Pádraig O'Sullivan elected in Cork North-Central

Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O'Sullivan has held his seat in Cork North-Central.

Mr O'Sullivan was elected in the by-election in November and had to defend the seat just three months later.

He became the second candidate elected in the constituency, surpassing the quota on the twelfth count.

Mr O'Sullivan did well on first preferences, picking up more than 8,000 votes.

From there, it was slow and steady progress, with the elimination of colleague Sandra Murphy giving him a significant push towards the quota. He picked up 555 of her transfers.

He finally passed the quota after the elimination of his running mate Tony Fitzgerald, when another 2,000 votes fell his way.

Now, it is all eyes on the third and fourth seat. Colm Burke (Fine Gael) looks primed to win the third and it could be a close contest for the final seat, with Mick Barry (Solidarity) leading the way here ahead of a challenge from Kenneth O'Flynn (Independent).

Counting continues.