Election: Mammoth Lurgan count final results

In the end they had three of their five candidates elected, with Catherine Seeley, Maire Cairns and Keith William Haughian getting the nod.

Losing out were Liam Mackle and Noel McGeown.

Unionist parties were celebrating three seats - with pre-election predictions suggesting they might only capture two.

Topping the poll and romping to a first count victory was Councillor Carla Lockhart on 2,013 first preference votes, perhaps at the expense of running mate Philip Moutray, who polled 583 first preferences.

Indeed Cllr Lockhart was the only candidate elected for much of the day until the SDLP’s Joe Nelson made the quota of 1,438.

Transfers among unionists saw Colin McCusker over the line, along with the DUP’s Moutray to make it three unionist seats.

The final line up was Seeley, Cairns and Haughian for Sinn Fein, Lockhart and Moutray (DUP), McCusker (UUP) and Nelson (SDLP).

The overall shape of the new Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon super council sees a unionist majority with the DUP on 13 seats, UUP on 12, Sinn Fein eight, SDLP six, UKIP one and Independent (unionist) one.

See Thursday’s ‘MAIL’ for full analysis and reactions.