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Count centre staff sorting ballots at Nemo Rangers GAA club in Cork Alamy

Further MEPs elected as all 949 local council seats finally filled

Seats in just one European constituency are left to fill, as newly-elected MEPs take their seats in Ireland South.

LAST UPDATE | 13 Jun

ALL OF THE country’s 949 local council seats have finally been filled, while counting continues to fill four of Ireland’s 14 MEP seats.

This evening, Independent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan was re-elected in the Midlands North West constituency, with counting continuing there. 

In Ireland South, Fine Gael’s Seán Kelly, Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher and Cynthia Ní Murchú, Independent Michael McNamara and Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion have been elected.

The Dublin constituency has been filled, sending Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty, Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews, Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan and Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin to Brussels. 

The battle is still raging on in the Midlands North West constituencies, four still need to be filled.

The latest count is due in the Midlands-North West count centre in Co Mayo at around midnight tonight. It is expected to be the last count.

You can visit our results centre for a detailed breakdown of how each count plays out in the EU elections. 

Meanwhile, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have come out on top in the local elections with the highest number of councillors elected but both taking hits to their overall share of the seats, while Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, and Independents made some gains. 

The full list of elected local councillors is available here

Dublin Result EU

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The final countdown

The counting continues in the European elections in and Midlands-North West as candidates creep closer to the quotas.

In Midlands-North West, Luke Flanagan was first to surpass the 113,325-vote quota and be elected this evening after topping the poll on the first count.

Chris MacManus (Sinn Féin) was eliminated in this constituency this morning on the 17th count and Aontú candidate Peadar Tóibín was eliminated on the 18th count.

Fianna Fáil’s Lisa Chambers has now been eliminated and her votes will be redistributed, which is likely to decide the contest.

On the 16th count, Fine Gael duo Maria Walsh and Nina Carberry were in second and third place respectively.

However, Carberry pulled into second on the 17th count and Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen slightly overtook Walsh, with a margin of just 30 votes between them.

Walsh is now back in third place, followed by Barry Cowen and Ciarán Mullooly, with Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gildernew on sixth. 

In Ireland South, all seats have finally been filled.

Fine Gael’s Seán Kelly surpassed the quota on Monday with 122,777 votes.

After a lengthy series of counts and eliminations, Billy Kelleher of Fianna Fáil was re-elected on the 18th count with 120,105 votes.

After the 19th count, and the exclusion of Independent4Change’s incumbent MEP Mick Wallace, Independent Michael McNamara, Fianna Fáil’s Cynthia Ní Murchú and Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion were elected.

Local elections

Sinn Féin increased its share of seats compared to 2019 by around 2.4%, pushing over the 100-seat marker to see 102 councillors elected.

Despite the wins, it was not the sweeping victory the party had hoped for. Leader Mary Lou McDonald told members and supporters at the RDS count centre on Sunday that the party would “learn and listen” before, while re-elected Dublin City Councillor Daithí Doolan that “strategic errors” were made – but added the party will be back fighting to “dislodge” Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil at the general election.

The Green Party was also disappointed by its showing, securing just 23 seats despite Leader Eamon Ryan suggesting in April that the party could win a seat on every local authority in the country. It did top the poll in a couple of local areas, though, particularly on Dublin City Council.

It was a good day for the Social Democrats, which boosted its seat count to 35. On Dublin City Council, the party doubled its representation to become the second largest after Fine Gael.

A number of far-right candidates who ran as independents or in newly formed parties were elected but not in the droves that some analysts had feared, with many more failing to garner enough public support than those who did.

Some local councils completed counting at the weekend, including Dublin City Council.

But others were slowed down by lengthy counts and recounts.

In Newbridge, Co Kildare, it was a photo finish between two candidates from Sinn Féin and Aontú, who were so close that it took four recounts to settle on a leader (Sinn Féin’s James Stokes), though neither ultimately secured a seat.

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