Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0Órfhlaith Begley won West Tyrone by one of Northern Ireland’s widest margins in 2024
Omagh is run by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, its only council: Northern Ireland has one tier of local government. Sinn Féin won 21 of the council’s 40 seats in May 2023, a majority; it is the only one of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils where one party holds one. Its MP is Órfhlaith Begley (Sinn Féin), member for West Tyrone. At Stormont, West Tyrone elects five MLAs: 3 Sinn Féin, 1 SDLP and 1 DUP.
May 2027
Council and Assembly elections are both due.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland ↗How Omagh is run, in four numbers
One party holds a majority
Sinn Féin won 21 of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s 40 seats in May 2023, one more than the 21 a majority needs. It ran 22 candidates across the council’s seven district electoral areas and 21 were elected. No other Northern Ireland council has a single-party majority, though the top posts here are still shared among the parties by size. Who’s in charge ↓
Two council areas, twelve councillors
93% of Omagh’s residents live in the Omagh district electoral area. Omagh elected 3 Sinn Féin, 1 DUP, 1 Independent and 1 Alliance from 10 candidates; Amy Ferguson (Socialist Party), Brenda Mellon (SDLP), Kathy Dunphy (Independent), Matthew Bell (UUP) were not elected. Turnout there was 51%, 59th of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas. Councillors ↓
A wide Westminster margin
Órfhlaith Begley won West Tyrone by 15,917 votes in July 2024, 36.4% of votes cast: the 2nd-widest margin of Northern Ireland’s 18 seats. Turnout was 59%, the 5th-highest in Northern Ireland (average 57%). Parliament ↓
Rates up 23% since 2020–21
The average home in Fermanagh and Omagh paid £1,088 in rates in 2025–26, 23% more than the £886 of 2020–21 (Northern Ireland: 24%). About 45% of a bill is the council’s district rate; the rest is the Executive’s regional rate, which rose faster this year. Rates ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results, the UK Parliament Members API, and Land & Property Services and Department of Finance rates.
Sinn Féin holds a majority on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
Seats on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, as elected in May 2023, and how the other ten councils compare.
- Sinn Féin2122 stood
- UUP79 stood
- DUP69 stood
- SDLP37 stood
- Alliance27 stood
- Independent16 stood
As elected on 18 May 2023, with each party’s candidates.
A party needs 21 of the 40 seats to outvote the rest. Sinn Féin has 21, so it can carry a vote on its own, which no party can do on any of the other ten councils. That doesn’t mean it runs the council alone: Northern Ireland’s councils share out the chair, deputy chair and committee chairs among the parties in proportion to their seats. UUP is second with 7 seats, from 9 candidates.
Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Seats by party as elected in May 2023, largest party named. Only one of the 11 has a single-party majority.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who was elected at each count. A councillor who stands down is replaced by co-option from the same party.
One council, and Stormont for the rest
Omagh has no county council and no town or parish council: since 2015 Northern Ireland has had 11 councils, each the only council for its area.
Bins and recycling, leisure centres, parks and cemeteries, local planning, building control, environmental health, licensing, tourism and local economic development, and the community plan.
www.fermanaghomagh.com ↗Its departments run what English county councils do and more: schools (the Education Authority), health and social care, roads and street lighting (DfI Roads), and housing (the Northern Ireland Housing Executive). It also sets the regional rate.
northernireland.gov.uk ↗NI Water supplies water and sewerage (paid for through the rates, not a separate bill), Libraries NI runs the libraries, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland the police, overseen by the Policing Board.
Who to ask
Green: the council. Gold: a Stormont department or one of its agencies. Gray: another public body. The police district shares the council’s boundary, so Fermanagh and Omagh’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership covers the same ground as the council.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Omagh, from the most recent elections. Sinn Féin’s MPs, West Tyrone’s included, don’t take their seats at Westminster.
- 1Fermanagh and Omagh District Council2 district electoral areas · 12 councillorsSinn Féin 7 · DUP 2 · Independent 1 · Alliance 1 · SDLP 1 · all 12
- 2Northern Ireland AssemblyWest Tyrone · 5 MLAsDaniel McCrossanDeclan McAleerMaolíosa McHughNicola BroganThomas Buchanan
- 3House of CommonsWest Tyrone
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own.
12 councillors for Omagh’s two district electoral areas
- Barry McElduff
- Catherine Kelly
- Errol Thompson
- Josephine Anne Deehan
- Marty McColgan
- Stephen Donnelly
Also stood: Amy Ferguson (Socialist Party), Brenda Mellon (SDLP), Kathy Dunphy (Independent), Matthew Bell (UUP).
- Anne Marie Fitzgerald
- Bernard McGrath
- Patrick Withers
- Pádraigín Kelly
- Roisin Devine Gallagher
- Shirley Hawkes
Also stood: Emmet McAleer (Independent), Matthew Beaumont (Alliance), Rosemary Barton (UUP).
Each district electoral area elects five to seven councillors by single transferable vote: voters number the candidates in order, and a candidate who reaches the quota is elected, with spare votes passed on to the next preference. An area can reach beyond the town. A councillor who stands down is replaced by their party (co-option), so the names can change without an election.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who stood and who was elected on 18 May 2023. Democracy Club. First-preference votes and turnout: How Omagh voted ↓
First preferences in Omagh, May 2023
Each candidate’s first-preference votes; the tick is the quota of 949. Elected candidates are in bold.
First-preference share by party
The tick is the party’s share across all 80 areas in 2023.
6,739 of Omagh’s 13,279 voters turned out, 50.8%: the lowest of Fermanagh and Omagh’s seven areas (council 62.9%) and 59th of Northern Ireland’s 80 (average 54.7%). Mid Tyrone turned out 66.2%, 7th of 80. With 6,636 valid votes and six seats the quota was 949. Barry McElduff, Errol Thompson and Catherine Kelly passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats. Josephine Anne Deehan (Independent) was 7th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Matthew Bell (UUP), 6th on first preferences.
Mid Tyrone’s first preferences
Quota 1,221 from 8,542 valid votes. Pádraigín Kelly and Roisin Devine Gallagher passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats. Bernard McGrath (SDLP) was 8th on first preferences and elected on transfers, ahead of Rosemary Barton (UUP), 6th on first preferences.
Electoral Office for Northern Ireland: 2023 result sheets and turnout by district electoral area (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Votes are first preferences at the first count.
Who stood, and who was elected
Every candidate for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, by party: the light bar is candidates, the solid bar those elected.
Share of candidates elected, Northern Ireland
Parties with 10 or more candidates across all 11 councils.
64 candidates stood for 40 seats across Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in May 2023, 1.6 for each seat (Northern Ireland: 1.75). By candidates per seat, Omagh ranked 43rd (10 for 6) and Mid Tyrone ranked 67th (9 for 6) of Northern Ireland’s 80 areas, where 1st is the most contested. Sinn Féin elected 21 of its 22 candidates; UUP won 7 of 9 and DUP won 6 of 9.
The 2023 council election: same source as Councillors, above. Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0): candidates and who was elected, 18 May 2023, all 80 district electoral areas.
Omagh is in West Tyrone for the Assembly
Five MLAs for each of 18 constituencies, elected by single transferable vote. A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so names may have changed. The Assembly’s constituencies are the Westminster ones as they were before 2024.
Also stood (9): Amy Ferguson (Socialist Party), Barry Brown (Independent), Carol Gallagher (People Before Profit), Ian Marshall (UUP), James Hope (Aontú), Paul 'Gags' Gallagher (Independent), Stephen Donnelly (Alliance), Susan Glass (Green), Trevor Clarke (TUV).
West Tyrone elected 3 Sinn Féin, 1 SDLP and 1 DUP from 14 candidates. Across Northern Ireland Sinn Féin won the most seats (27), the first time a nationalist party had done so, ahead of the DUP (25) and Alliance (17). The Executive is formed by the parties in proportion to their seats, and the First Minister and deputy First Minister, from the largest parties on each side, hold equal power.
- Sinn Féin27
- DUP25
- Alliance17
- UUP9
- SDLP8
- Independent2
- TUV1
- People Before Profit1
First preferences in West Tyrone, May 2022
46,629 of 69,702 voters turned out, 66.9%, 4th of 18 (Northern Ireland 63.6%). The quota for five seats was 7,666. Only Nicola Brogan passed it on first preferences; transfers filled the other seats.
Assembly: same source as Councillors, above. Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), candidates and who was elected, 5 May 2022, all 18 constituencies; first preferences and turnout: Electoral Office for Northern Ireland result sheets (Crown copyright, OGL v3.0); constituencies: ONS Westminster constituencies, December 2022 boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Omagh is in West Tyrone constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result. Westminster elections are first past the post, so these have vote shares.
43,695 votes for candidates · majority 15,917
Sinn Féin, MP since 3 May 2018.
turnout in July 2024: 43,695 votes from 74,269 registered voters. Northern Ireland: 57%.
Majority 15,917 of 43,695 votes (36.4%): wider than in 89% of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
On more than one ballot
- Assembly 2022: not elected
- Council 2023 · Omagh: elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 2,287 votes
- Assembly 2022: not elected
- Council 2023 · Omagh: not elected
- Assembly 2022: elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 5,821 votes
- Council 2023 · Omagh: not elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 2,683 votes
- Assembly 2022: elected
- Westminster 2024: not elected, 6,794 votes
5 people stood for more than one of Omagh’s three tiers between 2022 and 2024.
Turnout, July 2024
Votes cast over the electorate, Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies (average 57%).
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate. Other ballots: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0).
An average rates bill of £1,127 in Fermanagh and Omagh
The 4th-lowest average of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils for 2026–27.
Where an average bill goes
Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, not council tax: the home’s capital value (what it would have sold for in January 2005) times the rate poundage. In Fermanagh and Omagh for 2026–27 that’s 1.0027p in the pound, so the average bill of £1,127 is a home valued at about £112,000. The council sets the district rate (0.4468p, the 5th-lowest of the 11) and the Executive the regional rate (0.5559p, the same everywhere). This year the district rate rose 2% and the regional rate 5%.
Rates paid per home since 2020–21
Rates paid per home in Fermanagh and Omagh rose from £886 in 2020–21 to £1,088 in 2025–26, 23%, against 24% across Northern Ireland. The rates also pay for water and sewerage; there is no separate water bill. Housing Benefit and Rate Relief cover some or all of a bill on a low income, and Lone Pensioner Allowance takes 20% off for people 70 or over living alone.
2026–27 bill by the home’s 2005 value
Homes valued over £400,000 pay on £400,000. Land & Property Services publishes every home’s capital value.
Rates bills in Northern Ireland’s 11 councils
Average domestic rates bill per home, 2026–27 (2025–26 payments at 2026–27 poundages).
Land & Property Services, domestic rates paid by council area 2020–21 to 2025–26; Department of Finance rate poundages (Open Government Licence v3.0). Not available as open data: what each council spends by service.
Having a say in how Omagh is run
It takes about five minutes online; in Northern Ireland you need photo ID to vote at a polling station.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors, its MLAs and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗Potholes and broken pavements go to DfI Roads, not the council: nidirect has the form.
nidirect ↗Search applications near you on the Northern Ireland Planning Portal; commenting needs a free account.
nidirect ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
fermanaghomagh.com ↗The council’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership holds public meetings with the local police.
fermanaghomagh.com ↗Polling stations, postal votes and the free Electoral Identity Card.
Electoral Office for NI ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council and Assembly candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Omagh is run
Which council runs Omagh?
Omagh is run by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, one of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils. There is no county or town council; schools, health, roads and housing are run by the Executive’s departments and agencies.
Who controls Fermanagh and Omagh District Council?
Sinn Féin has a majority: As elected in May 2023, Sinn Féin 21 · UUP 7 · DUP 6 · SDLP 3 · Alliance 2 · Independent 1 of 40 seats. It is the only Northern Ireland council where one party has a majority. Top posts are shared among the parties by size.
Who are Omagh’s councillors?
Omagh is in 2 district electoral areas. Omagh elected Barry McElduff (Sinn Féin), Catherine Kelly (Sinn Féin), Errol Thompson (DUP), Josephine Anne Deehan (Independent), Marty McColgan (Sinn Féin), Stephen Donnelly (Alliance); Mid Tyrone elected Anne Marie Fitzgerald (Sinn Féin), Bernard McGrath (SDLP), Patrick Withers (Sinn Féin), Pádraigín Kelly (Sinn Féin), Roisin Devine Gallagher (Sinn Féin), Shirley Hawkes (DUP), all in May 2023.
Who is the MP for Omagh?
Órfhlaith Begley (Sinn Féin) is the MP for West Tyrone, which covers Omagh.
Is West Tyrone a marginal seat?
No. The 2024 majority was 36.4% of votes cast, the 2nd-widest of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies.
Who are the MLAs for Omagh?
In May 2022 West Tyrone elected Daniel McCrossan (SDLP), Declan McAleer (Sinn Féin), Maolíosa McHugh (Sinn Féin), Nicola Brogan (Sinn Féin) and Thomas Buchanan (DUP). A party replaces an MLA who stands down, so check the Assembly’s website for who sits now.
Is there council tax in Omagh?
No. Homes in Northern Ireland pay domestic rates, based on the home’s value in 2005; the average bill in Fermanagh and Omagh is about £1,127 a year for 2026–27, and it includes water.
How much are rates on a £100,000 home in Omagh?
A home valued at £100,000 in January 2005 pays £1,003 a year in 2026–27: £447 to the council and £556 to the Executive.
How many candidates stood in Omagh in 2023?
10 candidates stood for 6 seats in Omagh and 9 candidates stood for 6 seats in Mid Tyrone.
When are the next elections in Omagh?
The next council and Assembly elections are both due in May 2027. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
Sources: NISRA Census 2021 data zones and ONS constituency boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates and results (CC BY 4.0) · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · Land & Property Services and Department of Finance domestic rates (OGL v3.0). Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.