O'Shea, Cosai and Griffin deemed elected in Dingle area

The results are in with Micheal O'Shea of Fianna Fail, Seamus Cosai Fitzgerald and Brendan Griffin of Fine Gael taking the three council seats in the Dingle Electoral Area. Both Milltown's Micheal O'Shea (pictured left) and Dingle's Seamus Cosai Fitzgerald (pictured far left) reached their quota polling 2517 and 2442 respectively. Brendan Griffin of Keel (pictured right) took the third remaining seat polling an impressive 2317. It signals the loss of the Fianna Fail seat previously held by Breandan MacGearailt and the party will be disappointed to lose a seat in an area which previously considered a Fianna Fail stronghold. Brendan Griffin ran a dynamic campaign and his supporters will be delighted with his strong showing. Micheal O'Shea also had a good showing consolidating the strong support he has cultivated in the past five years. Despite whispers that he may have faced an uphill struggle, with several candidates running the the Dingle/Gaeltacht area, Seamus Cosai Fitzgerald finished strongly proving that the work he has undertaken in Corca Dhuibhne during his tenure as a councillor has not gone unnoticed. Fianna Fail will have to re-assess their position in the Dingle area; their position will not have been helped by their reluctance to support the movement to reinstate the Dingle name on signposts after 93% of people voted in support of the bilingual names of Dingle/Daingean Ui Chuis. Further blows to the fishing, farming and tourism industry and soaring unemployment also seems to have weighed heavily on the minds of the local electorate, reflecting the national swing against Fianna Fail. Winning two seats in the Dingle area is a major coup for the Fine Gael party as they add to the growing number of seats they have managed to clinch around the country.However the loss of Breandan MacGearailt's seat, as Breandan Fitzgerald did not replicate his forerunners success, is disappointing for the West Kerry area as two seats now reside to the east of the constituency. Brendan Griffin is sure to bring a fresh approach to the fray as a young and enthusiastic individual who has been involved in many local community initiatives for many years.