Photo: JohnArmagh · Public domainTurnout in Newcastle West was among the highest at the 2024 local elections
The voters of Limerick City and County Council also elect its mayor directly: John Moran (Independent), since 7 June 2024. One council serves Abbeyfeale: Limerick City and County Council. Ireland has no town or district councils. The Newcastle West local electoral area elected 6 councillors in June 2024: Fine Gael 3, Fianna Fáil 2 and Independent 1. No party holds a majority on Limerick City and County; Fine Gael has the most seats, 13 of 40, short of the 21 a majority needs. In the Dáil, Limerick County has 3 members: Fianna Fáil 1, Fine Gael 1 and Independent Ireland 1.
Abbeyfeale’s council and votes, in 3 figures
High turnout
13,595 of Newcastle West’s 23,720 registered voters turned out in June 2024, 57%: the 27th-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49%). How Abbeyfeale voted ↓
A directly elected mayor
Limerick City and County Council is the only council in Ireland whose voters elect its mayor: John Moran was elected on 7 June 2024. Every other council’s chair is chosen by the councillors each year. Who represents it ↓
High turnout
45,868 of Limerick County’s 75,018 registered voters turned out in November 2024, 61%: the 14th-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 Limerick City and County Council
Seats on Limerick City and County Council as elected in June 2024, with each party’s candidates, and the other councils beside it.
- Fine Gael1318 stood
- Fianna Fáil1017 stood
- Independent522 stood
- Sinn Féin311 stood
- Labour Party33 stood
- Independent Ireland27 stood
- Social Democrats23 stood
- Aontú13 stood
- Green Party14 stood
As elected on 7 June 2024.
A party needs 21 of the 40 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 10 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
Abbeyfeale 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.
limerick.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 Abbeyfeale, from the most recent elections.
- 1The Newcastle West local electoral areaNewcastle West · 6 membersJerome ScanlanLiam GalvinMichael CollinsJohn SheahanTom RuddleFrancis Foley
- 2Limerick City and County Council40 councillors from 6 local electoral areasFine Gael 13 · Fianna Fáil 10 · Independent 5 · Sinn Féin 3 · Labour Party 3 · Independent Ireland 2 · Social Democrats 2 · Aontú 1 · Green Party 1
- 3Mayor of Limerick City and CountyLimerick City and County · elected June 2024John Moran
- 4Dáil ÉireannLimerick County · 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 Newcastle West
Each of the local electoral areas where 5% or more of the town’s residents live: who was elected, and who else stood.
- Jerome Scanlan
- Liam Galvin
- Michael Collins
- John Sheahan
- Tom Ruddle
- Francis Foley
Also stood (6): Padraig Collins (Sinn Féin), James Barrett (Independent Ireland), Gerard Madigan (Fianna Fáil), Pat King (Independent Ireland), Kathleen Lucy Barrett (Fianna Fáil), Uunk Gerben (Party for Animal Welfare).
Abbeyfeale’s councillors, one by one
| Councillor | Party | Area | First preferences | Result | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Scanlan | Independent | Newcastle West | 2,301 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Liam Galvin | Fine Gael | Newcastle West | 2,257 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| Michael Collins | Fianna Fáil | Newcastle West | 2,012 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | Re-elected |
| John Sheahan | Fine Gael | Newcastle West | 1,294 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Tom Ruddle | Fine Gael | Newcastle West | 1,201 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
| Francis Foley | Fianna Fáil | Newcastle West | 1,108 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | Re-elected |
6 of the 6 were sitting councillors who were re-elected; 0 weren’t on the council before the election.
Seats by party in each of Limerick City and County Council’s 6 local electoral areas
Every area of Limerick City and County Council: seats, candidates and turnout
| Area | Seats | Candidates | Electorate | Turnout | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle West | 6 | 12 | 23,720 | 57.3% | 1,925 |
| Adare-Rathkeale | 6 | 11 | 25,573 | 52% | 1,879 |
| Cappamore-Kilmallock | 7 | 14 | 28,184 | 58.8% | 2,053 |
| Limerick City East | 7 | 16 | 27,360 | 47.8% | 1,608 |
| Limerick City North | 7 | 19 | 27,239 | 47.4% | 1,594 |
| Limerick City West | 7 | 18 | 25,596 | 48.3% | 1,520 |
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.
Women hold 12 of the 40 seats on Limerick City and County Council
Everyone elected to Limerick City and County Council across its 6 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 | 3 | 9 | 29.9% |
| Fianna Fáil | 10 | 2 | 9 | 23.3% |
| Independent | 5 | 2 | 3 | 18.6% |
| Labour Party | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5.4% |
| Sinn Féin | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8.1% |
| Independent Ireland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6.4% |
| Social Democrats | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.2% |
| Aontú | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.8% |
| Green Party | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.6% |
12 of the 40 councillors are women, 30%; across all 31 councils the share is 26%. 29 sat on the council before the election and 11 are new to it.
Every member of Limerick City and County Council
| Councillor | Party | Area | Returning or new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Keary | Fine Gael | Adare-Rathkeale | Re-elected |
| Adam Teskey | Fine Gael | Adare-Rathkeale | Re-elected |
| Bridie Collins | Fianna Fáil | Adare-Rathkeale | Re-elected |
| John O'Donoghue | Independent Ireland | Adare-Rathkeale | Re-elected |
| Tommy Hartigan | Independent Ireland | Adare-Rathkeale | New |
| Ger Ward | Fianna Fáil | Adare-Rathkeale | New |
| Brigid Teefy | Independent | Cappamore-Kilmallock | New |
| Martin Ryan | Fianna Fáil | Cappamore-Kilmallock | Re-elected |
| Eddie Ryan | Independent | Cappamore-Kilmallock | Re-elected |
| Noreen Stokes | Fine Gael | Cappamore-Kilmallock | New |
| Gregory Conway | Fine Gael | Cappamore-Kilmallock | New |
| P.j. Carey | Sinn Féin | Cappamore-Kilmallock | Re-elected |
| Tommy O'Sullivan | Fine Gael | Cappamore-Kilmallock | New |
| Catherine Slattery | Fianna Fáil | Limerick City East | Re-elected |
| Peter Doyle | Fine Gael | Limerick City East | New |
| Joe Pond | Fianna Fáil | Limerick City East | Re-elected |
| Elena Secas | Labour Party | Limerick City East | Re-elected |
| Sarah Kiely | Fine Gael | Limerick City East | Re-elected |
| Sean Hartigan | Green Party | Limerick City East | Re-elected |
| Ursula Gavin | Sinn Féin | Limerick City East | New |
| Frankie Daly | Independent | Limerick City North | Re-elected |
| Conor Sheehan | Labour Party | Limerick City North | Re-elected |
| Kieran O'Hanlon | Fianna Fáil | Limerick City North | Re-elected |
| Olivia O' Sullivan | Fine Gael | Limerick City North | Re-elected |
| Sarah Beasley | Aontú | Limerick City North | New |
| Sharon Benson | Sinn Féin | Limerick City North | Re-elected |
| Shane Hickey - O'Mara | Social Democrats | Limerick City North | New |
| Daniel Butler | Fine Gael | Limerick City West | Re-elected |
| Dan McSweeney | Fine Gael | Limerick City West | Re-elected |
| Joe Leddin | Labour Party | Limerick City West | Re-elected |
| Abul Kalam Azad Talukder | Fianna Fáil | Limerick City West | Re-elected |
| Fergus Kilcoyne | Fianna Fáil | Limerick City West | Re-elected |
| Maria Donoghue | Independent | Limerick City West | New |
| Elisa O'Donovan | Social Democrats | Limerick City West | Re-elected |
| Jerome Scanlan | Independent | Newcastle West | Re-elected |
| Liam Galvin | Fine Gael | Newcastle West | Re-elected |
| Michael Collins | Fianna Fáil | Newcastle West | Re-elected |
| John Sheahan | Fine Gael | Newcastle West | Re-elected |
| Tom Ruddle | Fine Gael | Newcastle West | Re-elected |
| Francis Foley | Fianna Fáil | Newcastle West | Re-elected |
The council: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
First preferences in Newcastle West, June 2024
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 1,925. Elected candidates are in bold.
Each party’s share of first preferences in Newcastle West
The tick is the party’s share across all of Ireland.
Turnout was 57.3%, 13,595 of 23,720 registered voters: the 27th-highest of 166 local electoral areas (all of them: 49.4%). With 13,469 valid votes and 6 seats the quota was 1,925; the count ran to 8 rounds. Jerome Scanlan (Independent), Liam Galvin (Fine Gael) and Michael Collins (Fianna Fáil) passed the quota on first preferences; transfers filled the other 3. John Sheahan (Fine Gael) took the last seat with 1,751 votes at the final count, 296 more than Padraig Collins (Sinn Féin), on 1,455.
Every candidate, count by count (8 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Ruddle | Fine Gael | 1,201 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 1,836 |
| Francis Foley | Fianna Fáil | 1,108 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 1,756 |
| John Sheahan | Fine Gael | 1,294 | Elected at the last count, below the quota | 1,751 |
| Jerome Scanlan | Independent | 2,301 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 1,925 |
| Liam Galvin | Fine Gael | 2,257 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 1,925 |
| Michael Collins | Fianna Fáil | 2,012 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 1,925 |
| Kathleen Lucy Barrett | Fianna Fáil | 321 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Uunk Gerben | Party for Animal Welfare | 112 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Pat King | Independent Ireland | 558 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Gerard Madigan | Fianna Fáil | 626 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| James Barrett | Independent Ireland | 669 | Excluded at count 8 | – |
| Padraig Collins | Sinn Féin | 1,010 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 1,455 |
How Abbeyfeale voted: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Who stood, and who was elected, June 2024
Every candidate for Limerick City and 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.
90 candidates stood for 40 seats on Limerick City and County Council in June 2024, 2.3 for each seat. Turnout across the council was 51.9%, the 16th-highest of 31 councils. Fine Gael elected 13 of its 18 candidates. 27 of the 90 candidates were women (30%; 31% across the country), and 22 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.
Abbeyfeale is in Limerick County
3 TDs elected to the Dáil by single transferable vote on 29 November 2024, the whole constituency’s count.
Fianna Fáil · Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
oireachtas.ie ↗Fine Gael · Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport
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 Limerick County, November 2024
Each party’s share of first preferences in Limerick County
Turnout was 61.1%, 45,868 of 75,018 registered voters: the 14th-highest of 43 Dáil constituencies (all of them: 59.7%). The quota was 11,385: 45,536 valid votes for 3 seats, counted over 13 rounds. Patrick O'Donovan (Fine Gael) reached the quota on first preferences alone, and transfers decided the other 2.
Every candidate, count by count (13 counts)
| Candidate | Party | First preferences | Result | Votes at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niall Collins | Fianna Fáil | 9,284 | Elected at count 13, on the quota | 11,525 |
| Richard O'Donoghue | Independent Ireland | 10,540 | Elected at count 9, on the quota | 11,385 |
| Patrick O'Donovan | Fine Gael | 11,563 | Elected at count 1, on the quota | 11,385 |
| April Sheehan Corkery | Independent | 82 | Excluded at count 3 | – |
| Donna O'Loughlin | Irish Freedom Party | 256 | Excluded at count 4 | – |
| Gerben Uunk | Party for Animal Welfare | 254 | Excluded at count 5 | – |
| Lorraine O Sullivan | The Irish People | 281 | Excluded at count 6 | – |
| Laura Fahy | People Before Profit–Solidarity | 413 | Excluded at count 7 | – |
| Richie Crehan | Independent | 565 | Excluded at count 8 | – |
| Jim Barrett | Independent | 913 | Excluded at count 9 | – |
| Rob O'Donnell | Green Party | 873 | Excluded at count 10 | – |
| Michael Ryan | Aontú | 1,309 | Excluded at count 11 | – |
| Bridie Collins | Fianna Fáil | 1,687 | Excluded at count 13 | – |
| Joanne Collins | Sinn Féin | 6,005 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 7,505 |
| Noreen Stokes | Fine Gael | 1,511 | Not elected, standing at the last count | 2,314 |
Dáil Éireann: same source as Who’s in charge, above.
Limerick City and County Council plans to spend €1,437 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-highest of the 31 councils per resident; across all of them it is €1,551. The budget is up 2% on 2025, when it was €923.9M. Limerick City and County Council also runs the HAP Shared Services Centre, which pays the landlords of Housing Assistance Payment tenants for every council: €639.8M of its 2026 budget.
Commercial rates on businesses pay for 7% of the budget. Its annual rate on valuation is 0.2965, the 15th-highest of the 31 councils that rate on revalued property. The Local Property Tax brings in another 2%.
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 | €739.2M | €3,528 | €733.7M | 1% |
| Roads and transport | €56.5M | €269 | €54.5M | 4% |
| Water services | €14.1M | €67 | €16.5M | -15% |
| Planning and development | €39.2M | €187 | €33.1M | 18% |
| Environment and fire | €50.7M | €242 | €46.8M | 8% |
| Libraries, parks and amenities | €22M | €105 | €19.9M | 10% |
| Agriculture, education, health and welfare | €1.3M | €6 | €1.3M | -1% |
| Other services | €18.1M | €86 | €18M | 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).
Limerick City and County Council has 40 councillors, one for every 5,240 residents
Residents per councillor on each of the 31 councils.
Limerick City and County Council has 40 councillors for 209,536 residents: about 5,240 each, the 9th-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 Abbeyfeale 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.
limerick.ie ↗Anyone may make a submission within five weeks of an application, for a fee of €20.
limerick.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 Abbeyfeale is run
Which council runs Abbeyfeale?
Abbeyfeale is run by Limerick City and County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government.
How many councillors does Abbeyfeale have?
The Newcastle West local electoral area elects 6 councillors: Jerome Scanlan (Independent), Liam Galvin (Fine Gael), Michael Collins (Fianna Fáil), John Sheahan (Fine Gael), Tom Ruddle (Fine Gael), Francis Foley (Fianna Fáil).
Which party has the most seats on Limerick City and County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Fine Gael 13 · Fianna Fáil 10 · Independent 5 · Sinn Féin 3 · Labour Party 3 · Independent Ireland 2 · Social Democrats 2 · Aontú 1 · Green Party 1 of 40 seats; a majority needs 21.
Who are Abbeyfeale’s TDs?
Limerick County elects 3 TDs: Niall Collins (Fianna Fáil), Patrick O'Donovan (Fine Gael) and Richard O'Donoghue (Independent Ireland).
What was the turnout in Abbeyfeale?
In Newcastle West, 57.3% of registered voters turned out in June 2024 (Ireland: 49.4%). In Limerick County, 61.1% in November 2024 (59.7%).
When are the next elections in Abbeyfeale?
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.
Does Limerick City and County have a mayor?
Yes: John Moran, elected directly as mayor on 7 June 2024. Limerick City and County Council is the only council in Ireland with a directly elected mayor.
What does Limerick City and County spend?
Limerick City and County Council plans to spend €941M 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).