Community worker Declan Meehan is the first councillor over the line in the hotly-contested three-seat Milford LEA.
The Milford & District Resource Centre manager topped the poll with 2,074 votes.
Meehan, a prominent LGBTQ+ campaigner, is also the first openly gay man to be elected as a public representative in Donegal.
He said he is humbled to be a part of history: “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who came out and voted, to those who worked tirelessly on my campaign and to all those who came before, paving the way for me to stand here today as a proud gay man and a proud member of our community.”
Meehan ran a campaign that championed community development, social inclusion and rural regeneration. He secured two million euro of funding for local initiatives over the past five years. He also spearheaded successful community integration projects following new arrivals of refugees into north Donegal.
“I am proud to be elected today to represent the interests of all people in our local area. At a time when we are seeing increasing divisions nationally, Friday’s vote is a ringing endorsement of what we in Donegal all know; our community is welcoming and progressive – we are unified and not divided,” said Meehan, this afternoon from the count in Letterkenny.
Declan lives with his husband Dr Pádraig McGuinness, a local GP, and their beloved cocker spaniel, Fionnuala. The couple married in 2019 following years of campaigning locally and nationally in Ireland and Northern Ireland for the right to have their relationship recognised under the law.
Maria Doherty, Sinn Féin was eliminated in the fourth count.
We are now on to count five, with Liam Blaney (FF), Pauric McGarvey (IND) and John O’Donnell (IND) to take Doherty’s 1,088 distributed votes.
Fourth Count:
Liam Blaney (Fianna Fail) 1,802
Maria Doherty (Sinn Fein) 1,088
Pauric McGarvey (Non-Party) 1,664
Declan Meehan (Non-Party) 2,074 ELECTED
John O Donnell (Non-Party) 1,438
Quota: 2,058 Electorate: 13,178 Turn Out: 8,309 Spoiled: 79 Valid: 8,230
