Cork County Council: 1979 Local Election
| Party | Seats | Votes | Share | Candidates | Constituencies | |||||
| Fianna Fáil |  | 21 | (+5) | 46846 | 39.4% | (-2.2%) | 31 | (+1) | 7 | |
| Fine Gael |  | 19 | (+6) | 45636 | 38.4% | (+1.0%) | 30 | 7 | ||
| Labour Party |  | 3 | (-2) | 12746 | 10.7% | (-4.5%) | 11 | (-6) | 6 | (-1) |
| Independent |  | 2 | 8758 | 7.4% | (+3.3%) | 13 | (+7) | 6 | (+3) | |
| Sinn Féin (Workers' Party) |  | 1 | (+1) | 4979 | 4.2% | (+4.2%) | 5 | (+5) | 4 | (+4) |