Dublin Bay South: Turnout higher than expected in working class areas

Higher than expected turnout in working-class areas in the Dublin Bay South by-election is seen as an encouraging sign for Sinn Féin.

Ballots will begin to be counted from 9am Friday morning and turnout in the inner city area of Pearse Street, Ringsend and Irishtown had topped 40% by 9pm, which are seen as Sinn Féin strongholds.

Overall, the turnout is expected to be somewhere in the mid-30s, which is higher than similar by-elections in 2019, but lower than the 2020 General Election, where turnout was 54%.

Sinn Féin sources have confirmed the party has worked the lower part of the constituency hard and that was reflected in the higher turnout in those areas.

That higher turnout suggests that the party’s candidate, Senator Lynn Boylan will certainly perform stronger than the 13% rating she obtained in last week’s Irish Times poll.

The contest is seen as a three-horse race between Ms Boylan, James Geoghegan of Fine Gael and Ivana Bacik of Labour.

Three internal party polls, conducted in recent days showed Mr Geoghegan as the likely poll topper, but he could be vulnerable to transfers.

All the major parties mobilised significant canvassing teams in the final hours in order to maximise their vote.