THE Collin DEA saw an incredible clean sweep for Sinn Féin as they added a fifth councillor to their team in the area after a very successful election count that was the last to declare in the early hours of Sunday morning. Sinn Féin claimed five out of the six seats in the area as all of their candidates emerged victorious in strengthening the party’s popularity in the Collin area and gaining a seat off the SDLP. All the while Michael Collins retained his seat after a long battle with SDLP candidate Gerard McDonald. With a DEA quota of 1,996 it was Councillor Joe Duffy who would top the poll in Collin after being elected with a first preference vote count of 2,559. Duffy was elected alongside fellow Sinn Féin councillor Caoimhín McCann after his 2,350-vote count saw him prevail as the second Sinn Féin candidate elected in the opening round of the count at City Hall. Councillor Duffy was grateful to the people of Collin for electing him and promised to be committed to working hard for the area. “I am honoured to have been elected to Belfast City Council by the people of the Colin. I want to thank every person who gave me their vote. Sinn Féin went into this campaign with a commitment to work for all, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to represent the people of this area and deliver first-class council services," he said.
