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5 June 2013

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1987 – Máirtín Ó Muilleoir arrives with a poll-topping performance

The mood on the Falls Road was jubilant as the two new city councillors made their way up from City Hall.

From An Phoblacht of 29 October 1987

THE HARD WORK and dedication of Sinn Féin’s election workers paid off last week with both Fra McCann and Máirtín Ó Muilleoir winning seats on Belfast City Council.

The count, which finished shortly before noon on October 23rd, increased Sinn Féin's total to nine seats, making it the largest non-unionist party on the council.

McCann's victory in the Lower Falls constituency was a landslide win with Sinn Féin polling 5,425 first-preference votes to the SDLP’s 1,918.

While there was never any real doubt concerning McCann securing the seat, Sinn Féin knew that it had a difficult fight on its hands in Upper Falls.

On paper, the SDLP and the other parties (with whom they interchange transfers) together have more votes than Sinn Féin. However, despite over 80% of the transfer votes going to the SDLP, on the second count, Ó Muilleoir was well clear of the quota needed for victory.

Ó Muilleoir's success is a significant indicator of electoral preferences in the area and establishes Sinn Féin as the major party in the Upper Falls constituency.

The by-election results will leave the SDLP wondering what strategy to adopt next. It is no doubt aware that its defeat in the two constituencies comes within a few weeks of the second anniversary of the Hillsborough Agreement, which was supposedly a lifeline for the SDLP and should by now have stemmed nationalist ‘alienation’ but hasn’t, as shown by the votes for Sinn Féin. Election victories such as this give the lie to their analysis of the Sinn Féin vote and show the reality for nationalists since Hillsborough.

Alliance collapses

The Alliance Party will also be facing some serious internal questioning. The party's vote virtually collapsed with its Lower Falls candidate only receiving 173 first-preference votes. Compared with Will Glendenning's 1,113 first-preferences in the May 1985 council elections, its campaign this time around was a disaster. The story was much the same in the Upper Falls.

The mood on the Falls Road was jubilant as the two new city councillors made their way up from City Hall. West Belfast MP Gerry Adams congratulated Fra McCann and Máirtín Ó Muilleoir and described the result as not just a victory for Sinn Féin but as a victory for the people of West Belfast. Calling the vote a decisive one for real and lasting peace in Ireland, Adams said:

“The massive vote for Sinn Féin in Thursday’s by-election, which was underlined by the landslide result in the Lower Falls constituency, is an endorsement of Sinn Féin's record of active representation in the area and demonstrates the commitment of the West Belfast people to the achievement of Irish freedom, real justice and lasting peace.”

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Lower Falls

1st preferences

  • Gerry Cosgrove (SPLP) 1,918
  • Fra McCann (Sinn Féin) 5,425
  • Mary McMahon (Workers’ Party) 850
  • Pat Maskey (Alliance) 173
  • David Officer (Labour & TUG) 116

Quota 4,264

Total poll 8,527

Upper Falls

  • Brendan Burns (Workers’ Party) 225
  • Michael Duffy (Labour & TUG) 170
  • Gerry Kelly (SDLP) 3,375
  • Michael Morrissey (CPI) 70
  • Dan McGuinness (Alliance) 302
  • Máirtín Ó Muilleoir (Sinn Féin) 4,101

Quota 4,122

Total poll 8,243

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