  | 1  |  |  |  |  |  | 5  | 32  | Details
Cork City | 9  | 6  | 6  | 3  | 3  | 1  |  |  |  | 3  | 31  | Details
Cork County | 19  | 20  | 4  | 1  | 1  |  |  |  |  | 3  | 48  | Details
Donegal | 11  | 9  | 1  |  | 1  |  | 1  | 4  |  | 2  | 29  | Details
Dublin City | 20  | 6  | 10  | 1  | 5  | 4  | 1  |  |  | 5  | 52  | Details
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown | 8  | 7  | 5  | 2  | 3  | 3  |  |  |  |  | 28  | Details
Fingal | 8  | 6  | 5  | 1  |  | 2  |  |  |  | 2  | 24  | Details
Galway City | 4  | 4  | 2  | 4  |  |  |  |  |  | 1  | 15  | Details
Galway County | 14  | 10  |  | 4  |  |  |  |  |  | 2  | 30  | Details
Kerry | 13  | 7  | 4  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3  | 27  | Details
Kildare | 8  | 7  | 3  | 2  | 1  | 1  | 1  |  |  | 2  | 25  | Details
Kilkenny | 11  | 11  | 4  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 26  | Details
Laois | 13  | 9  | 1  | 1  |  |  |  |  |  | 1  | 25  | Details
Leitrim | 9  | 9  |  |  |  |  | 1  | 1  |  | 2  | 22  | Details
Limerick City | 2  | 4  | 5  | 3  | 1  |  |  |  |  | 2  | 17  | Details
Limerick County | 13  | 10  | 1  | 4  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 28  | Details
Longford | 9  | 8  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1  | 3  | 21  | Details
Louth | 12  | 6  | 2  | 2  |  |  | 1  |  |  | 3  | 26  | Details
Mayo | 15  | 13  | 1  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2  | 31  | Details
Meath | 12  | 9  | 4  |  | 1  |  |  |  |  | 3  | 29  | Details
Monaghan | 8  | 7  |  |  |  |  | 2  |  |  | 3  | 20  | Details
Offaly | 10  | 6  | 1  | 1  |  |  |  |  |  | 3  | 21  | Details
Roscommon | 11  | 10  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5  | 26  | Details
Sligo | 11  | 11  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3  | 25  | Details
South Dublin | 7  | 6  | 4  | 4  | 3  | 1  |  |  |  | 1  | 26  | Details
Tipperary North | 11  | 7  | 2  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1  | 21  | Details
Tipperary South | 10  | 9  | 4  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3  | 26  | Details
Waterford City | 3  | 2  | 3  | 2  | 3  |  |  |  |  | 2  | 15  | Details
Waterford County | 10  | 9  | 3  |  | 1  |  |  |  |  |  | 23  | Details
Westmeath | 12  | 6  | 4  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1  | 23  | Details
Wexford | 8  | 8  | 1  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4  | 21  | Details
Wicklow | 9  | 4  | 5  |  | 1  | 1  |  |  |  | 4  | 24  | Details

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Not a registered party.

## References

[edit]

### Sources

[edit]

* "1991 Local Elections". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
* Department of the Environment (1991). Local elections, 1991 (PDF).

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ Local Elections (Specification of Local Election Year) Order 1990 (S.I. No. 104 of 1990). Signed on 30 April 1990. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
2. ^ Local Government Act 1991, s. 14: Postponement of local elections for certain local authorities (No. 11 of 1991, s. 14). Enacted on 18 May 1991. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
3. ^ "1991 Local Election". irelandelection.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.

## See also

[edit]

* Local government in the Republic of Ireland
* Category:Irish local government councils

* v
* t
* e

(1985 ←)   1991 Irish local elections   (1994 →)

* Carlow
* Cavan
* Clare
* Cork City
* Cork County
* Donegal
* Dublin City
* Dublin County
* Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
* Fingal
* South Dublin
* Galway City
* Galway County
* Kerry
* Kildare
* Kilkenny
* Laois
* Leitrim
* Limerick City
* Limerick County
* Longford
* Louth
* Mayo
* Meath
* Monaghan
* Offaly
* Roscommon
* Sligo
* North Tipperary
* South Tipperary
* Waterford City
* Waterford County
* Westmeath
* Wexford
* Wicklow

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