History being made in Mayo as new returning officer takes helm for referendums

Electoral history will be made in Mayo next weekend when, for the first time ever, a woman will be at the helm as the county votes in the two referendums to change the Irish Constitution.

Dr. Ann Marie Courell, who has succeeded Fintan Murphy as Mayo County Registrar, will have around 500 personnel at her disposal on Friday, polling day, and on Saturday when the votes are counted.

Ensuring a smooth and successful polling day and subsequent count is Dr. Courell’s foremost priority.

As returning officer in a constituency where 97,454 people are entitled to vote, Dr. Courell is responsible for the running of the ballot, conducting and supervising the count and declaring the results.

It is her first referendum, one that she is greatly looking forward to.

Further down the road – in June – Dr. Courell will preside over the local and European elections and a further referendum.

“It’s going to be a very busy year," she conceded with a smile at her office in Castlebar yesterday, “but I am really looking forward to it.

“It’s very different to my former role as a barrister but I am absolutely enjoying it."

This time there will be 220 polling stations throughout the far-flung constituency, each with a Presiding Officer and a Poll Clerk. That means 440 personnel in total are required for the voting part of the referendum as well as a number of supervisory staff.

For count duties on Saturday at the Royal TF Hotel, 50 enumerators will be needed plus 10 personnel on the floor, meaning there is a requirement for 60 team members, including the Returning Officer, in total.

Tradition will be broken for the first time ever on Friday when voters on the Mayo islands – Clare Island, Inishturk and Innisbiggle - exercise their franchise at the same time as their counterparts on the mainland.

While mainland voters will be able to vote between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. voting on the islands will take place within a more restrictive time period.

Voting times on Clare Island are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., while Innisbiggle and Inishturk are both 9 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.

The shorter voting times, Dr. Courell explained, are designed to ensure the ballot boxes make it back in time to the count centre to ensure Saturday’s count isn’t delayed.

One challenge faced by the Returning Officer and her team has been the need to recruit new staff as there hasn’t been an election of any kind since the general election of February 2020.

Some of the staff who have retired have acted as Presiding Officers in polling booths. Recruitment has been needed to fill the vacancies.

A further challenge was posed by the fact that the location traditionally used as polling station in Finney (near Tourmakeady) is longer available as the premises has been sold.

Transferring the roughly 190 voters affected to other polling stations was considered but another, more convenient location, Finney Community Centre, has become available.

Apart from the islands, polling stations will close at 10 p.m on Friday and by 1 a.m. it's hoped to have all the boxes lined up in the count venue in Castlebar ready for opening before 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Barring a recount, the Mayo count should be completed by early afternoon.

The constituency figures will then be relayed to Dublin where there will be a declaration of the national referendum result around teatime.

Further information available from www.mayoreturningofficer.com