Fine Gael councillor Peter Feeney at the count centre with his family. Photo: Hanzy Marzouk

Feeney first in marathon count

FINE Gael may have taken a beating at the polls across the county but it didn’t impact on Athenry’s Peter Feeney, who was surprised but delighted to top the poll in the new seven-seat district.
The gentle spoken councillor acknowledges that his recent bad health hasn’t been a secret and he said that while he was thrilled to be returning to County Hall, he hoped there was more good news to come for him over the coming months.
The boundary changes meant that this was the first time that Peter could vote for himself after he moved from the Loughrea area to the new Athenry-Oranmore district.
He was blown away by the support he received and the rapturous response in the room when his election was announced was obviously emotional for him, his family and crowd of supporters.