Updated: Maurce Ahern Gone

The Ahern Machine has ground to a shuddering halt. De Udder Brudder was desperately hoping to find 13 votes in a bunch of about 600 non-tranferables. Fianna Fáil would have hoped that the last candidate to be eliminated, their own Seaghan Kearney would have given Ahern enough to shove him over the line. However, it appears Kearney, who is a former U21 Dublin footballer and local secondary school teacher, has garnered something of a personal and/or young vote. Many of Kearney’s transfers headed to the Sinn Féin candidate – Seamus McGrattan, who is also a relatively young local male in comparison to Ahern who is 72 and lives outside the ward. It was between Ahern and McGrattan for the last seat.

Maurice Ahern and Chris Wall (a great ‘friend’ of Bertie) being briefed by the Returning Officer

The Sinn Féin camp were quietly commenting about Ahern clutching at straws up until an hour ago. “This was done three counts ago, it’s only ever going one way”. They have a point, Ahern was never going to to find 13 votes in a batch of 600 that is part of the most sructinised count of the weekend – and one that has been counted several times already, with no changes.

Maurice Ahern has fallen from his council perch, it will signal an end of an era in Irish politics. The Ahern machine is no more, the glory days are over. To quote Miriam Lord in tomorrow’s Irish Times “Saint Luke’s will slide into the Tolka”.