Donegal County Council: 1979 Local Election
| Party | Seats | Votes | Share | Candidates | Constituencies | |||||
| Fianna Fáil |  | 11 | (+1) | 24516 | 40.1% | (+5.1%) | 20 | (+1) | 5 | |
| Fine Gael |  | 10 | 18260 | 29.9% | (-3.9%) | 18 | (-1) | 5 | ||
| Independent Fianna Fáil |  | 4 | 10245 | 16.7% | (+4.0%) | 14 | (+4) | 5 | (+1) | |
| Sinn Féin |  | 1 | (+1) | 3055 | 5.0% | (+3.2%) | 4 | (+3) | 4 | (+3) |
| Independent |  | 1 | (-2) | 2895 | 4.7% | (-7.7%) | 4 | (-5) | 2 | (-3) |
| Sinn Féin (Workers' Party) |  | 1 | (+1) | 2195 | 3.6% | (+3.6%) | 3 | (+3) | 3 | (+3) |