The four-seater was already one of the most open in the country before a single vote was cast as three of the four TDs elected in 2016 weren't on the ballot this time out.

Pat Buckley was elected on the first count in Cork East.

There aren’t many constituencies facing as much of a shake-up as Cork North-Central.

Fine Gael Senator and General Election candidate, Colm Burke, is confident that an incident which saw his office vandalised is not connected to the theft of hundreds of his posters.

Sinn Féin councillor Thomas Gould is set to be announced as the party's candidate in Cork North-Central.

Kenneth O'Flynn made the announcement just hours after Fianna Fáil omitted him from their completed ticket in Cork North-Central.

After the Irish Examiner revealed his intention to resign his Dáil seat to take up a plum €150,000 job in Europe, Dara Murphy did the needful.

Dara Murphy had come under fire after it was revealed that he has claimed his full Dáil salary and expenses over the past two years, despite being largely absent from Leinster House.

It was a good day at the office for Fianna Fáil, according to party leader Micheál Martin, and it was hard to disagree.

The Government suffered a blow after failing to win any seats in four byelections yesterday, while Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party celebrated their victories.

The Government has suffered a blow after failing to win any seats in four byelections which could provide clues before the whole country goes to the polls next year.

Fianna Fail's Padraig O'Sullivan claimed the seat in the Cork North-Central by-election on the tenth count.

Latest: Senator Colm Burke was eliminated in the ninth count of the Cork North-Central by-election.

The performance of Labour's John Maher has marked him out as a contender for 2020, according to Labour TD Sean Sherlock.

Fine Gael's Colm Burke is optimistic about his chances of securing a seat in the General Election in 2020 but conceded that it is now unlikely that he will secure a seat in the by-election.

"The story of Cork North-Central is the collapse of the hard left," said Tánaiste Simon Coveney.

Pádraig O'Sullivan looks "destined" to win the seat vacated by party colleague Billy Kelleher earlier this year, he added.

Minister Creed conceded that a Fianna Fáil victory is all but a certainty today.

The county councillor has 28.19% of the vote after the tally, giving him a seven-point lead over Fine Gael's Colm Burke.

It is all eyes on Fianna Fáil in Cork North-Central where the party is scrambling to continue its presence in the wake of Billy Kelleher’s departure to Europe.

The Party's Ard Fheis is taking place this weekend in Derry.

Labour has pledged to undo changes forced on people during the economic crash by blocking a rise in the pension age and by increasing wages.

Labour has pledged to undo changes forced on people during the financial crash by first reducing the pension age and by also increasing wages and the delivery of homes.

The newest member of the Seanad has promised to represent farmers who want a new vision for agriculture in Ireland that is in tune with the environment and biodiversity.

They agreed the end of November would be the best time for the elections to replace TDs who had been elected to the European Parliament last May.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has signalled to a meeting of his Fine Gael ministers that he would prefer the upcoming by-elections to be held in November, even if his party is unlikely to win any of them.

BILLY “One Seat” Kelleher: that rather disparaging description of the long-standing TD and favourite MEP candidate, by his party colleague Malcolm Byrne over a perceived breach of an agreed boundary has generated much hilarity this week.

In the third of a five-part series on the local elections, Kevin O’Neill profiles the revamped Cork City North-West district

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has denied he is attempting to block Billy Kelleher from contesting the upcoming European elections.

Fine Gael delayed the introduction of free GP care to the under-6s and over-70s by three years, a Labour minister has claimed.

THE Green Party will call today for the development of a light-rail system and a water-bus service for Cork city.

OVER the next few weeks, we will have to listen to a lot of legal, constitutional and technical arguments about the merits and demerits of holding another boundary revision in advance of the next general election.

IRISH people living illegally in America were yesterday warned not to celebrate prematurely after the US Senate passed an immigration bill offering a path to citizenship.

IN the run-up to the 2002 general election, a Fianna Fáil deputy for Cork North-Central, Noel O’Flynn, famously described asylum seekers as ‘spongers’ and ‘freeloaders’.

MICHEÁL MARTIN vowed to maintain the country's economic competitiveness and be a consumer champion in his new post as enterprise, trade and employment minister.

SPRAWLING growth in Dublin is expected to result in an increase in the number of TDs for the outer suburbs of the capital city and adjoining commuter counties.

DEREK MOONEY recently made some derogatory remarks in relation to Fine Gael (Irish Examiner, July 14).

EDUCATION MINISTER Noel Dempsey is pressing ahead with his third-level fees plans, despite growing opposition from the Progressive Democrats and within Fianna Fáil.

BRENDAN HOWLIN emerged as front-runner in the battle for leadership of the Labour Party last night after Ruairí Quinn announced his intention to step down from the helm.

Bernard Allen (FG) and Kathleen Lynch (Lab) have both been elected in the Cork North Central constituency.

A result has been declared in abortion polls in Longford/Roscommon.