Ballinasloe had one of the least contested ballots at the 2024 local elections, 8 candidates for 6 seats
Galway County Council is the council for Williamstown, and the only one: Ireland has a single tier of local government. The Ballinasloe local electoral area elected 6 councillors in June 2024: Fine Gael 2, Fianna Fáil 1, Independent Ireland 1, Independent 1 and Sinn Féin 1. No party holds a majority on Galway County; Fine Gael has the most seats, 13 of 39, short of the 20 a majority needs. In the Dáil, Roscommon-Galway has 3 members: Sinn Féin 1, Fianna Fáil 1 and Independent Ireland 1.
Williamstown’s council and votes, in 3 figures
A short ballot
8 candidates stood for 6 seats in Ballinasloe in June 2024, the 2nd-least contested ballot of 166 by candidates per seat. Local elections ↓
A lean budget for its size
Galway County Council’s 2026 revenue budget comes to €1,045 for each resident, against €1,551 across all 31 councils, leaving out the HAP programme. Council money ↓
High turnout
41,332 of Roscommon-Galway’s 62,727 registered voters turned out in November 2024, 66%: the 2nd-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 60%). Dáil Éireann ↓
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 Galway County Council
Seats on Galway County Council as elected in June 2024, with each party’s candidates, and the other councils beside it.
- Fine Gael1314 stood
- Fianna Fáil1117 stood
- Independent715 stood
- Independent Ireland67 stood
- Sinn Féin29 stood
As elected on 7 June 2024.
A party needs 20 of the 39 seats to outvote the rest. None has that: Fine Gael is largest with 13. None of the 31 councils has a single-party majority. Fianna Fáil is second with 11 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
Williamstown 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.
galway.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 Williamstown, from the most recent elections.
- 1The Ballinasloe local electoral areaBallinasloe · 6 membersMichael ConnollyDeclan GeraghtyEvelyn ParsonsAlan HarneyDermot ConnollyPeter Keaveney
- 2Galway County Council39 councillors from 7 local electoral areasFine Gael 13 · Fianna Fáil 11 · Independent 7 · Independent Ireland 6 · Sinn Féin 2
- 3Dáil ÉireannRoscommon-Galway · 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).
6 councillors represent Ballinasloe
Each of the local electoral areas where 5% or more of the town’s residents live: who was elected, and who else stood.
- Michael Connolly
- Declan Geraghty
- Evelyn Parsons
- Alan Harney
- Dermot Connolly
- Peter Keaveney
Also stood (2): Andrew Mannion (People Before Profit–Solidarity), Regan Maher (Sinn Féin).
Williamstown’s councillors, one by one
| Councillor | Party | Area | First preferences | Result | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Connolly | Fianna Fáil | Ballinasloe | 2,410 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Declan Geraghty | Independent Ireland | Ballinasloe | 2,262 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Evelyn Parsons | Independent | Ballinasloe | 2,055 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | New |
| Alan Harney | Fine Gael | Ballinasloe | 1,784 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | New |
| Dermot Connolly | Sinn Féin | Ballinasloe | 1,768 | Elected at count 2, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Peter Keaveney | Fine Gael | Ballinasloe | 1,561 | Elected at count 2, on the quota | Re-elected |
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 Galway County Council’s 7 local electoral areas
Every area of Galway County Council: seats, candidates and turnout
| Area | Seats | Candidates | Electorate | Turnout | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinasloe | 6 | 8 | 24,678 | 50.9% | 1,777 |
| Athenry-Oranmore | 7 | 13 | 26,074 | 53.2% | 1,718 |
| Conamara North | 4 | 8 | 19,718 | 40.8% | 1,591 |
| Conamara South | 5 | 16 | 14,650 | 68.1% | 1,639 |
| Gort-Kinvara | 5 | 8 | 19,135 | 52.5% | 1,658 |
| Loughrea | 5 | 9 | 19,964 | 52.4% | 1,728 |
| Tuam | 7 | 17 | 27,234 | 57% | 1,920 |
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 39 councillors on Galway County Council, women hold 6
Everyone elected to Galway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael | 13 | 1 | 9 | 29.4% |
| Fianna Fáil | 11 | 2 | 9 | 27.3% |
| Independent | 7 | 3 | 5 | 16.8% |
| Independent Ireland | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12% |
| Sinn Féin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7.9% |
6 of the 39 councillors are women, 15%; across all 31 councils the share is 26%. 27 sat on the council before the election and 12 are new to it.
Every member of Galway County Council
| Councillor | Party | Area | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Dolan | Fianna Fáil | Athenry-Oranmore | Re-elected |
| Tomas Grealish | Independent | Athenry-Oranmore | New |
| David Collins | Fine Gael | Athenry-Oranmore | Re-elected |
| James Charity | Independent | Athenry-Oranmore | Re-elected |
| Peter Feeney | Fine Gael | Athenry-Oranmore | New |
| Louis O Hara | Sinn Féin | Athenry-Oranmore | New |
| Cillian Keane | Fianna Fáil | Athenry-Oranmore | New |
| Michael Connolly | Fianna Fáil | Ballinasloe | Re-elected |
| Declan Geraghty | Independent Ireland | Ballinasloe | Re-elected |
| Evelyn Parsons | Independent | Ballinasloe | New |
| Alan Harney | Fine Gael | Ballinasloe | New |
| Dermot Connolly | Sinn Féin | Ballinasloe | Re-elected |
| Peter Keaveney | Fine Gael | Ballinasloe | Re-elected |
| Thomas Welby | Independent | Conamara North | Re-elected |
| Seamus Walsh | Independent Ireland | Conamara North | New |
| Gerry King | Fianna Fáil | Conamara North | Re-elected |
| Eileen Mannion | Fine Gael | Conamara North | Re-elected |
| Noel Thomas | Independent Ireland | Conamara South | Re-elected |
| Padraig Mac An Iomaire | Fine Gael | Conamara South | Re-elected |
| Tomas Curraoín Ó | Independent | Conamara South | Re-elected |
| Máirtin Lee | Fianna Fáil | Conamara South | New |
| Michael Leainde | Independent Ireland | Conamara South | New |
| Pj Murphy | Fine Gael | Gort-Kinvara | Re-elected |
| Martina Kinane | Fianna Fáil | Gort-Kinvara | Re-elected |
| Geraldine Donohue | Independent | Gort-Kinvara | Re-elected |
| Paul Killilea | Fine Gael | Gort-Kinvara | New |
| Gerry Finnerty | Fianna Fáil | Gort-Kinvara | Re-elected |
| Shane Curley | Fianna Fáil | Loughrea | Re-elected |
| Jimmy McClearn | Fine Gael | Loughrea | Re-elected |
| Declan Kelly | Independent Ireland | Loughrea | Re-elected |
| Michael Maher | Fine Gael | Loughrea | Re-elected |
| Ivan Canning | Fianna Fáil | Loughrea | Re-elected |
| Andrew Reddington | Fine Gael | Tuam | Re-elected |
| Pete Roche | Fine Gael | Tuam | Re-elected |
| Shaun Cunniffe | Independent Ireland | Tuam | New |
| Donagh Mark Killilea | Fianna Fáil | Tuam | Re-elected |
| Mary Hoade | Fianna Fáil | Tuam | Re-elected |
| Ollie Turner | Fine Gael | Tuam | New |
| Karey McHugh Farag | Independent | Tuam | Re-elected |
The council: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
First preferences in Ballinasloe, June 2024
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 1,777. Elected candidates are in bold.
Each party’s share of first preferences in Ballinasloe
The tick is the party’s share across all of Ireland.
12,567 of 24,678 registered voters turned out, 50.9%: the 82nd-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49.4%). With 12,433 valid votes and 6 seats the quota was 1,777; the count ran to 2 rounds. Michael Connolly (Fianna Fáil), Declan Geraghty (Independent Ireland), Evelyn Parsons (Independent) and Alan Harney (Fine Gael) reached the quota on first preferences alone, and transfers decided the other 2.
Every candidate, count by count (2 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Keaveney | Fine Gael | 1,561 | Elected at count 2, on the quota | 1,953 |
| Dermot Connolly | Sinn Féin | 1,768 | Elected at count 2, on the quota | 1,925 |
| Declan Geraghty | Independent Ireland | 2,262 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 2,262 |
| Evelyn Parsons | Independent | 2,055 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 2,055 |
| Alan Harney | Fine Gael | 1,784 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 1,784 |
| Michael Connolly | Fianna Fáil | 2,410 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 1,777 |
| Andrew Mannion | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 364 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 397 |
| Regan Maher | Sinn Féin | 229 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 280 |
How Williamstown voted: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Who stood, and who was elected, June 2024
Every candidate for Galway 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.
79 candidates stood for 39 seats on Galway County Council in June 2024, 2 for each seat. Turnout across the council was 53.1%, the 13th-highest of 31 councils. Fine Gael elected 13 of its 14 candidates. 17 of the 79 candidates were women (22%; 31% across the country), and 15 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.
Williamstown is in Roscommon-Galway
3 TDs elected to the Dáil by single transferable vote on 29 November 2024, the whole constituency’s count.
Sinn Féin
oireachtas.ie ↗Fianna Fáil
oireachtas.ie ↗Independent Ireland
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 Roscommon-Galway, November 2024
Each party’s share of first preferences in Roscommon-Galway
41,332 of 62,727 registered voters turned out, 65.9%: the 2nd-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 59.7%). The quota was 10,283: 41,128 valid votes for 3 seats, counted over 7 rounds. Michael Fitzmaurice (Independent Ireland) passed the quota on first preferences; transfers filled the other 2. Martin Daly (Fianna Fáil) took the last seat with 10,234 votes at the final count, 2,641 more than Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael), on 7,593.
Every candidate, count by count (7 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Daly | Fianna Fáil | 7,283 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 10,234 |
| Claire Kerrane | Sinn Féin | 8,039 | Elected at count 7, on the quota | 11,087 |
| Michael Fitzmaurice | Independent Ireland | 12,002 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 10,283 |
| Vincent Beirne | Independent | 202 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| Martina O'Connor | Green Party | 441 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Alan Sweeney | The Irish People | 224 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Andrew Mannion | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 814 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Cormac Ó Corcoráin | Aontú | 789 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Dympna Daly-Finn | Fine Gael | 2,164 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Eugene Murphy | Independent | 4,327 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Aisling Dolan | Fine Gael | 4,843 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 7,593 |
Dáil Éireann: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
€1,045 per resident: Galway 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 1st-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 €193.6M.
Commercial rates on businesses pay for 21% of the budget. Its annual rate on valuation is 0.2400, the 1st-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 | €33.4M | €173 | €31.8M | 5% |
| Roads and transport | €65.5M | €339 | €61.8M | 6% |
| Water services | €15.2M | €79 | €17M | -10% |
| Planning and development | €23.5M | €121 | €20.7M | 13% |
| Environment and fire | €31.3M | €162 | €28.1M | 12% |
| Libraries, parks and amenities | €13.9M | €72 | €13.3M | 5% |
| Agriculture, education, health and welfare | €2.9M | €15 | €2.8M | 1% |
| Other services | €17.6M | €91 | €18.1M | -3% |
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).
Galway County Council has 39 councillors, one for every 4,960 residents
Residents per councillor on each of the 31 councils.
Galway County Council has 39 councillors for 193,323 residents: about 4,960 each, the 10th-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 Williamstown 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.
galway.ie ↗Anyone may make a submission within five weeks of an application, for a fee of €20.
galway.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 Williamstown is run
Which council runs Williamstown?
Williamstown is run by Galway County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government.
How many councillors does Williamstown have?
The Ballinasloe local electoral area elects 6 councillors: Michael Connolly (Fianna Fáil), Declan Geraghty (Independent Ireland), Evelyn Parsons (Independent), Alan Harney (Fine Gael), Dermot Connolly (Sinn Féin), Peter Keaveney (Fine Gael).
Which party has the most seats on Galway County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Fine Gael 13 · Fianna Fáil 11 · Independent 7 · Independent Ireland 6 · Sinn Féin 2 of 39 seats; a majority needs 20.
Who are Williamstown’s TDs?
Roscommon-Galway elects 3 TDs: Claire Kerrane (Sinn Féin), Martin Daly (Fianna Fáil) and Michael Fitzmaurice (Independent Ireland).
What was the turnout in Williamstown?
In Ballinasloe, 50.9% of registered voters turned out in June 2024 (Ireland: 49.4%). In Roscommon-Galway, 65.9% in November 2024 (59.7%).
When are the next elections in Williamstown?
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 Galway County spend?
Galway County Council plans to spend €203.3M 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).