Labour’s Childers set to win Euro seat in East

Nessa Childers is set to pull off a significant coup in the Ireland East constituency by winning a European Parliament seat for Labour.

Outgoing Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness has secured the first seat after topping the poll with a massive 110,000 votes.

Ms Childers is set to clinch the second seat when counting resumes this morning, with Fianna Fáil's Liam Aylward on course to win the third ahead of Fine Gael's John Paul Phelan.

Fine Gael had been hoping that it might retain its two seats in the constituency, but the surge towards Ms Childers effectively prevented Mr Phelan from out-polling Mr Aylward.