Waterford City Council: 1979 Local Election
| Party | Seats | Votes | Share | Candidates | Constituencies | |||||
| Fianna Fáil |  | 5 | (-1) | 3617 | 26.6% | (-3.5%) | 9 | (-1) | 3 | |
| Fine Gael |  | 4 | (+1) | 3247 | 23.9% | (+0.9%) | 9 | (+1) | 3 | |
| Sinn Féin (Workers' Party) |  | 2 | (+2) | 2712 | 20.0% | (+20.0%) | 6 | (+6) | 3 | (+3) |
| Independent |  | 2 | (-1) | 2020 | 14.9% | (-4.7%) | 8 | 3 | ||
| Labour Party |  | 2 | 1524 | 11.2% | (-4.3%) | 5 | (-1) | 3 | ||
| Socialist Labour Party |  | 0 | 469 | 3.5% | (+3.5%) | 2 | (+2) | 2 | (+2) | |