Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0Turnout in Cavan-Monaghan was among the highest at the 2024 general election
There is just one council for Cootehill, Cavan County Council: Ireland has only one tier of local government. The Bailieborough-Cootehill local electoral area elected 6 councillors in June 2024: Fine Gael 2, Fianna Fáil 2, Aontú 1 and Sinn Féin 1. No party holds a majority on Cavan County; Fine Gael has the most seats, 6 of 18, short of the 10 a majority needs. In the Dáil, Cavan-Monaghan has 5 members: Fianna Fáil 2, Sinn Féin 2 and Fine Gael 1.
Cootehill’s council and votes, in 2 figures
High turnout
69,904 of Cavan-Monaghan’s 109,152 registered voters turned out in November 2024, 64%: the 6th-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 60%). Dáil Éireann ↓
High turnout
12,147 of Bailieborough-Cootehill’s 21,410 registered voters turned out in June 2024, 57%: the 33rd-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49%). How Cootehill voted ↓
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 Cavan County Council
Seats on Cavan County Council as elected in June 2024, with each party’s candidates, and the other councils beside it.
- Fine Gael67 stood
- Fianna Fáil68 stood
- Sinn Féin37 stood
- Aontú13 stood
- Independent15 stood
- Independent Ireland12 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 6 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
Cootehill 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.
cavancoco.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.
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 Cootehill, from the most recent elections.
- 1The Bailieborough-Cootehill local electoral areaBailieborough-Cootehill · 6 membersSarah O'ReillyCarmel BradyVal SmithClifford KellyNiall SmithStiofán Conaty
- 2Cavan County Council18 councillors from 3 local electoral areasFine Gael 6 · Fianna Fáil 6 · Sinn Féin 3 · Aontú 1 · Independent 1 · Independent Ireland 1
- 3Dáil ÉireannCavan-Monaghan · 5 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).
6 councillors represent Bailieborough-Cootehill
Each of the local electoral areas where 5% or more of the town’s residents live: who was elected, and who else stood.
- Sarah O'Reilly
- Carmel Brady
- Val Smith
- Clifford Kelly
- Niall Smith
- Stiofán Conaty
Also stood (7): Aiden Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fáil), Paddy McDonald (Sinn Féin), Kristofer Shekleton (Independent Ireland), Garry Cosgrove (Independent), Marina McEntee (Sinn Féin), Fiona McCormack (Independent), John O'Reilly (Independent).
Cootehill’s councillors, one by one
| Councillor | Party | Area | First preferences | Result | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah O'Reilly | Aontú | Bailieborough-Cootehill | 1,772 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Carmel Brady | Fine Gael | Bailieborough-Cootehill | 1,684 | Elected at count 3, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Val Smith | Fine Gael | Bailieborough-Cootehill | 1,392 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Clifford Kelly | Fianna Fáil | Bailieborough-Cootehill | 1,235 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Niall Smith | Fianna Fáil | Bailieborough-Cootehill | 1,089 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | New |
| Stiofán Conaty | Sinn Féin | Bailieborough-Cootehill | 1,071 | Elected at count 7, on the quota | New |
4 of the 6 were sitting councillors who were re-elected; 2 weren’t on the council before the election.
Seats by party in each of Cavan County Council’s 3 local electoral areas
Every area of Cavan County Council: seats, candidates and turnout
| Area | Seats | Candidates | Electorate | Turnout | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bailieborough-Cootehill | 6 | 13 | 21,410 | 56.7% | 1,716 |
| Ballyjamesduff | 6 | 11 | 21,181 | 56.7% | 1,700 |
| Cavan-Belturbet | 6 | 12 | 19,195 | 52.8% | 1,431 |
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 Cavan County Council, women hold 5
Everyone elected to Cavan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | 6 | 2 | 5 | 27.6% |
| Fine Gael | 6 | 2 | 5 | 28.2% |
| Sinn Féin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16.6% |
| Aontú | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.1% |
| Independent Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7.4% |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7.6% |
5 of the 18 councillors are women, 28%; across all 31 councils the share is 26%. 13 sat on the council before the election and 5 are new to it.
Every member of Cavan County Council
| Councillor | Party | Area | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah O'Reilly | Aontú | Bailieborough-Cootehill | Re-elected |
| Carmel Brady | Fine Gael | Bailieborough-Cootehill | Re-elected |
| Val Smith | Fine Gael | Bailieborough-Cootehill | Re-elected |
| Clifford Kelly | Fianna Fáil | Bailieborough-Cootehill | Re-elected |
| Niall Smith | Fianna Fáil | Bailieborough-Cootehill | New |
| Stiofán Conaty | Sinn Féin | Bailieborough-Cootehill | New |
| Shane P. O'Reilly | Independent Ireland | Ballyjamesduff | Re-elected |
| Trevor Smith | Fine Gael | Ballyjamesduff | Re-elected |
| Winston Bennett | Fine Gael | Ballyjamesduff | Re-elected |
| Philip 'Gunner' Brady | Fianna Fáil | Ballyjamesduff | Re-elected |
| Tp O'Reilly | Fine Gael | Ballyjamesduff | Re-elected |
| Noel Connell | Sinn Féin | Ballyjamesduff | New |
| Aine Smith | Fianna Fáil | Cavan-Belturbet | Re-elected |
| Brendan Faye | Independent | Cavan-Belturbet | Re-elected |
| John Paul Feeley | Fianna Fáil | Cavan-Belturbet | Re-elected |
| Damien Brady | Sinn Féin | Cavan-Belturbet | New |
| Niamh Brady | Fine Gael | Cavan-Belturbet | New |
| Patricia Walsh | Fianna Fáil | Cavan-Belturbet | Re-elected |
The council: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
First preferences in Bailieborough-Cootehill, June 2024
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 1,716. Elected candidates are in bold.
First-preference share by party in Bailieborough-Cootehill
The tick is the party’s share across all of Ireland.
Turnout was 56.7%, 12,147 of 21,410 registered voters: the 33rd-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49.4%). With 12,006 valid votes and 6 seats the quota was 1,716; the count ran to 8 rounds. Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú) passed the quota on first preferences; transfers filled the other 5. Stiofán Conaty (Sinn Féin), 7th on first preferences, won a seat on transfers, overtaking Aiden Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fáil), who was 5th. Niall Smith (Fianna Fáil) took the last seat with 1,547 votes at the final count, 135 more than Aiden Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fáil), on 1,412.
Every candidate, count by count (8 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifford Kelly | Fianna Fáil | 1,235 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 1,552 |
| Val Smith | Fine Gael | 1,392 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 1,551 |
| Niall Smith | Fianna Fáil | 1,089 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 1,547 |
| Stiofán Conaty | Sinn Féin | 1,071 | Elected at count 7, on the quota | 1,716 |
| Carmel Brady | Fine Gael | 1,684 | Elected at count 3, on the quota | 1,716 |
| Sarah O'Reilly | Aontú | 1,772 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 1,716 |
| Marina McEntee | Sinn Féin | 313 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| Fiona McCormack | Independent | 202 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| John O'Reilly | Independent | 59 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| Garry Cosgrove | Independent | 605 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Kristofer Shekleton | Independent Ireland | 644 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Paddy McDonald | Sinn Féin | 763 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Aiden Fitzpatrick | Fianna Fáil | 1,177 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 1,412 |
How Cootehill voted: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Who stood, and who was elected, June 2024
Every candidate for Cavan 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.
36 candidates stood for 18 seats on Cavan County Council in June 2024, 2 for each seat. Turnout across the council was 55.5%, the 7th-highest of 31 councils. Fianna Fáil elected 6 of its 8 candidates. 10 of the 36 candidates were women (28%; 31% across the country), and 5 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.
Cootehill is in Cavan-Monaghan
5 TDs elected to the Dáil by single transferable vote on 29 November 2024, the whole constituency’s count.
Fianna Fáil
oireachtas.ie ↗Sinn Féin
oireachtas.ie ↗Fine Gael
oireachtas.ie ↗Sinn Féin
oireachtas.ie ↗Fianna Fáil · Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment
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 Cavan-Monaghan, November 2024
Each party’s share of first preferences in Cavan-Monaghan
69,904 of 109,152 registered voters turned out, 64%: the 6th-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 59.7%). The quota was 11,542: 69,246 valid votes for 5 seats, counted over 14 rounds. Nobody reached the quota on first preferences, so every seat was filled on transfers. David Maxwell (Fine Gael) was 6th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Pauline Tully (Sinn Féin), 4th on first preferences. The last seat went to Brendan Smith (Fianna Fáil) with 10,886 votes at the final count, 819 ahead of Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú), who had 10,067.
Every candidate, count by count (14 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niamh Smyth | Fianna Fáil | 5,789 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 11,058 |
| Brendan Smith | Fianna Fáil | 6,653 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 10,886 |
| Cathy Bennett | Sinn Féin | 6,904 | Elected at count 13, on the quota | 11,542 |
| Matt Carthy | Sinn Féin | 9,363 | Elected at count 12, on the quota | 11,542 |
| David Maxwell | Fine Gael | 6,199 | Elected at count 10, on the quota | 11,542 |
| Mark Moore | The National Party | 177 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Joseph Duffy | Independent | 122 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Feargal Joseph Deery | Independent | 79 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Jimmy Stavrous Mee | Independent | 27 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Shane Mulligan | Liberty Republic | 507 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| Eddie O'Gara | Green Party | 739 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Lester James Gordon | Independent | 921 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Val Martin | Irish Freedom Party | 1,258 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Emma Hendrick | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 967 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Shane P. O'Reilly | Independent Ireland | 3,078 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Carmel Brady | Fine Gael | 4,259 | Excluded at count 8 | – |
| T.p. O'Reilly | Fine Gael | 4,328 | Excluded at count 9 | – |
| Robbie Gallagher | Fianna Fáil | 6,273 | Excluded at count 10 | – |
| Pauline Tully | Sinn Féin | 6,455 | Excluded at count 12 | – |
| Sarah O'Reilly | Aontú | 5,148 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 10,067 |
Dáil Éireann: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Cavan County Council plans to spend €1,366 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 15th-lowest of the 31 councils per resident; across all of them it is €1,551. The budget is up 5% on 2025, when it was €106M.
Commercial rates on businesses pay for 18% of the budget. Its annual rate on valuation is 0.2432, the 15th-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 | €23.6M | €289 | €22.8M | 4% |
| Roads and transport | €30.4M | €372 | €27.8M | 9% |
| Water services | €11M | €135 | €11.8M | -7% |
| Planning and development | €16.2M | €198 | €13.8M | 17% |
| Environment and fire | €13.4M | €163 | €12.5M | 7% |
| Libraries, parks and amenities | €9.4M | €115 | €9M | 5% |
| Agriculture, education, health and welfare | €437K | €5 | €847K | -48% |
| Other services | €7.4M | €91 | €7.5M | -1% |
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).
Cavan County Council has 18 councillors, one for every 4,540 residents
Residents per councillor on each of the 31 councils.
Cavan County Council has 18 councillors for 81,704 residents: about 4,540 each, the 12th-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 Cootehill 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.
cavancoco.ie ↗Anyone may make a submission within five weeks of an application, for a fee of €20.
cavancoco.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 Cootehill is run
Which council runs Cootehill?
The one council for Cootehill is Cavan County Council: Ireland has a single tier of local government.
How many councillors does Cootehill have?
The Bailieborough-Cootehill local electoral area elects 6 councillors: Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú), Carmel Brady (Fine Gael), Val Smith (Fine Gael), Clifford Kelly (Fianna Fáil), Niall Smith (Fianna Fáil), Stiofán Conaty (Sinn Féin).
Which party has the most seats on Cavan County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Fine Gael 6 · Fianna Fáil 6 · Sinn Féin 3 · Aontú 1 · Independent 1 · Independent Ireland 1 of 18 seats; a majority needs 10.
Who are Cootehill’s TDs?
Cavan-Monaghan elects 5 TDs: Brendan Smith (Fianna Fáil), Cathy Bennett (Sinn Féin), David Maxwell (Fine Gael), Matt Carthy (Sinn Féin) and Niamh Smyth (Fianna Fáil).
What was the turnout in Cootehill?
In Bailieborough-Cootehill, 56.7% of registered voters turned out in June 2024 (Ireland: 49.4%). In Cavan-Monaghan, 64% in November 2024 (59.7%).
When are the next elections in Cootehill?
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 Cavan County spend?
Cavan County Council plans to spend €111.8M on day-to-day services in 2026, the most of it on roads and transport.
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).