Election 2024 - Day one count as it happened
Tánaiste Micheál Martin with Cllr Tony Fitzgerald as his re-election is announced at Cork City Hall on Saturday. Picture: Larry Cummins
The first of counting in the local elections has finished and it has been a strong start for Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Independents.
As counting continues in the local elections on Sunday, here is a look back at the day that was as it happened.
We'll have live updates on the local, European and Limerick mayoral elections here all weekend.
A Romanian woman who only became a candidate four weeks ago has been elected to Kildare County Council.
Lumi Panaite Fahey has been living in Ireland for 20 years and was elected on the third count for Fine Gael in the Celbridge LEA.
She entered politics as a result of her experiences with her son who has additional needs. She is likely to win the seat at the expense of Sinn Féin.
Green Party councillor Michael Pidgeon was the last to be elected to Dublin City Council on Saturday night, receiving 1,594 votes against a quota of 1,385.
All remaining counts have been suspended until Sunday morning.
In Louth, Labour councillor Michelle Hall has been re-elected on the first count. Representing the Drogheda Rural electoral area, she received a total of 1,426 votes surpassing the quota of 1,281.
In Sligo, independent Declan Bree and Fianna Fáil's Tim MacSharry have been elected in the first count in Strandhill. Bree's surplus is being distributed.
Fine Gael’s Liam Brazil and Seanie Power are the first candidates to be elected in Waterford. Both have been elected in the Portlaw/Kilmacthomas LEA on the first count.
Brazil was elected with 1,982 votes, whilst Power was elected with 1,554 votes, the quota being 1,299.
No one elected in the first count of the Lismore LEA.
After what seemed the longest wait, the re-election of Seamus McGrath, brother of Finance Minister Michael, with the highest first preference vote in the country, 5,191 votes, was greeted with a tired round of applause.
The Fianna Fáil candidate in the Carrigaline Municipal District was joined in the winner’s enclosure by fellow councillor, Ben Dalton O’Sullivan whose no poster campaign netted him 2,315 first preferences. The quota for Carrigaline was 2057.
Both were delighted to retain their seats on Cork County Council.
Fine Gael Cllr Shane O’Callaghan has retained his seat in the Cork South Central LEA, topping the poll with 1,870 votes, 342 votes above the quota.
Counting in the LEA has been suspended for the evening, and will resume in the morning.
In Limerick, Fine Gael won two seats in the Adare-Rathkeale LEA after Stephen Keary and Adam Teskey were elected.
Mr Teskey was draped in a Limerick hurling flag as the county prepares to take on Clare in tomorrow's Munster Senior Hurling Final.
Elsewhere, councillor Alan O'Callaghan has returned to Clare County Council after securing an extra 49 votes to bring his total to 1,739 in the third count of the Killaloe LEA.
In Carlow, John Pender of Fianna Fáil and independent councillor Charlie Murphy were elected on the first count in Tullow.
In Dublin, Ted Leddy of Fine Gael was the first person to be elected in Castleknock.
The first two councillors have been elected to Cork City Council.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Tony Fitzgerald has retained his seat in the city’s six seater north west local electoral area (LEA), topping the poll on the first count with 1,930 votes, 177 votes above the quota.
Fine Gael Cllr Damian Boylan has also retained his seat in the same ward, with 1,872 votes.
Some joy for the Government in Cork tonight with another four seats won by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
The first count in Cork City North saw Fine Gael's Damian Boylan and Fianna Fáil's Tony Fitzgerald both retain their seats.
Fine Gael's Tony O'Shea topped the poll in Mallow with 2,615 votes on the first count, surpassing the quota of 1,958.
Two other councillors were also elected on the first count - Fine Gael running mate Liam Madden on 2,571 and Labour's Eoghan Kenny with 2,239 votes in his first election.
Read more on the Cork count here
Fianna Fáil's Seamus Coyle and Fine Gael's Richard Truell have been re-elected at the first count for the Ballybay Clones LEA in Monaghan.
Coyle topped the poll with 1,665 votes and Truell came in second at 1,579 votes. The quota is 1,411.
Coyle, a farmer from just outside Ballybay, has sat on the local authority for 20 years.
Truell is a lab assistant in Cavan General Hospital and was co-opted onto the seat in late 2018.
There will be no first counts delivered in Wexford tonight, its returning officer Michael Drea has said.
Sorting will continue until around midnight, at which point they will retire and resume at 9am on Sunday.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael won a large chunk of the seats in 2019 and look to repeat this feat again, with gains for Verona Murphy's new Wexford Independent Alliance and the retaining of seats for Labour and Sinn Féin.
First-time candidate and maths teacher James Gilmartin is the second councillor elected to Leitrim County Council.
The independent councillor was elected with 1,335 votes.
Fine Gael have landed a massive double success in the Tuam electoral area in north Co Galway with two of their outgoing councillors elected on the first count with each having a massive surplus which looks set to bring in a third party candidate in the seven-seater.
Andrew Reddington, who got the last seat with ten votes to spare in 2019, polled 2,784 and Peter Roche got 2,553 first preferences — easily meeting the quota of 1,920.
Their huge vote could see the party’s third candidate, Galway Bay FM sports editor Ollie Turner, also get elected.
The Milltown native, who lives in Dunmore, polled an impressive 1,210 for a first-time candidate and will be hopeful the big surplus from his party colleagues will get him a seat.
Cllr Reddington, who is based in Headford, said that he had worked hard since 2019.
“We sold ourselves at the door, we needed to. There were 17 candidates on the ticket today, you could nearly field a Junior B football team with them, there were so many candidates,” said Cllr Reddington.
In Leitrim, Fianna Fáil's Paddy O'Rourke and Fine Gael's Enda McGloin have been elected on the first count in Ballinamore.
First time candidate and maths teacher James Gilmartin has also been elected.
Former Clare County Council chairperson, Mary Howard has secured her return to the local authority after getting 1,485 votes in the second count.
The Fine Gael woman received 51 votes from Cllr Pat Daly's surplus of 359 ensuring her reelection.
In Kilkenny, the Callan-Thomastown is the first of four LEA's to return three elected candidates to the six seater.
Fianna Fáil poll topper Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere was elected on 2,057, followed by party colleague and first time candidate Joe Sheridan on 1,988. Fine Gael’s Joe Lyons takes the third seat with 1,621 votes.
Counting in the LEA and Piltown LEA is continuing tonight.
In Longford, Fianna Fáil's Garry Murtagh received a round of applause when he entered the count centre after the final tallies made it clear that he had not only topped the polls in Granard but across the entire county.
Labour's William Quinn has been elected in the second count at Muinebheag in Co Carlow. He was the only Labour candidate running in the county.
Clare County Councillor, Pat Hayes has been re-elected to the local authority after securing 1,908 votes in the second count following the distribution of 1,084 of Councillor Joe Cooney's surplus.
Councillor Joe Garrihy has been re-elected to the council after securing 1,901 votes in the second count of the Ennistymon LEA.
Councillor Shane Talty is very close to being elected as he is now on 1,758 just short of the 1,816 quota.
Fianna Fáil's Bernard Moynihan is the first elected to Cork County Council on the first count with 3,030 votes, surpassing the quota of 2,284.
John Paul O'Shea of Fine Gael is on 2,185 votes at the first count, followed closely by first time candidate for Fine Gael Trish Murphy on 2,037. Ms Murphy contested her father Gerard Murphy's seat after he died earlier this year.
Kanturk poll topper Bernard Moynihan said: “I’m delighted. I have a huge team of canvassers, a huge campaign team here. It’s fantastic to be back again representing the people of Duhallow in County Hall.
"There’s a fantastic community in north-west Cork. I’m delighted to be back to assist and support them."
You can read more reaction here
A second councillor for Castleisland has been elected to Kerry County Council tonight.
On the second count, independent Charlie Farrelly exceeded the quota and joins Jackie Healy-Rae in representing the Castleisland electoral area on Kerry County Council.
There are two more seats to fill, with counting continuing in Tralee.
Meanwhile, in Donegal two independents have retained seats in Glenties with Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig topping the poll with 2,111 votes.
He was followed by Michael McClafferty with 1,902.
Mayor of Ennis Pat Daly has become the first person elected in the Ennis area, securing 1,832 votes on the first count.
Mr Daly’s election could be the start of a historic result for Fianna Fáil in Ennis, with the party in contention to see all of its four candidates elected.
Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy sits in fourth place in the seven seat constituency with 1,192 first preference votes with Antoinette Baker Bashua in sixth place with 1,168, and Tom O Callaghan currently in possession of seventh position with 1,038 votes.
Fine Gael’s Mary Howard and Paul Murphy now sit second and third place with 1,434 and 1,332 votes respectively.
Sinn Féin's Tommy Guilfoyle looks set to win the party a seat in Ennis with his 1,191 first preference votes.
The only threat to the possibility of Fianna Fáil winning four seats is the Green Party's Bridget Ginnity and Social Democrats' Hillery Tonge, both of whom will have to make up serious ground in the upcoming counts to pose a realistic threat to Tom O’Callaghan.
However, if either Ginnity or Tonge can get a lot of transfers, they could pose a late threat, as one is likely to transfer heavily to the other when eliminated.
Fine Gael claim a seat in Ennistymon, Co Clare with Bill Slattery topping the poll in the first count with a tally of 2,244. The quota is 1,816.
In Kerry, the third seat in Corca Dhuibhne has been filled as Fianna Fáil’s Breandán Fitzgerald has been re-elected, beating his party colleague and long-standing politician Michael D O’Shea to the final spot in the fifth count in Tralee.
Joining Fine Gael’s Jimmy Griffin and Sinn Féin’s Robert Brosnan, the trio has been elected to Kerry County Council.
This is the first electoral area in Kerry to finish its counts on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile in Dublin, Fine Gael's candidate Emma Blain has been elected to Dublin City Council after passing the quota of 1,947 on the second count for the Pembroke LEA.
Blain received 2,046 after transfers.
Labour councillor Dermot Lacey has also been elected, retaining his seat following the second count, finishing with 1,973 after transfers.
In Kildare, Fianna Fáil's David Trost and Claire O'Rourke of the Social Democrats have been elected on the first count in Celbridge LEA. Trost got 1,687 votes while O'Rourke got 1,412.
Then in Galway, all five seats have now been filled in Gort-Kinvara. Outgoing Fianna Fáil councillor Gerry Finnerty takes the last seat without reaching the quota.
Paul Killilea takes the seat previously held by is Fine Gael colleague Joe Byrne who has retired.
Fine Gael hold on to the first seat on Clare County Council.
The council chairman Joe Cooney tops the poll for the fourth straight election on the first count.
He secured 2,819 votes, comfortably ahead of the quota of 1,735.
It looks as if the five outgoing councillors will be re-elected for a third consecutive time.
Councillor Pat Hayes of Fianna Fáíl got 1,599 votes and he is followed by his party colleague Councillor Alan O'Callaghan on 1,475 and Independent Tony O'Brien on 1,263.
Councillor Pat Burke of Fine Gael looks set to regain his seat on 1,049.
More success for the Government in Dublin.
Fianna Fáil's Deirdre Heney and Fine Gael's Naoise Ó Muirí have both been re-elected to Dublin City Council from Clontarf.
Mr Ó Muirí topped the poll.
Another elected councillor - Independent Patsy O'Brien has been elected on the first count in Claremorris in Mayo with 2,739 votes.
20 down, 929 to go - you can get detailed breakdowns from every count here.
In the Limerick mayoral race, a cross party tally of voting has Independent candidate John Moran as the front runner.
He has 16,855 first preference votes (24%) heading into Monday’s count, that’s an eight percentage point lead on his nearest rivals of Independent candidate Helen O’Donnell with 11,755 first votes (16%); Dee Ryan of Fianna Fáíl, with 10,315 votes (14%), and Fine Gael’s Daniel Butler with 8,966 (13%).
Fianna Fáil have their first seat on Dublin City Council.
Tom Brabazon elected on the first count in Donaghmede,
Elaine Loughlin and Paul Hosford reflect on the opening day of counting from the local and European elections.
Results are really starting to roll in now
The first count is in from Castlebar and Michael Kilcoyne, an Independent (2,405) and Ger Deere of Fine Gael (1,958) have been elected, surpassing the quota of 1,878.
Kilcoyne's surplus of 527 votes will now be distributed.
Al McDonnell of Fianna Fáil (1,631), party colleague Blackie Gavin (1,526) and Fine Gael's Cyril Burke (1,358) and Donna Sheridan (996) may follow suit as the counts go on.
The key battle in Castlebar will be for the seventh and final seat.
Independent Stephen Kerr (899), Fianna Fáil's Martin McLoughlin (834) and Harry Barrett, another Independent (743) look most likely to battle it out for this seat.
Fianna Fáil's Naoise Ó'Cearúil has been the first councilor elected in Kildare. He was elected in the Maynooth LEA with 1,880 votes, the quota being 1,566.
Sinn Féin has secured a seat in Corca Dhuibhne.
Robert Brosnan on the fourth count has exceeded the quota of 1,966 and joins Fine Gael’s Tommy Griffin in being elected to Kerry County Council.
The fifth count is now underway to fill the final Corca Dhuibhne seat, with Fianna Fáil’s Breandán edging closer to the finishing line ahead of his party colleague Michael D O’Shea.
Another incredible victory for Jackie Healy-Rae as he strongly secures the first seat of four in Castleisland. The Healy-Rae reign in the Kingdom lives on.
He topped the poll with 2,890 first preference votes, exceeding the quota of 1,936 in the first count.
His support has increased on 2019, when he received 2,621 first preference votes.
In this election, he received over 1,000 more votes than the second-best performing candidate Charlie Farrelly who received 1,803.
The second count is underway to fill the remaining three seats in Castleisland.
Of the total Castleisland electorate of 15,460, the total valid poll was 9,679, with 67 spoiled votes.
First count results for Pembroke for Dublin City Council are in and the Green Party have their first elected councillor of these elections.
Fine Gael councillor James Geoghegan received the most votes at 2,327 in the Pembroke LEA, passing the quota of 1,947.
Green Party councillor Hazel Chu, who was first elected in 2019 and was elected Mayor of Dublin City in 2020, received 1,973 votes in the Pembroke LEA, passing the quota and retaining her seat.
A second count has been called for the South East Inner City LEA of Dublin City Council after all candidates failed to reach the quota of 1,212.
Four independent candidates were ruled out after the first count.
Those were Nathan Hastings (88 votes), Francis Rodgers (47 votes) Jeanette Birch (98 votes) and Pat Coyne (31 votes).
Green Party candidate Claire Byrne received the most votes at 1,094 followed by Fine Gael’s Danny Byrne (746), Social Democrats’ Cian Farrell (613), independent Mannix Flynn (520) and Fianna Fáil’s Elizabeth Watson (517).
Five seats are available in the LEA.
Connemara North produced the first councillor in the country in this election and now the count for the LEA has been completed with Eileen Mannion of Fine Gael and Gerry King of Fianna Fáil being re-elected in the fourth count.
All four elected representatives were sitting councillors who have held their seats.
Find a results overview for Connemara North here
Meanwhile, in Kerry, Fine Gael sitting councillor Mike Kennelly, and independent Liam ‘Speedy’ Nolan, are looking like they could secure the first two of six seats in Listowel, both securing over 15% of votes according to the tallies.
Fine Gael’s Michael Foley isn’t far behind, while Fianna Fáil’s Michael Leane’s share of votes looks promising too. His party colleague jimmy Moloney is in the running for the final spots, as is Sinn Féin candidate Tom Barry.
Marion Falvey O’Sullivan can’t be ruled out either and if she were to be elected alongside Mr Barry, Sinn Féin could retain its two seats in Listowel.
Counts are beginning all over the country, including in Clare.
CEO of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling has confirmed that Ennis, Ennistymon and Killaloe counts will commence first, and they will be conducted simultaneously.
The Kilrush and Shannon counts will then be completed.
The votes for the Ireland South constituency have been collected and sent to Cork.
Initial tallies in the European elections Dublin constituency put Fianna Fáil's Barry Andrews in a strong position to take a seat.
Fine Gael candidate Regina Doherty is also getting a considerable number of first preference votes.
Overall, the three coalition parties are holding up well and appear to be transferring to each other.
At a glance it appears that many who gave a first preference vote to one of the two Sinn Féin candidates in Dublin's EU elections are not necessarily giving their second preference to the party.
For example, some of Lynn Boylan's first preference votes are not going to party colleague Daithí Doolan, but instead voters are giving a number two to Labour's Aodhán Ó Riordáin or Green Party MEP Ciaran Cuffe, who are both doing well. Transfers are also going to Social Democrats candidate Sinead Gibney and People Before Profit's Bríd Smith.
Outspoken Irish radio presenter and podcaster Niall Boylan also appears to be doing well across the Dublin EU constituency as boxes continue to be opened in the RDS count centre.
Speaking at the count in Fingal, Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said the election was presenting a “mixed picture” for the Green Party.
He said nationally its vote was down on the record level achieved in 2019. However, he said in Dublin City and Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, the Green Party looked like it would hold on to most of its seats.
Mr O’Gorman said the situation seemed less clear in relation to the European elections.
He said that what he had heard earlier in the day seemed quite negative for Green Party candidate in Dublin Ciarán Cuffe.
“More recently as people have had a sense of all the local authority areas, I think he is probably in with a fighting shot for the last seat.” “I think the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin seats are sown up and there could be four or five candidates in with a shout for the last seat.”
The first candidate in Kerry has been elected.
Fine Gael’s Tommy Griffin’s election was confirmed on the third count for Corca Dhuibhne, securing him one of only three seats in the area.
On the third count he finished up with 2,041 votes exceeding the quota of 1,966.
First candidate in Kerry elected! Fine Gael’s Tommy Griffin from Lispole. pic.twitter.com/7ph65vDByx
— Kathleen O'Sullivan (@Kathleen_OSull) June 8, 2024
In the running for the remaining two seats are Sinn Féin’s Robert Brosnan, and Fianna Fáil candidates Michael D O’Shea and Breandán Fitzgerald.
Out of the race are Labour’s Mike Kennedy, Green Party’s Peadar Ó Fionnáin, and Fine Gael’s Séamus Cosaí Fitzgerald.
The fourth count is on the way.
The latest from Kerry and in Tralee, where 17 candidates are battling for seven seats, the tallies are in.
Fianna Fáil councillor Mikey Sheehy is favourite at the moment with over 15% of the vote, tallies show, while Labour’s Terry O’Brien, mayor of Tralee, could retain his seat, along with Sinn Féin’s Deirdre Ferris.
It’s looking like Sinn Féin could keep a second seat in Tralee with votes for Paul Daly looking promising.
Independent Sam Locke will be hopeful of his re-election and the outcome is looking positive for him based on the tallies.
Independent Thomas McEllistrim, Fianna Fáil’s Anne O’Sullivan, Fine Gael’s candidates Angie Bailey and Sinéad Donnelly, and Sinn Féin’s Cathal Foley are all tallying a bit too close for comfort so we await to see who comes out ahead in the official counts.
Listowel boxes are still being opened, with Killarney and Kenmare moving slower.
The count is ongoing for Castleisland, while count three for Corca Dhuibhne is expected soon.
In Tipperary, the independents look set to not only keep most of the seats they had but are also set to record gains too.
With tallies for six local electoral areas completed, some 10 independent councillors are set to be re-elected, including outgoing councillors Niall P Dennehy in Clonmel, Joe Hannigan in Nenagh and Jim Ryan in Thurles.
Fine Gael look to have secured at least eight seats, according to closed tallies in Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel, Thurles, Nenagh, Cashel-Tipperary and Newport.
Meanwhile Fianna Fáil are also on course for at least eight seats so far.
The biggest upset so far is the collapse of the Fine Gael vote in Cashel-Tipperary.
First time candidate Matthew Fogarty is standing in place of party member, Michael Fitzgerald.
Unfortunately for Fine Gael, tallies for Mr Fogarty show him trailing with little more than 330 votes.
The seat instead looks set to go to another first-time candidate, the independent councillor John O’Heney, who is on course to top the poll with around 2,478 votes.
Although Sinn Fein initially, at the start of the tallies, looked on course to win two seats to add to the two seats they already have, they look like they will be very lucky if they can gain one extra seat.
So far former independent Annmarie Ryan Shiner looks to get a seat for the party in Cashel-Tipperary while David Dunne looks certain to get elected in Carrick-on-Suir.
The first count is not due to take place until around 6.30pm
The local elections have been “very difficult” for Sinn Féin, MEP candidate Daithí Doolan has admitted, while remaining defiant that they would improve on their 2019 showing.
Counts are currently ongoing in the Dublin constituencies in the RDS, with no candidates having been elected so far.
“I’m delighted in our own area that our vote has absolutely held up at a time which was a very difficult election for us. Nobody can doubt that,” Mr Doolan said.
“We’ll see what way the votes land. I hope that we’ll be going back into City Hall in the next few weeks with increased numbers of city councillors to continue doing the work that we set out to do.”
However, the Sinn Féin candidate rejected assertions that it was embarrassing for the party not to have polled stronger in Cabra-Glasnevin, where Mary Lou McDonald is based.
According to tallies, the party is polling at 16.8% across four candidates, with Séamus McGrattan in the lead for the party.
Mr Doolan also criticised Fine Gael for being “obsessed” with Sinn Féin, after Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said that the idea of Sinn Féin inevitably being in the next government had been shattered by early tallies.
“They’re [Fine Gael] obsessed with us. Rather than focusing on the needs of this city and this state, they’re focused on Sinn Féin.”
Another election result in Galway.
Seamus Walsh, who stood as an Independent after resigning from Fianna Fáíl in March in a row over accommodation for refugees, has been elected on the second count in Connemara North.
Two counts down in Corca Dhuibhne in Kerry and no candidates have been elected as of yet.
Following the distribution of Labour’s Mike Kennedy’s 508 votes amongst the other six candidates, Fine Gael’s Tommy Griffin remains on top looking strong to secure the first of three seats in the area followed by Sinn Féin’s Robert Brosnan, and Fianna Fáil’s Michael D O’Shea.
A result similar to the above means that Fianna Fáil will have lost a seat in Corca Dhuibhne.
Fine Gael’s Séamus Cosaí Fitzgerald, a long-serving politician, has lost his seat on Kerry County Council and has been eliminated and his 774 votes to be distributed.
The Castleisland first count continues.
It’s worth mentioning that the two electoral areas of Castleisland and Corca Dhuibhne forms a municipal district.
Tallying for Tralee, Listowel, Killarney, and Kenmare is still ongoing.
Three more councillors have been elected in Galway and it is a first victory for a Government representative.
Fine Gael's PJ Murphy has topped the poll in Gort-Kinvara.
He will be joined on Galway County Council by Fianna Fáil's Martina Kinane and Independent Geraldine Donohue.
There are two further seats to be filled in the LEA.
Today's early tallies have "shattered the idea that Sinn Féin will inevitably be in the next government", the Public Expenditure Minister has said.
Paschal Donohoe was speaking at the RDS as it appeared that his Dublin Central constituency would return a second Fine Gael councillor - a heartland shared by Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald.
Mr Donohoe said that the early tallies show that there is "a large majority of people who are willing to vote in a very different way to how the extremists on the far right will make the case for".
He said that the approach by the Government has been "recognised by public".
Mr Donohoe said that his party has the potential to add a seat in Cabra-Glasnevin and that his party is making progress
"I think overall, the portrayal that some have offered of Fine Gael as a tired party - that narrative, that claim has been shattered by the results that we'll see potentially coming through at the moment and the other narrative, that there's anything inevitable about Sinn Féin being in government, that's been shattered, too.
"I think we are seeing early signs of voters recognising that we have lots of difficulties, recognising that there are things that they really want to be different, but I think beginning to show signs of voting for the steady progress that is being made."
The first count for Kerry is in as the results for Corca Dhuibhne have been announced, an electoral area with seven candidates but only three seats.
With an electorate of 12,578, the total valid poll was 7,860, and a quota for candidates to reach of 1,966, which none did in this count.
Tommy Griffin from Castlemaine, who has worked as a parliamentary assistant to TD Brendan Griffin and was 56 votes short in 2019, has received 1,807 votes.
He is followed by Sinn Féin’s candidate Robert Brosnan from Lispole with 1,429 votes, and Fianna Fáil councillor Michael D O’Shea with 1,338.
Fianna Fáil councillor Breandán Fitzgerald (1,014 votes) is competing tightly with Green Party candidate Peadar Ó Fionnáin (1,024 votes), a Dingle GP.
Fine Gael’s Séamus Cosaí Fitzgerald, sitting councillor first elected to Kerry County Council in 1999, has received 740.
Labour candidate Mike Kennedy with 508 has been eliminated, with his votes to be distributed, and the impact that will have remains to be seen.
Counting of Castleisland boxes remains underway in Tralee.
Counting is officially underway at Cork City Hall!
Final tallies suggest Fine Gael is at risk of losing two seats on Cork City Council, with Labour in the hunt for two seats and the Social Democrats poised to make a breakthrough.
Follow all the action from Cork at our dedicated live blog.
Over in Wexford, all the boxes tallied in Rosslare and, going to form with the rest of the county, it’s looking good for the incumbent councillors.
Jim Codd (23%) for Aontú looks set to top the poll, followed by independent Ger Carthy (18%).
Also looking good for a seat in the five-seater are Frank Staples (13%) for Fine Gael and Lisa McDonald (11%) for Fianna Fáil.
Then it’s an almighty scrap for the last seat. Sinn Féin are collectively polling over 10% but it’s split between Aoife Rose O’Brien (6%) and Michael Roche (4%).
That leaves a chance for the likes of Joe Druhan (6%), who’s part of Verona Murphy’s Wexford Independent Alliance, and Fianna Fáil’s Simon Boyse (5%).
Rosslare will be a keenly watched electoral area given the recent protests over plans to convert a former hotel into asylum seeker accommodation.
We have our first result!
Independent Thomas Welby has retained his seat on Galway County Council on the first count in Connemara North, receiving 1,758 votes - passing the quota of 1,591.
Independent Seamus Walsh (1,525), Fianna Fáil’s Gerry King (1,435) and Eileen Mannion (1,425) are also set to be re-elected.
Sinn Féin’s Tom Healy is in fifth place on 591 votes.
Dublin MEP candidate Ciarán Cuffe has said that it is a “mixed bag” for the Green Party in the local elections, with the party due to make some gains but lose out in areas.
“It’s clearly not a green wave, but it’s not a wipeout either,” Mr Cuffe said.
“I think we’ll see some gains around the country, but we’ll also see some candidates who may lose their seats today or tomorrow. So it’s a real mixed bag for the Greens.”
On his own chances, Mr Cuffe said that he believed both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil candidates will be elected after counts begin in the European elections.
He said that staying ahead of other left-wing candidates, like Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Sinead Gibney, could help his chances, but that Independent Ireland’s Niall Boylan is the “wildcard” in the race.
“For the wildebeest, you just have to stay ahead of the lion and be the one that jumps first rather than last. If I were ahead of Aodhán and Sinead, that might position me well but the wildcard is Niall Boylan, we really don’t know what happens there,” Mr Cuffe said.
Fianna Fáil are in the lead in Tipperary with the strongest showing for a mainstream party so far.
They have the highest percentage of votes counted, with their strongest support appearing to come from voters in Carrick-on-Suir, Thurles and Roscrea-Templemore, where independent Michael Lowry has the highest share of the vote so far with 49%.
Meanwhile, votes for Fine Gael candidates are strongest - so far - in Clonmel and Cashel-Tipperary areas. Independents are showing strong gains in Nenagh, and Cahir.
In Cahir, for example, independent candidate Marian McGrath has 26.2% of the vote so far, and in Nenagh, independent candidate John Hannigan has 20.2% of the vote so far.
Michael Smith, for Fianna Fáil, has 31.7% of the votes counted so far in Roscrea-Templemore with party colleague Imelda Goldsboro on 16.5% so far in Carrick-on-Suir.
Back in Wexford, Brendan Howlin is a veteran of many an election day and knows how tough it can be in the trenches when the ballots are getting counted.
The former Labour leader remarked in the count centre that it’s very tough to unseat a sitting councillor.
It’s proving that way according to the tallies so far in the county.
Having said that, it’s still all to play for in New Ross and Rosslare. Fianna Fáil got three seats in the six-seater New Ross last time and are in the mix to retain all three.
Fine Gael appear to have a battle on to retain a seat in Bridín Murphy here but it's early days.
Sinn Féin won just two seats in Wexford County Council in 2019 and it looks like they’ll be doing very well at this stage to better that.
Verona Murphy’s Wexford Independent Alliance look good for seats in both New Ross and Rosslare too, with Joe Druhan polling well for them in the latter along with Jim Codd of Aontú.
Former poll topper Pat Barden, who's also joined Murphy's grouping, looks set to do so again in New Ross.
It'll be a while before the first count formally gets under way here, however, with Wexford County Council posting to X that "it is expected that the Local Election Count will commence at approximately 5pm this evening".
The latest on the Irish South European constituency: No official tally was conducted on the European papers, but keen party observers said the ballots they saw suggested that Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher and Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly should retain their seats.
Early indications from the Cork count centre suggest that there will be a tight battle for the remaining three seats, with signs that Sinn Féin has polled strongly in Munster, putting them in place to regain a seat through either Kathleen Funchion or Paul Gavan.
Independent MEP Mick Wallace also looks set to retain his seat.
With more than half of the boxes opened, the latest tally for the Limerick mayoral election has Independent John Moran still polling highest with 22% of the vote.
Helen O'Donnell, also Independent is 2nd on 17%, with Dee Ryan of Fianna Fáil is on 15%, Daniel Butler of Fine Gael is on 12%, and Sinn Féin's Maurice Quinlivan is on 11%.
In Kerry, tallies remain ongoing in the Killarney count centre, while the counting of Corca Dhuibhne and Castleisland boxes is being carried out in Tralee.
In the Tralee area where there are seven seats up for grabs, initial tallies are showing Fianna Fáil’s Mikey Sheehy to be proving popular, as is Sinn Féin’s candidate Deirdre Ferris.
Labour’s Terry O’Brien is polling well, with another one to watch from Sinn Féin – Paul Daly.
Education Minister Norma Foley, who topped the poll in the Tralee area in 2019, has arrived this afternoon to the count centre to show support for her Fianna Fáil colleagues.
In Listowel, Fianna Fáil’s Michael Leane, Fine Gael’s Michael Foley along with Sinn Féin’s Marion Falvey O’Sullivan are beginning to widen the gap from their colleagues – however, there are still over half of the areas boxes to be tallied yet.
Among the government parties at lunchtime there was a general level of satisfaction, but there are growing questions within Sinn Féin about its vote management.
Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil look likely to take at least one seat in each European constituency and sources within both parties believe that while local representation may drop, it won't be by massive numbers.
Sinn Féin, however, is in for a fight in all of the European constituencies and in multiple council areas, where there is a growing sense the party has run too many candidates.
In one tally in South Dublin's Palmerstown-Fonthill ward, the party has run four candidates but seems likely to take just one seat.
Almost 80% of the votes are now tallied in Waterford and Independents continue to hold a grip over two out of the three city LEAs.
In Waterford City East, Independent Cllr David Daniels has 17.5% of the current tally, followed by new Independent candidate Declan Barry at 15%.
In City South, Independent Cllr Donal Barry is in the lead with 18%, while in Tramore and Waterford City West, Cllr Lola O’Sullivan of Fine Gael is still out in front with 16.1% of the vote, followed by Independent Cllr Joe Kelly.
In Dungarvan, Sinn Féin’s Conor McGuinness holds 16.2% of the tally, whilst in Lismore its neck and neck between Labour’s Cllr John Pratt and Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Mulcahy who both hold 17.7% currently.
Cllr Liam Brazil has a lead in Portlaw/Kilmacthomas, with 25.9% of the tally.
The latest from Cork: In the city council elections, tt looks like a dogfight in the Cork North West local electoral area (LEA) where anti-immigration and library protester Ross Lahive is in contention with two sitting councillors for the sixth and final seat, final tallies suggest.
With all 48 boxes tallied in this LEA, Lahive finished on 5.93%, tied with Solidarity Cllr Brian McCarthy, who are both just behind Sinn Fein Cllr Mick Nugent who is on 5.97%.
In the county council race, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are tied in first place in Kanturk while 'other' candidates are topping the poll in Fermoy.
Follow all the action from Cork at our dedicated live blog.
Back in Kerry and Maura Healy-Rae is surging in the Killarney LEA, particularly in Fossa
Sitting independent Brendan Cronin is also believed to be in a strong position, with Labour's councillor Marie Moloney and Fine Gael's Dermot Healy also picking up votes.
Moving to Clare, and it appears Fianna Fáíl could score a major coup in Ennis - with early tallies suggesting the party could see all four of their candidates elected.
Pat Daly leads the tally, with his party colleagues Clare Colleran Molloy and Antoinette Bashua Baker in sixth and Tom O'Callaghan in the seventh and final position.
Fine Gael's Mary Howard is in second place, with party colleague Paul Murphy in third on 1,309, while Sinn Féin's Tommy Guilfoyle also looks to be in a good position.
Independent Councillor Michael Begley looks to be at risk of losing his seat in Shannon, with Fianna Fáíl's David Griffin in with a good chance of taking a seat, while Fianna Fáil's Rachel Hartigan also doing very well. Donna McGettigan of Sinn Féín is set to be the top candidate in Shannon town
In Kilrush, early indications point to Fianna Fáíl's Cllr Rita McInerney doing well, followed by Independent Dinny Gould and Independent Ireland's Joseph Woulfe.
In Wexford, with the guts of tallies for three LEAs in, Sinn Féin don’t look like they’re going to gain seats and may be in a battle to retain the ones they have.
And their potential losses look set to be independent gains .
Cathal Byrne for Fine Gael looks set to top the poll in Enniscorthy, while Fianna Fáil’s Aidan Browne and Barbara-Anne Murphy also look set to retain their seats.
Political staff Elaine Loughlin and Paul Hosford give an update from the RDS on the latest in the race for Europe in the Ireland South and Dublin constituencies and give an update on some of the local elections across the country.
The latest on the diamond in Galway: It had apparently fallen off a ring and the owner had hoped it had fallen off when she was voting.
Gort-Kinvara boxes have now been sorted in Leisureland and are heading the short distance to the count centre at Galway Lawn Tennis Club.
However, there is no sign of the diamond.
Meanwhile, the final tally in Sligo Strandhill LEA has Independent candidate Declan Bree topping the poll with 19% of the vote followed by Tom MacSharry of Fianna Fáil on 17%.
In Leitrim, the final tally is through for Carrick-on-Shannon LEA and it’s looking good for Fianna Fáil’s Sean McGowan and Independent Enda Stenson who are both closest to the predicted quota of 821.
Moving briefly on to the Limerick Mayoral Election, a cross-party tally of 14,982 votes has Independent candidate John Moran in the lead.
A short time ago, Moran was on 25%, with Helen O'Donnell, who is also and Independent candidate in second place with 17% of the vote thus far.
Dee Ryan of Fianna Fáil was on 14%, while Fine Gael's Daniel Butler had 11% of the vote.
However, the boxes opened opened represent only a fifth of the total to be opened, so things may change significantly once the mayoral votes begin to be counted on Monday.
Sticking in Munster, early tallies from the Shannon Municipal District show that first-time Fianna Fáil candidate David Griffin is polling well in the early goings.
He got 700 first preferences in Newmarket-on-Fergus, while Sinn Féin's Donna McGettigan is also tipped to do well.
From three boxes at Newmarket National School, Griffin took 219, 255 and 220 from them. There were around 1,100 votes cast between the three boxes.
After half of the tallied boxes, the front runners are: David Griffin 883, Donna McGettigan 542, Rachel Hartigan (Fianna Fáil) 465, Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael) 426 and John Crowe (Fine Gael) 380.
Elsewhere in Clare, FF Councillor Pat Daly has taken an early lead in the Ennis tallies.
With 7,190 votes tallied in the Ennis area, Daly has taken an early lead on 1,113 votes, ahead of Paul Murphy (FG) on 836 votes.
Fine Gael's Mary Howard is also polling well in this partial tally with 815 votes.
In Galway, a ballot box from the the Gort-Kinvara area was opened onto a sheet after a diamond fell into it.
A rescue operation to retrieve it is now underway at the Leisureland complex in Salthill.
Next to Tipperary, where early tallies indicate strong early showings for Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and Independent candidates.
Independent candidates Máirín McGrath and Andy Moloney are performing strongly thus far in the Cahir constituency, while Kieran Bourke (Fianna Fáil) and David Dunne (Sinn Féin) are ahead in Carrick-on-Suir.
Fine Gael candidates Mary Hourigan, Michael Murphy and Michael Smith are also performing well in the Cashel-Tipperary, Clonmel, and Roscrea-Templemore constituencies, respectively.
Early tallies also indicated strong starts for Independent candidate Micheál Lowry in Thurles, and Pamela Quirke O'Meara in Newport.
In Waterford, Councillor Lola O'Sullivan of Fine Gael - sister of Ireland South Europe candidate Grace O’Sullivan - is doing very well in Tramore and City West with 18.3%, and over 600 votes so far from initial tallies.
Cllr Jim Griffin of Sinn Féin is following in second with 10.6% of the tally.
In Waterford City East, new independent candidate Declan Barry is doing very well with 18.2% of the vote. Another Independent, Cllr David Daniels is following with 14.2% of the tally in this area.
Yet another independent, Cllr Donal Barry is well ahead in Waterford City South, with almost 20% of the tally so far.
Cllr Tom Cronin of Fianna Fáil is also doing well in Dungarvan at the moment, with 17.4% of the tally.
Sinn Féin Cllr Conor McGuinness is following closely behind at 16.9%.
In Cork, early tallies suggest Irish Party candidate Ross Lahive, who has been involved in anti-immigration and library protests, could be in with a shout of a seat in the Cork North West local electoral area.
Follow all the events from the Cork City and County at our dedicated live blog.
In Castleisland, Co Kerry, no major shake-up to the four seats up for grabs is looking likely at this point.
Early tallies put Jackie Healy-Rae, son of TD Michael Healy-Rae, at the top of the pile.
Independent Charlie Farrelly is also performing strongly, while Bobby O’Connell - the only Fine Gael candidate in this area - and Fianna Fáil candidate Fionnán Fitzgerald look as though they might retain their seats too
With 100% of boxes at the Ballinamore Local Election Authority tallied, Fianna Fáil, and councillor Paddy O' Rourke, is in the lead with 31% of the vote.
He is closely followed by Sinn Féin's Brendan Barry with 29%, and Fine Gael's Enda McGloin with 27%.
In Roscommon both Luke Ming Flanagan and Ciaran Mullooly are polling strongly according to early tallies for the Midlands-North-West European constituency, with both on 53 and 76 first preferences votes respectively.
Early tallies from Tralee count centre are showing Tommy Griffin from Castlemaine could be set to secure one of the three seats up for grands in Corca Dhuibhne.
Sinn Féin's Robert Brosnan has also had a good start, according to early tallies.
Early indications from the Ballinamore Local Electoral Area of Leitrim are showing a strong vote for Fine Gael and Sinn Féin with respective councillors Enda McGloin edging ahead with 22% of the vote, Brendan Barry (SF) on 19%. Fianna Fáil’s Paddy O’Rourke from Carrigallen is on 10% - he topped the poll in the county in 2019.
At the South West Inner City Constituency in Dublin, preliminary indications from one box suggest some solid support for three left wing candidates in the European elections.
The box, from Inchicore National School, showed good support for Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Bríd Smith, and Independents4Change Clare Daly.
The first thing happening at many count centres this morning is the dividing of the votes.
At Cork's Neo Rangers for example, votes will be separated into those cast for Cork City Council, Cork County Council, and the Ireland South European constituency.
Votes for cast for the elections to Cork City Council will be transferred to Cork City Hall for counting, while those cast for the County Council will be sent to the County Hall on the Carrigrohane Road.
Votes for the European Elections will be set aside until counting begins on them on Sunday.
It is now 9am, which means boxes have officially been opened at count centres nationwide.
Stay tuned for the latest developments.
With votes in Friday's elections now cast, politicians in Leinster House will no doubt be keeping an eye on the developments this weekend.
Here's Political Editor Elaine Loughlin on how the results of Friday's elections are likely to serve as something of a barometer of public sentiment ahead of the next general election.:
Ballot boxes are due to be opened from 9am this morning, and counting for the local elections will begin later today.
Counting for the European Parliament race will not start until after 10pm on Sunday night, after which all polling stations across the EU will have closed.
Counting in the Limerick mayoral contest will begin Monday.
Once boxes begin to be opened, tally results for the local elections will begin to trickle in as the morning goes on.
There will also some tallies for the race for mayor in Limerick.
Here is some more information on voter turnout so far:
- As of 9pm on Friday, many areas reached over the 40% turnout mark, with one station in Donegal recording 60% turnout.
- Turnout for Cork was 43.4% by 8pm higher than the 42.2% recorded in 2019. However, polling stations were recording large differences ranging 32% in some parts of the county to 53%.
- In Cork city, turnout had reached an average turnout of over 40% before 9pm.
- Kerry was expected to hit 50% by the time polls closed at 10pm, while Dungarvan in Co Waterford had already gone over 50% at 9pm
- Polling stations in Dublin city were recording an average turnout of 38.3% by 8.30pm which was up by around 7% on the same time in 2019.
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