Photo: The original uploader was Suckindiesel at English Wikipedia . · CC BY 2.5South Dublin County Council is one of the most divided councils: the largest party has 10 of 40 seats
South Dublin County Council is the council for Rathfarnham, and the only one: Ireland has a single tier of local government. The Rathfarnham-Templeogue local electoral area elected 7 councillors in June 2024: Labour Party 2, Fine Gael 2, Independent 1, Fianna Fáil 1 and Social Democrats 1. No party holds a majority on South Dublin County; Independent has the most seats, 10 of 40, short of the 21 a majority needs. In the Dáil, Dublin South-West has 5 members: Labour Party 1, Fine Gael 1, Fianna Fáil 1, Independent 1 and Sinn Féin 1.
Rathfarnham’s council and votes, in 2 figures
No majority on South Dublin County
Independent won the most seats on South Dublin County Council in June 2024, 10 of 40, short of the 21 a majority needs; it ran 25 candidates. No party holds a majority on any of the 31 councils, so each council’s business is carried by votes across parties. Who’s in charge ↓
Low turnout
19,438 of Rathfarnham-Templeogue’s 41,440 registered voters turned out in June 2024, 47%: the 52nd-lowest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49%). How Rathfarnham 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 South Dublin County Council
Seats on South Dublin County Council as elected in June 2024, with each party’s candidates, and the other councils beside it.
- Independent1025 stood
- Fine Gael913 stood
- Fianna Fáil511 stood
- Sinn Féin521 stood
- People Before Profit–Solidarity49 stood
- Labour Party35 stood
- Social Democrats25 stood
- Independent Ireland11 stood
- Irish Freedom Party11 stood
As elected on 7 June 2024.
A party needs 21 of the 40 seats to outvote the rest. None has that: Independent is largest with 10. None of the 31 councils has a single-party majority. Fine Gael is second with 9 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
Rathfarnham 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.
sdcc.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 Rathfarnham, from the most recent elections.
- 1The Rathfarnham-Templeogue local electoral areaRathfarnham-Templeogue · 7 membersPamela KearnsRonan McMahonCiarán AhernYvonne CollinsLynn McCraveDavid McManusJustin Sinnott
- 2South Dublin County Council40 councillors from 7 local electoral areasIndependent 10 · Fine Gael 9 · Fianna Fáil 5 · Sinn Féin 5 · People Before Profit–Solidarity 4 · Labour Party 3 · Social Democrats 2 · Independent Ireland 1 · Irish Freedom Party 1
- 3Dáil ÉireannDublin South-West · 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).
7 councillors represent Rathfarnham-Templeogue
Each of the local electoral areas where 5% or more of the town’s residents live: who was elected, and who else stood.
- Pamela Kearns
- Ronan McMahon
- Ciarán Ahern
- Yvonne Collins
- Lynn McCrave
- David McManus
- Justin Sinnott
Also stood (9): Lilian Gueret (Fianna Fáil), Mark Lynch (Green Party), Conor McMahon (Fine Gael), Anne Dillion (Sinn Féin), Conor Kelly (People Before Profit–Solidarity), YAn Mac Oireachtaigh (The National Party), Enda Fanning (Sinn Féin), Conor Rafferty (The Irish People), Colm O’Keeffe (Independent).
Rathfarnham’s councillors, one by one
| Councillor | Party | Area | First preferences | Result | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pamela Kearns | Labour Party | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 3,341 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Ronan McMahon | Independent | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 2,873 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Ciarán Ahern | Labour Party | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 2,023 | Elected at count 9, on the quota | New |
| Yvonne Collins | Fianna Fáil | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 1,691 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Lynn McCrave | Fine Gael | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 1,620 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| David McManus | Fine Gael | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 1,292 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Justin Sinnott | Social Democrats | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 1,056 | Elected at count 11, on the quota | Re-elected |
6 of the 7 were sitting councillors who were re-elected; 1 weren’t on the council before the election.
Seats by party in each of South Dublin County Council’s 7 local electoral areas
Every area of South Dublin County Council: seats, candidates and turnout
| Area | Seats | Candidates | Electorate | Turnout | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathfarnham-Templeogue | 7 | 16 | 41,440 | 46.9% | 2,406 |
| Clondalkin | 7 | 20 | 32,221 | 40.6% | 1,601 |
| Firhouse-Bohernabreena | 5 | 11 | 27,225 | 40.8% | 1,834 |
| Lucan | 5 | 15 | 25,920 | 45% | 1,926 |
| Palmerstown-Fonthill | 5 | 17 | 26,182 | 37.8% | 1,616 |
| Tallaght-Central | 6 | 18 | 30,256 | 42.6% | 1,806 |
| Tallaght-South | 5 | 14 | 24,505 | 31.5% | 1,257 |
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 40 councillors on South Dublin County Council, women hold 19
Everyone elected to South Dublin County Council across its 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | 10 | 1 | 10 | 25.7% |
| Fine Gael | 9 | 5 | 6 | 17.6% |
| Fianna Fáil | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13.6% |
| Sinn Féin | 5 | 4 | 2 | 12.9% |
| People Before Profit–Solidarity | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6.7% |
| Labour Party | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7.8% |
| Social Democrats | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4.3% |
| Irish Freedom Party | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1% |
| Independent Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.2% |
19 of the 40 councillors are women, 48%; across all 31 councils the share is 26%. 28 sat on the council before the election and 12 are new to it.
Every member of South Dublin County Council
| Councillor | Party | Area | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Timmons | Independent | Clondalkin | Re-elected |
| Darragh Adelaide | People Before Profit–Solidarity | Clondalkin | New |
| Trevor Gilligan | Fianna Fáil | Clondalkin | Re-elected |
| Shirley O'Hara | Fine Gael | Clondalkin | Re-elected |
| Linda Decourcy | Independent Ireland | Clondalkin | New |
| William Carey | Sinn Féin | Clondalkin | Re-elected |
| Eoin Ó Broin | Social Democrats | Clondalkin | Re-elected |
| Alan Edge | Independent | Firhouse-Bohernabreena | Re-elected |
| Brian Lawlor | Fine Gael | Firhouse-Bohernabreena | Re-elected |
| Emma Murphy | Fianna Fáil | Firhouse-Bohernabreena | Re-elected |
| Sarah Barnes | Fine Gael | Firhouse-Bohernabreena | New |
| Róisín Mannion | Sinn Féin | Firhouse-Bohernabreena | New |
| Paul Nicholas Gogarty | Independent | Lucan | Re-elected |
| Vicki Casserly | Fine Gael | Lucan | Re-elected |
| Liona O'Toole | Independent | Lucan | Re-elected |
| Caroline Brady | Fine Gael | Lucan | New |
| Joanna Tuffy | Labour Party | Lucan | Re-elected |
| Shane Moynihan | Fianna Fáil | Palmerstown-Fonthill | Re-elected |
| Alan Hayes | Independent | Palmerstown-Fonthill | Re-elected |
| Glen Moore | Irish Freedom Party | Palmerstown-Fonthill | New |
| Niamh Fennel | Sinn Féin | Palmerstown-Fonthill | New |
| Madeleine Johansson | People Before Profit–Solidarity | Palmerstown-Fonthill | Re-elected |
| Pamela Kearns | Labour Party | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | Re-elected |
| Ronan McMahon | Independent | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | Re-elected |
| Ciarán Ahern | Labour Party | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | New |
| Yvonne Collins | Fianna Fáil | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | Re-elected |
| Lynn McCrave | Fine Gael | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | Re-elected |
| David McManus | Fine Gael | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | Re-elected |
| Justin Sinnott | Social Democrats | Rathfarnham-Templeogue | Re-elected |
| Mick Duff | Independent | Tallaght-Central | Re-elected |
| Teresa Costello | Fianna Fáil | Tallaght-Central | Re-elected |
| Britto Pereppadan | Fine Gael | Tallaght-Central | New |
| Patrick Pearse Holohan | Independent | Tallaght-Central | Re-elected |
| Jess Spear | People Before Profit–Solidarity | Tallaght-Central | New |
| Niamh Whelan | Sinn Féin | Tallaght-Central | New |
| Patrick Pearse Holohan | Independent | Tallaght-South | Re-elected |
| Baby Pereppadan | Fine Gael | Tallaght-South | Re-elected |
| Dermot Richardson | Independent | Tallaght-South | Re-elected |
| Kay Keane | People Before Profit–Solidarity | Tallaght-South | New |
| Louise Dunne | Sinn Féin | Tallaght-South | Re-elected |
The council: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
First preferences in Rathfarnham-Templeogue, June 2024
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 2,406. Elected candidates are in bold.
First-preference share by party in Rathfarnham-Templeogue
The tick is the party’s share across all of Ireland.
19,438 of 41,440 registered voters turned out, 46.9%: the 115th-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49.4%). The quota was 2,406: 19,241 valid votes for 7 seats, counted over 11 rounds. Pamela Kearns (Labour Party) and Ronan McMahon (Independent) passed the quota on first preferences; transfers filled the other 5. Justin Sinnott (Social Democrats) was 8th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Lilian Gueret (Fianna Fáil), 7th on first preferences. David McManus (Fine Gael) took the last seat with 1,882 votes at the final count, 285 more than Lilian Gueret (Fianna Fáil), on 1,597.
Every candidate, count by count (11 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn McCrave | Fine Gael | 1,620 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 2,394 |
| Yvonne Collins | Fianna Fáil | 1,691 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 2,146 |
| David McManus | Fine Gael | 1,292 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 1,882 |
| Justin Sinnott | Social Democrats | 1,056 | Elected at count 11, on the quota | 2,426 |
| Ciarán Ahern | Labour Party | 2,023 | Elected at count 9, on the quota | 2,437 |
| Pamela Kearns | Labour Party | 3,341 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 2,406 |
| Ronan McMahon | Independent | 2,873 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 2,406 |
| Colm O’Keeffe | Independent | 73 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Conor Rafferty | The Irish People | 277 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Enda Fanning | Sinn Féin | 337 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| YAn Mac Oireachtaigh | The National Party | 358 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Conor Kelly | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 572 | Excluded at count 8 | – |
| Conor McMahon | Fine Gael | 839 | Excluded at count 9 | – |
| Mark Lynch | Green Party | 1,036 | Excluded at count 10 | – |
| Anne Dillion | Sinn Féin | 780 | Excluded at count 11 | – |
| Lilian Gueret | Fianna Fáil | 1,073 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 1,597 |
How Rathfarnham voted: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Who stood, and who was elected, June 2024
Every candidate for South Dublin 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.
111 candidates stood for 40 seats on South Dublin County Council in June 2024, 2.8 for each seat. Turnout across the council was 41.3%, the 30th-highest of 31 councils. Independent elected 10 of its 25 candidates. 43 of the 111 candidates were women (39%; 31% across the country), and 25 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.
Rathfarnham is in Dublin South-West
5 TDs elected to the Dáil by single transferable vote on 29 November 2024, the whole constituency’s count.
Labour Party
oireachtas.ie ↗Fine Gael · Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
oireachtas.ie ↗Fianna Fáil
oireachtas.ie ↗People Before Profit-Solidarity
oireachtas.ie ↗Sinn Féin
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 Dublin South-West, November 2024
Each party’s share of first preferences in Dublin South-West
Turnout was 58.7%, 67,381 of 114,832 registered voters: the 26th-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 59.7%). With 66,823 valid votes and 5 seats the quota was 11,138; the count ran to 11 rounds. Nobody reached the quota on first preferences, so every seat was filled on transfers. Paul Murphy (People Before Profit–Solidarity) took the last seat with 9,928 votes at the final count, 1,780 more than Alan Edge (Independent), on 8,148.
Every candidate, count by count (11 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Murphy | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 5,081 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 9,928 |
| Ciaran Ahern | Labour Party | 5,788 | Elected at count 11, on the quota | 11,349 |
| John Lahart | Fianna Fáil | 8,263 | Elected at count 10, on the quota | 11,138 |
| Colm Brophy | Fine Gael | 8,498 | Elected at count 7, on the quota | 11,138 |
| Seán Crowe | Sinn Féin | 9,869 | Elected at count 6, on the quota | 11,226 |
| Yan Mac Oireachtaigh | The National Party | 1,450 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Niall Hade | Independent | 129 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Colm O'Keeffe | Independent | 117 | Excluded at count 2 | – |
| Francis Noel Duffy | Green Party | 1,931 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| Patrick Pearse Holohan | Independent | 2,457 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Saoirse Ni Chónaráin | Aontú | 2,599 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Ross O'Mullane | Social Democrats | 3,928 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Sarah Barnes | Fine Gael | 4,286 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Niamh Whelan | Sinn Féin | 4,031 | Excluded at count 9 | – |
| Teresa Costello | Fianna Fáil | 4,747 | Excluded at count 10 | – |
| Alan Edge | Independent | 3,649 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 8,148 |
Dáil Éireann: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
€1,401 per resident: South Dublin County Council’s day-to-day budget for 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 16th-highest of the 31 councils per resident; across all of them it is €1,551. The budget is up 8% on 2025, when it was €391.9M.
Commercial rates on businesses pay for 37% of the budget. Its annual rate on valuation is 0.2800, the 16th-highest of the 31 councils that rate on revalued property. The Local Property Tax brings in another 5%.
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 | €192.2M | €638 | €174.3M | 10% |
| Roads and transport | €46M | €153 | €41.9M | 10% |
| Water services | €12.3M | €41 | €16.2M | -24% |
| Planning and development | €37.1M | €123 | €32.9M | 13% |
| Environment and fire | €52.3M | €174 | €50.9M | 3% |
| Libraries, parks and amenities | €68.7M | €228 | €62.2M | 11% |
| Agriculture, education, health and welfare | €1.5M | €5 | €1.8M | -12% |
| Other services | €12.4M | €41 | €11.7M | 6% |
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 South Dublin County Council’s 40 councillors speaks for about 7,530 residents
Residents per councillor on each of the 31 councils.
South Dublin County Council has 40 councillors for 301,075 residents: about 7,530 each, the 3rd-highest 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 Rathfarnham 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.
sdcc.ie ↗Anyone may make a submission within five weeks of an application, for a fee of €20.
sdcc.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 Rathfarnham is run
Which council runs Rathfarnham?
The one council for Rathfarnham is South Dublin County Council: Ireland has a single tier of local government.
How many councillors does Rathfarnham have?
The Rathfarnham-Templeogue local electoral area elects 7 councillors: Pamela Kearns (Labour Party), Ronan McMahon (Independent), Ciarán Ahern (Labour Party), Yvonne Collins (Fianna Fáil), Lynn McCrave (Fine Gael), David McManus (Fine Gael), Justin Sinnott (Social Democrats).
Which party has the most seats on South Dublin County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Independent 10 · Fine Gael 9 · Fianna Fáil 5 · Sinn Féin 5 · People Before Profit–Solidarity 4 · Labour Party 3 · Social Democrats 2 · Independent Ireland 1 · Irish Freedom Party 1 of 40 seats; a majority needs 21.
Who are Rathfarnham’s TDs?
Dublin South-West elects 5 TDs: Ciarán Ahern (Labour Party), Colm Brophy (Fine Gael), John Lahart (Fianna Fáil), Paul Murphy (People Before Profit-Solidarity) and Seán Crowe (Sinn Féin).
What was the turnout in Rathfarnham?
In Rathfarnham-Templeogue, 46.9% of registered voters turned out in June 2024 (Ireland: 49.4%). In Dublin South-West, 58.7% in November 2024 (59.7%).
When are the next elections in Rathfarnham?
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 South Dublin County spend?
South Dublin County Council plans to spend €422.6M 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).