Luke 'Ming' Flanagan tops the poll in Midlands-North-West

Incumbent's 78,214 votes are some 35k votes shy of the quota, and he is closely followed by FF’s Barry Cowen on 73,908

Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan is in the lead in the Midlands-North-West European election constituency, but is closely followed by Barry Cowen, Nina Carberry, and Maria Walsh all of whom polled 70,000-plus.

Incumbent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan has topped the poll following the first count in the Midlands-North-West constituency, garnering 78,214 first preference votes.

Mr Flanagan did not reach the quota, which stands at 113,325, after two marathon days of counting at the TF Royal Hotel in Castlebar.

Mr Flanagan was followed closely by Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen, who received 73,908. Both Fine Gael candidates, Nina Carberry and Maria Walsh, took home a sizeable share each — with 73,908 and 71,476 first-preference votes respectively.

However, Sinn Féin may not be out of the race yet. Transfers between their two candidates potentially puts either Michelle Gildernew or Chris MacManus back in the running to clinch a seat.

Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy admitted that it would be a “fight” for a seat.

Candidates at the count centre on the day all spoke about the importance of transfers in the race, with Independent Ireland’s Ciaran Mullooly saying that he is “in the mix” for the last seat.

“We’ve clearly made a huge impact here,” Mr Mullooly said.

“We’re going to be in the mix for, I believe, it will be the last seat — the fifth seat. Over the coming hours, I think transfers are going to be the crucial issue.”

Mr Flanagan said that he believed the count itself would last for at least “another three days”, but that it could be longer if the final counts are tight and recounts are required.

Ahead of the count, Mr Mullooly said that he had not been convinced by any Sinn Féin slump and that he believed that transfers between the two candidates – Ms Gildernew and Mr MacManus – will play a key role.

“For me, the issues I’m looking at most carefully will be the performance of Sinn Féin and Aontú in this situation, particularly Michelle Gildernew,” Mr Mullooly said.

On Aontú, Mr Mullooly said that his aim was to stay ahead of party leader Peadar Tóibín, saying that it was “crucial” if he was to remain in the race.

However, Mr Mullooly said that he had no plans to contest a general election for Independent Ireland if he doesn’t get over the line, saying that he got involved to deal with issues around farming where there is a greater impact in Brussels.

“I have no interest in pursuing a career at the Dáil,” he said.

Aontú’s Peadar Tóibín said that his own chances of taking a seat are in the “lap of the gods” currently, but that he believed he was in with a shot.

The former Sinn Féin TD also cast doubt on Mary Lou McDonald’s leadership, saying that he has spoken to party members and that there is some disillusionment with the leader.

“People I’ve spoken to in count centres across the country are questioning whether Mary Lou should continue on as the leader of her political party. I’m hearing people saying Pearse Doherty’s name more and more.” However, Mr Carthy rejected this outright, saying that Sinn Féin would now reflect on its performance and that party leadership will take responsibility for the election.

“We’re going to get down to brass tacks and actually get back to earning the trust of the people we need to earn the trust of in advance of the general election,” Mr Carthy said.

Mr Flanagan said that he believed that the results of both the local and European elections could make the coalition complacent.

“It might make them deluded as to the idea that Simon Harris is some sort of saviour and I think the general election will show that he isn’t,” he said.