THE spotlight was fixed on one media-shy candidate yesterday who made history by becoming the DUP's first openly gay candidate to be elected onto a local council.
Alison Bennington politely declined interview requests throughout yesterday's count at Lagan Valley leisure centre - even after she won her seat to represent the Glengormley area.
Her party, which is opposed to same-sex marriage and has a long history of opposition to LGBT rights, also refused to make any comment at the count centre immediately after her victory.
Over the past fortnight, some DUP veterans have criticised her selection.
However, party colleagues rushed to embrace Ms Bennington and a huge cheer erupted as the tea-time announcement came through that she had been selected on the sixth count.
Thanking her supporters in the scrum, she paid tribute to their "good hard work and good teamwork" before being whisked away by her team to the official count area - from which the media were excluded.
Another high-profile candidate who caused an internal stir following a drink-driving conviction was the DUP's Thomas Hogg.
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Mr Hogg, a former mayor, won back his council seat with an increased vote and was re-elected to the Macedon area with 999 votes.
That was almost double the 581 votes he received last time around in the 2014 poll.
The other big winner of the day in a supercouncil dominated by unionists was the Alliance Party.
Former Alliance Party leader David Ford was beaming after four of his party's five candidates romped home on the first count - with Antrim's Neil Kelly topping the poll and doubling his vote since the last election in 2014.
The former Justice minister, who described himself as a "nerd" when it came to local elections, said "wild horses wouldn't have kept him away" from his old stomping ground where he was a councillor for eight years.
He paid tribute to Mr Kelly - who was co-opted onto his seat in 2010 - as a "real worker".
Receiving 1,689 votes, Mr Kelly, who has worked as a learning disability nurse for more than 20 years at Muckamore Abbey Hospital, said he was "overwhelmed" by the result.
He is the the first non-unionist candidate to top the polls in Antrim in 42 years.
"I am passionate about the town," he said.
Elsewhere, three Sinn Féin candidates got elected without reaching the quota while two SDLP candidates were also successful.
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Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
40 seats
Change since 2014:
DUP 14 (-1), UUP 9 (-3), All 7 (+3), SF 5 (+2), SDLP 4 (-), Ind 1 (+1), TUV 0 (-2)
Turnout: 53 per cent
Airport (5 seats, Quota: 1,176)
Vikki McAuley (All) 1,221
Matthew Magill (DUP) 1,164
Thomas Burns (SDLP) 1,125
Anne-Marie Logue (SF) 1,095
Paul Michael (UUP) 893
Mervyn Rea (UUP) 568
Cathy Rooney (SF) 505
Ben Mallon (DUP) 481
Elected
Vikki McAuley (All) 1st count
Matthew Magill (DUP) 3rd count
Paul Michael (UUP) 4th count
Thomas Burns (SDLP) 5th count
Anne-Marie Logue (SF) 5th count
Antrim (6 seats, Quota: 919)
Neil Kelly (All) 1,689
John Smyth (DUP) 734
Roisin Lynch (SDLP) 723
Leah Smyth (UUP) 615
Paul Dunlop (DUP) 603
Gerard Magee (SF) 583
Jim Montgomery (UUP) 416
Karl McMeekin (DUP) 363
Adrian Cochrane-Watson (Ind) 359
Richard Cairns (TUV) 347
Elected
Neil Kelly (All) 1st count
Roisin Lynch (SDLP) 2nd count
John Smyth (DUP) 5th count
Paul Dunlop (DUP) 6th count
Leah Smyth (UUP) 7th count
Jim Montgomery (UUP) 7th count
Ballyclare (5 seats, Quota: 1,127)
Danny Kinahan (UUP) 1,253
Michael Stewart (Ind) 1,182
Mandy Girvan (DUP) 861
Gary English (All) 775
Jeannie Archibald (DUP ) 739
Vera McWilliam (UUP) 707
David Arthurs (Ind) 457
Austin Orr (DUP) 443
Norrie Ramsay (UUP) 341
Elected
Danny Kinahan (UUP) 1st count
Michael Stewart (Ind) 1st count
Mandy Girvan (DUP) 6th count
Jeannie Archibald (DUP) 6th count
Vera McWilliam (UUP) 6th count
Dunsilly (5 seats, Quota: 1,086)
Henry Cushinan (SF) 1,064
Glenn Finlay (All) 989
Linda Clarke (DUP) 965
Jordan Greer (DUP) 907
Ryan Wilson (SDLP) 902
Roderick Swann (UUP) 711
Andrew Maguire (SF) 552
Gareth Thomas (UUP) 424
Elected
Henry Cushinan (SF) 3rd count
Glenn Finlay (All) 4th count
Ryan Wilson (SDLP) 4th count
Roderick Swann (UUP) 5th count
Linda Clarke (DUP) 5th count
Glengormley Urban (7 seats, Quota 993)
Julian McGrath (All) 1,345
Phillip Brett (DUP) 1,099
Noreen McClelland (SDLP) 992
Michael Goodman (SF) 904
Mark Cosgrove (UUP) 891
Alison Bennington (DUP) 856
Rosie Kinnear (SF) 801
Samantha Burns (DUP) 373
Paul Veronica (Green) 341
Michael Maguire (UUP) 337
Elected
Julian McGrath (All) 1st count
Phillip Brett (DUP) 1st count
Noreen McClelland (SDLP) 2nd count
Mark Cosgrove (UUP) 5th count
Alison Bennington (DUP) 6th count
Michael Goodman (SF) 7th count
Rosie Kinnear (SF) 7th count
Macedon (6 seats, Quota 895)
Billy Webb (All) 1,127
Paul Hamill (DUP) 1,043
Thomas Hogg (DUP) 999
Robert Foster (UUP) 956
Taylor McGrann (SF) 765
Stafford Ward (Ind) 343
Victor Robinson (DUP) 327
Dean McCullough (DUP) 321
David Hollis (TUV) 223
Robert Hill (Ukip) 154
Elected
Billy Webb (All) 1st count
Paul Hamill (DUP) 1st count
Thomas Hogg (DUP) 1st count
Robert Foster (UUP) 1st count
Dean McCullough (DUP) 7th count
Taylor McGrann (SF) 7th count
Three Mile Water (6 seats, Quota 1,006)
Mark Cooper (DUP) 1,230
Stephen Ross (DUP) 1,103
Fraser Agnew (UUP) 1,100
Tom Campbell (All) 1,075
Julie Gilmour (All) 749
Stephen McCarthy (UUP) 514
Sam Flanagan (DUP) 489
Raymond Stewart (Ukip) 319
Norman Boyd (TUV) 234
Gary Grattan (Ind) 223
Elected
Fraser Agnew (UUP) 1st count
Tom Campbell (All) 1st count
Mark Cooper (DUP) 1st count
Stephen Ross (DUP) 1st count
Sam Flanagan (DUP) 7th count
Julie Gilmour (All) 7th count
