Clare County Council: 1979 Local Election
| Party | Seats | Votes | Share | Candidates | Constituencies | |||||
| Fianna Fáil |  | 17 | (-2) | 20650 | 50.6% | (-3.5%) | 29 | (+1) | 5 | |
| Fine Gael |  | 9 | (+2) | 11563 | 28.3% | (+3.0%) | 16 | (-1) | 5 | |
| Independent |  | 3 | (+1) | 6472 | 15.9% | (+9.7%) | 12 | (+8) | 5 | (+2) |
| Labour Party |  | 2 | 1851 | 4.5% | (-2.9%) | 3 | (-5) | 2 | (-3) | |
| Sinn Féin (Workers' Party) |  | 0 | 189 | 0.5% | (+0.5%) | 2 | (+2) | 2 | (+2) | |
| Socialist Labour Party |  | 0 | 71 | 0.2% | (+0.2%) | 1 | (+1) | 1 | (+1) | |