Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0132 votes decided the last seat in Carlow-Kilkenny
Carlow spans more than one of the local electoral areas: 82% of its residents vote in Carlow, most of the rest in Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County). Carlow is run by Carlow County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. The Carlow local electoral area elected 7 councillors in June 2024: Fianna Fáil 3, Fine Gael 2, Independent Ireland 1 and People Before Profit–Solidarity 1. No party holds a majority on Carlow County; Fine Gael has the most seats, 6 of 18, short of the 10 a majority needs. In the Dáil, Carlow-Kilkenny has 5 members: Fianna Fáil 3, Fine Gael 1 and Sinn Féin 1.
Carlow’s council and votes, in 4 figures
A close last seat in the Dáil count
At the final count in Carlow-Kilkenny, Natasha Newsome Drennan (Sinn Féin) had 8,791 votes and Áine Gladney Knox (Sinn Féin) 8,659: the last seat went by 132, the 3rd-closest of 40. Dáil Éireann ↓
Low turnout
8,105 of Carlow’s 18,629 registered voters turned out in June 2024, 44%: the 26th-lowest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49%). How Carlow voted ↓
Low turnout
70,324 of Carlow-Kilkenny’s 120,821 registered voters turned out in November 2024, 58%: the 12th-lowest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 60%). Dáil Éireann ↓
A crowded ballot
18 candidates stood for 7 seats in Carlow in June 2024, the 46th-most contested ballot of 166 by candidates per seat. Local elections ↓
Written from the data on this page: the 2024 count sheets of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Oireachtas members list.
No party holds a majority on Carlow County Council
Seats on Carlow County Council as elected in June 2024, with each party’s candidates, and the other councils beside it.
- Fine Gael68 stood
- Fianna Fáil57 stood
- Independent27 stood
- Sinn Féin28 stood
- Labour Party11 stood
- People Before Profit–Solidarity12 stood
- Independent Ireland11 stood
As elected on 7 June 2024.
A party needs 10 of the 18 seats to outvote the rest. None has that: Fine Gael is largest with 6. None of the 31 councils has a single-party majority. Fianna Fáil is second with 5 seats. The councillors elect a cathaoirleach each June to chair the council for a year; no open national list names them.
The 31 councils of Ireland
Seats by party as elected, largest party named; this council first.
Local and general election results 2024: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY-SA 4.0); areas matched to towns by TownRatings from Tailte Éireann boundaries and CSO Census 2022 Small Areas (CC BY 4.0).
One council, and the government for the rest
Carlow has no town or county council of its own: Ireland has 31 councils, each the only council for its area.
Housing and homelessness, planning, local and regional roads, parks and libraries, the fire service, bins enforcement and street cleaning, the register of electors, and the Local Property Tax rate it may vary.
carlow.ie ↗Schools (Department of Education), health (the HSE), national roads (TII), policing (An Garda Síochána) and the Local Property Tax itself (Revenue).
gov.ie ↗Uisce Éireann runs water and sewers; private operators collect most bins under the council’s rules.
The council for the part of Carlow inside its area.
laois.ie ↗Who to ask
Green: the council. Gold: a government department or one of its agencies. Grey: another public body.
From the council to the Dáil
Every elected tier that speaks for Carlow, from the most recent elections.
- 12 local electoral areas2 local electoral areas · 13 councillorsFianna Fáil 5 · Fine Gael 3 · Independent 2 · Independent Ireland 1 · People Before Profit–Solidarity 1 · Sinn Féin 1
- 2Carlow County Council18 councillors from 3 local electoral areasFine Gael 6 · Fianna Fáil 5 · Independent 2 · Sinn Féin 2 · Labour Party 1 · People Before Profit–Solidarity 1 · Independent Ireland 1
- 3Dáil ÉireannCarlow-Kilkenny · 5 members
- 4Dáil ÉireannLaois · 3 members
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. TDs: Houses of the Oireachtas Open Data (Oireachtas PSI Licence, CC BY 4.0).
13 councillors for Carlow’s 2 local electoral areas
Each of the local electoral areas where 5% or more of the town’s residents live: who was elected, and who else stood.
- Fintan Phelan
- Andrea Dalton
- Fergal Browne
- John Cassin
- Ken Murnane
- Paul Doogue
- Adrienne Wallace
Also stood (11): Tom O'Neill (Fine Gael), Mark Callinan (Sinn Féin), Molly Aylesbury (Green Party), Nicoleta Chiorean (Sinn Féin), Jolly O'Rock (Independent), Rory Woods (The Irish People), Daeln Murphy (The National Party), Ruairí Doyle (Sinn Féin), Maria Ryan (Ireland First), Orla Donohoe (Irish Freedom Party), Adetula Temiola (Independent).
- Paschal McEvoy
- Aidan Mullins
- Ben Brennan
- Padraig Fleming
- Aisling Moran
- Vivienne Phelan
Also stood (6): P.j. Kelly (Fine Gael), Aaron Kelly (Sinn Féin), Patsy Fennell (Independent Ireland), Joey Kennedy (Fianna Fáil), Eoin Barry (Labour Party), Charlie Hackett (Green Party).
Carlow’s councillors, one by one
| Councillor | Party | Area | First preferences | Result | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fintan Phelan | Fianna Fáil | Carlow | 1,678 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Andrea Dalton | Fianna Fáil | Carlow | 1,149 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Fergal Browne | Fine Gael | Carlow | 893 | Elected at count 2, on the quota | Re-elected |
| John Cassin | Independent Ireland | Carlow | 590 | Elected at count 14, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Ken Murnane | Fianna Fáil | Carlow | 562 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Paul Doogue | Fine Gael | Carlow | 425 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | New |
| Adrienne Wallace | People Before Profit–Solidarity | Carlow | 418 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Paschal McEvoy | Fianna Fáil | Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County) | 1,402 | Elected at count 5, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Aidan Mullins | Sinn Féin | Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County) | 1,359 | Elected at count 4, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Ben Brennan | Independent | Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County) | 1,350 | Elected at count 5, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Padraig Fleming | Fianna Fáil | Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County) | 1,275 | Elected at count 8, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Aisling Moran | Independent | Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County) | 1,142 | Elected at count 8, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Vivienne Phelan | Fine Gael | Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County) | 806 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | New |
11 of the 13 were sitting councillors who were re-elected; 2 weren’t on the council before the election.
Seats by party in each of Carlow County Council’s 3 local electoral areas
Every area of Carlow County Council: seats, candidates and turnout
| Area | Seats | Candidates | Electorate | Turnout | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 7 | 18 | 18,629 | 43.5% | 999 |
| Muinebheag | 5 | 8 | 14,100 | 51.3% | 1,183 |
| Tullow | 6 | 15 | 16,167 | 48.7% | 1,114 |
Each of the local electoral areas elects 3 to 7 councillors by single transferable vote: voters number the candidates in order, a candidate who reaches the quota is elected, and spare votes and those of the lowest candidate pass to the next preference. A councillor who leaves is replaced by co-option, usually from the same party, so the names can change without an election.
Councillors: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Of the 18 councillors on Carlow County Council, women hold 2
Everyone elected to Carlow County Council across its 3 local electoral areas in June 2024, by party: how many are women and how many sat on the council before.
| Party | Seats | Women | Re-elected | First preferences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael | 6 | 0 | 4 | 27.7% |
| Fianna Fáil | 5 | 1 | 4 | 30.1% |
| Independent | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14.7% |
| Sinn Féin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11.9% |
| Independent Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.6% |
| Labour Party | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.8% |
| People Before Profit–Solidarity | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.6% |
2 of the 18 councillors are women, 11%; across all 31 councils the share is 26%. 14 sat on the council before the election and 4 are new to it.
Every member of Carlow County Council
| Councillor | Party | Area | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fintan Phelan | Fianna Fáil | Carlow | Re-elected |
| Andrea Dalton | Fianna Fáil | Carlow | Re-elected |
| Fergal Browne | Fine Gael | Carlow | Re-elected |
| John Cassin | Independent Ireland | Carlow | Re-elected |
| Ken Murnane | Fianna Fáil | Carlow | Re-elected |
| Paul Doogue | Fine Gael | Carlow | New |
| Adrienne Wallace | People Before Profit–Solidarity | Carlow | Re-elected |
| Thomas Kinsella | Fine Gael | Muinebheag | Re-elected |
| Willie Quinn | Labour Party | Muinebheag | Re-elected |
| Andy Gladney | Sinn Féin | Muinebheag | Re-elected |
| Daniel Pender | Fianna Fáil | Muinebheag | New |
| Michael Doran | Fine Gael | Muinebheag | Re-elected |
| John Pender | Fianna Fáil | Tullow | Re-elected |
| Charlie Murphy | Independent | Tullow | Re-elected |
| Will Paton | Independent | Tullow | Re-elected |
| Ben Ward | Fine Gael | Tullow | New |
| Brian O'Donoghue | Fine Gael | Tullow | Re-elected |
| Jim Deane | Sinn Féin | Tullow | New |
The council: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
First preferences in Carlow, June 2024
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 999. Elected candidates are in bold.
First-preference share by party in Carlow
The tick is the party’s share across all of Ireland.
Turnout was 43.5%, 8,105 of 18,629 registered voters: the 141st-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49.4%). With 7,985 valid votes and 7 seats the quota was 999; the count ran to 14 rounds. Fintan Phelan (Fianna Fáil) and Andrea Dalton (Fianna Fáil) reached the quota on first preferences alone, and transfers decided the other 5. The last seat went to Adrienne Wallace (People Before Profit–Solidarity) with 770 votes at the final count, 86 ahead of Mark Callinan (Sinn Féin), who had 684.
Every candidate, count by count (14 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Murnane | Fianna Fáil | 562 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 931 |
| Paul Doogue | Fine Gael | 425 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 906 |
| Adrienne Wallace | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 418 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 770 |
| John Cassin | Independent Ireland | 590 | Elected at count 14, on the quota | 1,058 |
| Fergal Browne | Fine Gael | 893 | Elected at count 2, on the quota | 999 |
| Fintan Phelan | Fianna Fáil | 1,678 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 999 |
| Andrea Dalton | Fianna Fáil | 1,149 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 999 |
| Adetula Temiola | Independent | 113 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Orla Donohoe | Irish Freedom Party | 132 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Maria Ryan | Ireland First | 141 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Ruairí Doyle | Sinn Féin | 156 | Excluded at count 8 | – |
| Daeln Murphy | The National Party | 157 | Excluded at count 9 | – |
| Molly Aylesbury | Green Party | 240 | Excluded at count 10 | – |
| Nicoleta Chiorean | Sinn Féin | 238 | Excluded at count 11 | – |
| Jolly O'Rock | Independent | 176 | Excluded at count 12 | – |
| Rory Woods | The Irish People | 171 | Excluded at count 13 | – |
| Tom O'Neill | Fine Gael | 398 | Excluded at count 14 | – |
| Mark Callinan | Sinn Féin | 348 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 684 |
Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County): first preferences (18% of Carlow)
First-preference share by party in Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County)
Turnout was 50.5%, 11,229 of 22,233 registered voters: the 83rd-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49.4%). The quota was 1,586: 11,096 valid votes for 6 seats, counted over 10 rounds. No candidate reached the quota on first preferences: transfers filled every seat. Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael), 7th on first preferences, won a seat on transfers, overtaking P.j. Kelly (Fine Gael), who was 6th. The last seat went to Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael) with 1,257 votes at the final count, 17 ahead of P.j. Kelly (Fine Gael), who had 1,240.
How Carlow voted: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Who stood, and who was elected, June 2024
Every candidate for Carlow County Council, by party: the light bar is candidates, the solid bar those elected.
Share of candidates elected, all of Ireland
Parties with 10 or more candidates across the 31 councils.
41 candidates stood for 18 seats on Carlow County Council in June 2024, 2.3 for each seat. Turnout across the council was 47.5%, the 24th-highest of 31 councils. Fine Gael elected 6 of its 8 candidates. 12 of the 41 candidates were women (29%; 31% across the country), and 7 stood without a party. Across all 31 councils, 2,172 candidates stood for 949 seats, 2.3 for each.
Turnout in all 31 councils
Local elections: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Carlow is split between 2 Dáil constituencies
5 TDs elected to the Dáil by single transferable vote on 29 November 2024, the whole constituency’s count.
Fine Gael
oireachtas.ie ↗Fianna Fáil · Minister of State at the Department of Health
oireachtas.ie ↗Fianna Fáil · Leas-Cheann Comhairle
oireachtas.ie ↗Sinn Féin
oireachtas.ie ↗Fianna Fáil
oireachtas.ie ↗TDs as the Oireachtas lists them today, with any office they hold; a by-election or a change of party shows here, the 2024 count below does not change.
First preferences in Carlow-Kilkenny, November 2024
First-preference share by party in Carlow-Kilkenny
70,324 of 120,821 registered voters turned out, 58.2%: the 32nd-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 59.7%). Nobody reached the quota on first preferences, so every seat was filled on transfers. Natasha Newsome Drennan (Sinn Féin) was 6th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Áine Gladney Knox (Sinn Féin), 5th on first preferences. The last seat went to Natasha Newsome Drennan (Sinn Féin) with 8,791 votes at the final count, 132 ahead of Áine Gladney Knox (Sinn Féin), who had 8,659.
Every candidate, count by count (16 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Murnane O'Connor | Fianna Fáil | 8,087 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 11,446 |
| Natasha Newsome Drennan | Sinn Féin | 5,495 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 8,791 |
| Peter 'Chap' Cleere | Fianna Fáil | 7,194 | Elected at count 15, on the quota | 11,627 |
| Catherine Callaghan | Fine Gael | 6,788 | Elected at count 14, on the quota | 11,627 |
| John McGuinness | Fianna Fáil | 9,794 | Elected at count 11, on the quota | 11,627 |
| David Egan | Liberty Republic | 169 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Noel G. Walsh | Independent | 65 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| John O'Leary | Independent | 26 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Tom Healy | Independent | 501 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| Orla Donohoe | Irish Freedom Party | 737 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Adrienne Wallace | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 1,465 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Luke O'Connor | Independent | 1,232 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Seán Ó hArgáin | Labour Party | 1,725 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Eugene McGuinness | Independent | 1,622 | Excluded at count 8 | – |
| Malcolm Noonan | Green Party | 2,919 | Excluded at count 9 | – |
| Gary O'Neill | Aontú | 2,378 | Excluded at count 10 | – |
| Michael Doyle | Fine Gael | 4,955 | Excluded at count 11 | – |
| Patricia Stephenson | Social Democrats | 3,387 | Excluded at count 12 | – |
| David Fitzgerald | Fine Gael | 4,743 | Excluded at count 14 | – |
| Áine Gladney Knox | Sinn Féin | 6,479 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 8,659 |
Laois: first preferences (18% of Carlow)
Each party’s share of first preferences in Laois
Turnout was 58.5%, 38,507 of 65,873 registered voters: the 29th-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 59.7%). The last seat went to Brian Stanley (Independent) with 9,512 votes at the final count, 2,947 ahead of Maria McCormack (Sinn Féin), who had 6,565.
Dáil Éireann: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Carlow County Council plans to spend €1,337 per resident in 2026
What its 2026 revenue budget pays for, service by service, and where the money comes from.
By service, per resident, 2026
What pays for it, 2026
Shares of what funds the 2026 budget; the tick is all 31 councils together.
Leaving out the HAP programme, that is the 12th-lowest of the 31 councils per resident; across all of them it is €1,551. The budget is up 2% on 2025, when it was €81.4M.
Commercial rates on businesses pay for 20% of the budget. Its annual rate on valuation is 0.2700, the 12th-lowest of the 31 councils that rate on revalued property. The Local Property Tax brings in another 12%.
Budget per resident, all 31 councils (without the HAP programme)
Show the services as a table, 2025 and 2026
| Service | 2026 | Per resident | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing and building | €27M | €436 | €27.1M | 0% |
| Roads and transport | €17.3M | €280 | €17.4M | 0% |
| Water services | €3.6M | €58 | €4.1M | -11% |
| Planning and development | €10M | €161 | €9.6M | 3% |
| Environment and fire | €11.9M | €193 | €10.4M | 15% |
| Libraries, parks and amenities | €6.7M | €108 | €6M | 11% |
| Agriculture, education, health and welfare | €387K | €6 | €304K | 27% |
| Other services | €6.4M | €103 | €6.4M | 0% |
Budgets: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Local Authority Annual Budgets 2025 and 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), revenue account before inter-authority contributions are netted; residents: CSO Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0).
Each of Carlow County Council’s 18 councillors speaks for about 3,440 residents
Residents per councillor on each of the 31 councils.
Carlow County Council has 18 councillors for 61,968 residents: about 3,440 each, the 3rd-lowest of 31 councils. The range runs from 9,410 residents per councillor on Dublin City to 1,960 on Leitrim County.
Residents per councillor, all 31 councils
Seats: local elections 2024 (Department of Housing, CC BY-SA 4.0); residents: CSO Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0).
Having a say in how Carlow is run
Check, register or update your address online; the register closes 15 days before a poll (Sundays and holidays aside).
checktheregister.ie ↗Potholes, broken lights, dumping and graffiti, sent to the council.
FixYourStreet.ie ↗Council and municipal district meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
carlow.ie ↗Anyone may make a submission within five weeks of an application, for a fee of €20.
carlow.ie ↗Each TD’s contact details are on the Oireachtas members page.
oireachtas.ie ↗The Electoral Commission’s guidance for candidates and how to be nominated.
electoralcommission.ie ↗What this data can and can’t tell you
- Single transferable vote. Voters number candidates in order. The quota is the valid votes divided by one more than the seats, plus one. A candidate over the quota is elected and their surplus passes on; when nobody is over it, the lowest is excluded and their votes pass on, until the seats are filled. The last seats can go to candidates below the quota once too few are left to fill them. First preferences show where support started, not who won.
- Which area. A town is placed in its council, local electoral area and Dáil constituency by where its residents live (Census 2022 Small Areas); an area holding 5% or more of them is listed too. Areas reach beyond the town, so their results are the whole area’s.
- Turnout. Votes cast, spoilt ones included, as a share of the register. Registers carry people who have moved or died, so every turnout reads low by a few points; compare areas, not the figure on its own.
- A close last seat. Shown only when the last candidate elected and the one left standing were both in the final count; the gap is between their votes then. Margins are not shown as headlines unless they are among the closest.
- Not on this page. Audited accounts and debt are published only as PDF statements, so they aren’t on this page. Votes before 2024 aren’t compared: the local electoral areas were redrawn for the 2024 local elections and the Dáil constituencies in 2023, so earlier results don’t cover the same ground. Who chairs each council and who runs it as chief executive aren’t in any open national list; each council names them on its website.
Questions about how Carlow is run
Which council runs Carlow?
The one council for Carlow is Carlow County Council: Ireland has a single tier of local government.
How many councillors does Carlow have?
Carlow is split between 2 local electoral areas: Carlow (7 seats, 82% of residents) and Graiguecullen-Portarlington (Laois County) (6 seats, 18% of residents).
Which party has the most seats on Carlow County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Fine Gael 6 · Fianna Fáil 5 · Independent 2 · Sinn Féin 2 · Labour Party 1 · People Before Profit–Solidarity 1 · Independent Ireland 1 of 18 seats; a majority needs 10.
Who are Carlow’s TDs?
Carlow-Kilkenny elects 5 TDs: Catherine Callaghan (Fine Gael), Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fáil), John McGuinness (Fianna Fáil), Natasha Newsome Drennan (Sinn Féin) and Peter 'Chap' Cleere (Fianna Fáil).
What was the turnout in Carlow?
In Carlow, 43.5% of registered voters turned out in June 2024 (Ireland: 49.4%). In Carlow-Kilkenny, 58.2% in November 2024 (59.7%).
When are the next elections in Carlow?
Local elections are held every five years, so the next are due in 2029, in May or June. A general election must be held within five years of the last one (November 2024), sooner if the Dáil is dissolved.
What does Carlow County spend?
Carlow County Council plans to spend €83.3M on day-to-day services in 2026, the most of it on housing and building.
Sources: Local and general election results 2024: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY-SA 4.0); areas matched to towns by TownRatings from Tailte Éireann boundaries and CSO Census 2022 Small Areas (CC BY 4.0). · TDs: Houses of the Oireachtas Open Data (Oireachtas PSI Licence, CC BY 4.0). · Boundaries: Tailte Éireann (CC BY 4.0); population: CSO Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0).. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).