Live BlogLAST UPDATE | 2 hrs ago
THE RESULTS CONTINUE to come in as a number of races go down to the wire around the country.
Updates from Diarmuid Pepper (now), David MacRedmond and Lauren Boland
And that’s where we’ll leave our liveblog coverage for tonight, thanks for following along with us.
We’re well and truly on the home straight, though with a recount looming in Tipperary North and Cork North Central.
And spare a thought for Cavan-Monaghan, where no one has been elected yet.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil’s Stephen Donnelly faces an anxious wait throughout the night to find out if he will be re-elected in Wicklow.
And just as I type this message, the counting has officially finished in Donegal, and while it has been known for some hours, Charlie McConalogue’s return to the Dáil has been rubber stamped and we’ll leave you with that image.
Good night from The Journal team!
Minister Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fail retains his seat in Donegal pic.twitter.com/871zfAhVs8
— Highland Radio News (@HighlandNews) December 2, 2024
The results had been known for quite some time, and are still not quite official, but it’s now all but confirmed that Independent Thomas Pringle has lost his seat in Donegal which he had held since 2011.
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty and Padraig MacLochlainn, Fianna Fáil’s Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher, and Charles Ward of 100% Redress have been elected.
Technically, another count is needed to return Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue, but it’s just a formality and McConalogue will be returning to the Dáil.
Indeed, he has already thanked the people of Donegal for returning him to the Dáil on Highland Radio.
A final count is coming soon in Donegal, but it’s more or less a formality as to who will take the final two seats.
So much so, that Charles Ward’s supporters from 100% Redress are already celebrating.
Councillor Joy Beard conducting the 100% Redress choir pic.twitter.com/LJu5EvenP6
— Highland Radio News (@HighlandNews) December 2, 2024
And over in Wicklow, Fianna Fáil’s Stephen Donnelly is facing a real fight to be re-elected.
Social Democrats Jennifer Whitmore was the last person to be elected there, retaining her seat.
She joins Taoiseach Simon Harris in being elected.
Sinn Féin’s John Brady looks certain to take a seat, leaving Fine Gael’s Edward Timmins and Donnelly to battle for the fourth and final seat.
And some more election movement.
In Galway West, Fianna Fáil’s John Connolly has been elected and Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton has been re-elected.
There’s one seat left to fill in that constituency.
Speaking to The Journal, Fine Gael’s John McGahon conceded the election in Louth at around 6pm.
It’s just been made official and he has been eliminated on the 18th count.
Here are the comments he made to The Journal earlier.
Fine Gael’s John McGahon acknowledges it won’t be his day in the Louth constituency and congratulates running mate Paula Butterly, who he predicts will be elected.
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) December 1, 2024
Adds that it’s the media’s job to scrutinise politicians and says he felt supported by the party. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/XdI8q1KRaa
Mick Barry on X says he has been granted a recount after finishing just 35 votes behind Labour’s Eoghan Kenny.
RECOUNT - I have asked for and have been granted a recount here in #CorkNorthCentral after finishing a mere 35 votes behind Labour candidate Eoin Kenny on the last count. #GE24
— Mick Barry TD (@MickBarryTD) December 2, 2024
It’s a five-seat constituency, and Fianna Fáil’s Padraig O’Sullivan, Sinn Féin’s Thomas Gould, Fine Gael’s Colm Burke, and Independent Ireland’s Ken O’Flynn have been elected.
And tomorrow, we see who come out on top following a recount between Eoghan Kenny and Mick Barry, after Kenny finished up 35 votes ahead.
We’re also all finished in Dublin Bay North, with Fine Gael’s Naoise Ó Muirí, Fianna Fáil’s Tom Brabazon and Independent Barry Heneghan taking the final three seats.
They join the Social Democrats Gary O’Callaghan and Sinn Féin’s Denise Mitchell.
And we’re all wrapped up in Sligo-Leitrim.
On the final count, Independent Marian Harkin is re-elected, while Fianna Fáil’s Eamon Scanlon regains the seat he lost in the 2020 election.
They join Fine Gael’s Frank Feighan and Sinn Féin’s Martin Kenny.
And it could be a recount in Cork North Central.
Labour’s Eoghan Kenny finished on 7,461 versus Mick Barry’s 7,426, with 35 extra votes.
However, Barry has requested a recount, which could take place tomorrow from 10am.
Labour’s Eoghan Kenny 7461 versus 7426 Mick Barry.
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 2, 2024
But, but Mick Barry has asked for a recount and we will be back at 10am in the morning for that.
@thejournal_ie #ge24 pic.twitter.com/U0riSKqxRB
And another TD for Sinn Féin in Louth, with Joanna Byrne joining colleague Ruairí Ó Murchú.
Three seats left to fill there, and they’re likely to be taken by Labour’s Jed Nash, Fine Gael’s Paula Butterly, and Fianna Fáil’s Erin McGreehan.
And over in Westmeath, Sinn Féin’s Sorcha Clarke has been re-elected.
Meanwhile, Independent Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran looks set to reclaim the seat he lost in the 2020 general election in that constituency.
A count sounds to be nearby in Donegal, and it should be the final one.
There are five seats in Donegal and Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty and Padraig MacLochlainn have claimed two of them.
That leaves three seats between Independent Thomas Pringle, 100% Redress Charles Ward, and Fianna Fáil’s Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher and Charlie McConalogue.
And it turns out that’s not the final vote in Donegal!
Fianna Fáil’s Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher has been elected and says it’s been the best campaign he’s ever run.
Fianna Fail's Pat the Cope Gallagher is returning to the Dail.
— Highland Radio News (@HighlandNews) December 2, 2024
Having lost his seat in the 2020 election he has now been elected on the 15th count in Donegal. pic.twitter.com/SnBk1RrdZw
He joins Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty and Pádraig MacLochlainn in being elected.
There are now two more seats to fill, though one is certain to be taken by Gallagher’s Fianna Fáil running mate Charlie McConalogue.
That leaves Independent Thomas Pringle and 100% Redress’s Charles Ward for the last seat.
And over in Cork North Central, Eoghan Kenny has pulled ahead of Mick Barry on the 16th count.
Update from Cork - now Barry got 58 in the count to go to 7309 and Kenny 143 to go to 7393 and 84 votes between them. Ken O’Flynn surplus of 185 now. pic.twitter.com/NvifxGKhaZ
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 2, 2024
Sinn Féin’s Martin Kenny was elected in Sligo-Leitrim in the past hour.
He joins Fine Gael’s Frank Feighan in being re-elected.
There’s four seats in the constituency and Marian Harkin is in a real fight to be re-elected.
Cavan-Monaghan still awaiting it’s first TD and it’s thought that counting there could continue until around 4am.
Heather Humphreys was a long-standing Fine Gael TD there but stepped down ahead of the general election.
David Maxwell is the only Fine Gael candidate still standing there and earlier told RTÉ he was confident of being elected, following the elimination of running mates Carmel Brady and TP O’Reilly.
There’s five seats up for grabs and as things stand, Sinn Féin could take three.
Mick Barry’s mood has changed somewhat!
An hour, he said things weren’t looking good but now he says its “not over”.
I am now 1 vote ahead of Labour's Eoghan Kenny with two surpluses to distribute - Padraig O'Sullivan (347) and Ken O'Flynn (185). Still not over! #GE24
— Mick Barry TD (@MickBarryTD) December 1, 2024
And here’s the moment in Cork North Central where Mick Barry realised how close things are between himself and Labour’s Eoghan Kenny.
In the past few minutes, Meath East has returned its four TDs with the election of Fianna Fáil’s Thomas Byrne and Independent Gillian Toole.
They join Fine Gael’s Helen McEntee and Sinn Féin’s Darren O’Rourke.
Mick Barry had said he wasn’t too hopeful, but he still seems to be in it.
After 15 counts, there’s a single vote between him and Labour’s Eoghan Kenny.
Dramatic finale here in Cork North Central as PBP’s Mick Barry now leads Eoghan Kenny of Labour by just one vote. They are now going to Padraig O’Sullivan’s surplus of 340 votes. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/JUF56wqvLw
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
The next count in Donegal could well be the final count and see the final three TDs elected there.
However, Thomas Pringle has told Donegal’s Highland Radio that he doesn’t believe he will retain his seat.
Sinn Féin’s Mairéad Farrell was re-elected in Galway West in the past two hours, and here’s how she reacted to that moment:
It is the honour of a lifetime to top the poll in the best constituency there is!
— Mairéad Farrell TD (@Farrell_Mairead) December 1, 2024
Go raibh maith agaibh ar fad as an ucht an tacaíocht 💚 pic.twitter.com/kJVo8SX1vw
In Donegal, Fine Gael’s Nikki Bradley has been eliminated on the 14th count.
It’s thought that the remaining final three seats will be filled on the next count.
Mick Barry isn’t too hopeful for his chances in Cork North Central and hopefully we’ll have another count soon.
I am now 314 votes ahead of Labour's Eoghan Kenny but facing the distribution of surpluses from Colm Burke (FG), Ken O'Flynn (Independent Ireland) and Padraig O'Sullivan (FF). That's about 1900 votes. The odds aren't good but let's see what happens.....#GE24
— Mick Barry TD (@MickBarryTD) December 1, 2024
Fianna Fáil’s Norma Foley and Michael Cahill have taken the last two seats in Kerry.
Norma Foley and Michael Cahill of Fianna Fáil take the last two seats in Kerry
— Radio Kerry (@radiokerry) December 1, 2024
General Election coverage on Radio Kerry is brought to you by @RedChairTeam pic.twitter.com/DUnDgpGdmO
We’re somewhat on the home straight, with 133 out of the 174 seats now filled.
Fianna Fáil is currently out in front with 34 seats, followed by Sinn Féin on 31 and Fine Gael on 30.
Meanwhile, 30 of the 43 constituencies are now completed.
And Co Louth has its first TD, with Sinn Féin’s Ruairí Ó Murchú elected on the 16th count.
It looks as though he will be joined by party colleague Joanna Byrne in the next count.
The constituency of #Louth has its first TD elected to the 34th Dáil.
— RTÉ Louth (@RTElouth) December 1, 2024
✅ Ruairí Ó Murchú of Sinn Féin is elected on the 16th count.#GE2024 @rtenews pic.twitter.com/6BipUYu1Gi
The latest figures from Cork North Central, where another count could come within the next hour.
And more movement from Cork, where Fine Gael’s Colm Burke has been re-elected and Independent Ireland candidate Ken O’Flynn has also been elected in Cork North Central.
The count continues for the last seat in the constituency.
Fine Gael’s Colm Burke re-elected and Independent Ireland candidate Ken O’Flynn elected in Cork North Central. The count continues for the last seat. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/h7WazEgMAZ
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Cork South Central may be all wrapped up, but our reporter Niall O’Connor is still at Nemo Rangers as the Cork North Central continues.
Cork North Central still underway here. Mick Barry PBP and Labour’s Eoghan Kenny very close. Tony Fitzgerald’s votes now being distributed at the moment.
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Colm Burke will be elected as will Ken O’Flynn. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/hA0UmkhA50
Some drama in Tipperary North, where a full recount has been called.
The recount will start tomorrow from 11am.
There are three seats in the constituency and calls for a recount arose after the ninth count, when just seven votes separated the fourth and fifth placed candidates – Fianna Fáil’s Michael Smith and Independent Jim Ryan.
A recount of the ninth count reduced this lead to two and now a full recount has been ordered.
The latest episode of our politics podcast The Candidate looks at the main headlines coming out of the general election.
That includes the question no one can get away from: how did Hutch do so well?
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts
Another add for the SocDems – this time in Dublin South-Central.
The Social Democrats machine cannot be stopped. A win for councillor Jen Cummins in Dublin South Central! pic.twitter.com/XoajWAB8ki
— Dublin People (@dublinpeople) December 1, 2024
And that’s all from Cork South Central, with Fine Gael Senator Jerry Buttimer and Social Democrat’s Padraig Rice being elected.
Niall O’Connor was there to capture the moment.
Fine Gael’s Senator Jerry Buttimer and Social Democrat’s Padraig Rice elected in Cork South Central. That’s that for that constituency. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/5zOSsJLUip
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Labour’s Conor Sheehan has taken the last seat in Limerick City.
It was an incredibly tight race with Elisa O’Donovan of the Social Democrats, with just a single vote separating them at one point.
In the past few minutes, O’Donovan has thanked everyone who voted for her.
There had been an issue in Limerick City, with a mishap resulting in candidate’s names not appearing in alphabetical order on some ballot papers.
I’m absolutely gutted to have missed out so narrowly on a seat in Limerick City. I am blown away by the support that I have been given. I am so thankful to everyone who voted for me and sent me so many kind messages. This is only the beginning 💜 pic.twitter.com/ykmoIxhu9E
— Cllr Elisa O'Donovan (@elisaodonovan) December 1, 2024
Peadar Tóibín will be joined in the Dáil this term by at least one other Aontú TD, with Paul Lawless elected in Mayo this evening.
Lawless took the last seat in the Mayo five-seater, joining Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway Walsh, Fine Gael’s Alan Dillon, Fianna Fáil’s Dara Calleary and Fine Gael’s Keira Keogh.
His win comes as a coup for Tóibín who has been the party’s sole representative in Dáil Éireann for the last five years.
At 27, Lawless, a maths and PE teacher, will be one of the yongest TDs in the 34th Dáil.
Aontú, Aontú, Aontú! pic.twitter.com/jmeJPhXJ7s
— Aontú (@AontuIE) December 1, 2024
From political editor Christina Finn in the RDS
It has quietened down here in the count centre, but in the last few minutes two women have been elected to the next Dáil.
There were emotional scenes for Sinn Féin’s Denise Mitchell and Fianna Fáil’s Catherine Ardagh.
Mitchell was surrounded by her family when she heard the news that she has retained her seat.
Ardagh, a former senator who has been vying for a Dáil seat for close to a decade, was clearly moved when she heard she had been elected and was hoisted up on shoulders.
Ardagh, who’s young son has autism, has spoken publicly recently about her difficulty in getting him a school place.
She told reporters in the RDS this evening that she still doesn’t have a school place for him, stating that it is a “disgrace” that families like her own have to go through such a struggle for services.
She promised that now she is in the Dáil she will be fighting to improve disability services and pushing to get therapists reinstated back into schools.
Our political editor Christina Finn captured the moment that Sinn Féin’s Denise Mitchell was elected in Dublin Bay North.
Sinn Féin's Denise Mitchell has been elected in Dublin Bay North pic.twitter.com/krnDxteBwh
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) December 1, 2024
Niall has the latest from the Cork South Central count in Nemo Rangers.
Things are moving to a conclusion tonight but whispers are racing around the hall that it is less than 200 votes separate Deputy Mick Barry of PBP from Labour’s Eoghan Kenny in Cork North Central.
The various number crunchers are of the view that we could be going into full recount territory.
Either way, the next candidate to be elected will be Senator Jerry Buttimer in Cork South Central.
More election news, with Fine Gael’s Frank Feighan re-elected in Sligo-Leitrim.
In the past few minutes, Fianna Fáil candidates Catherine Ardagh and John McGuinness have been elected in Dublin South Central and Carlow-Kilkenny respectively.
Our political editor Christina Finn captured the moment Ardagh was elected and also spoke to her.
Ardagh said she wants to push for an overhaul of disability services in government.
Fianna Fail’s Catherine Ardagh has been elected in Dublin South Central.
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) December 1, 2024
She says she’s she wants to push for an overhaul of disability services in government. pic.twitter.com/oEuUKCvwqm
Keira Keogh has been elected for Fine Gael in Mayo.
28 elections and 28 wins.
— Jackie Healy-Rae (@Jackie_HealyRae) December 1, 2024
10 Dáil and 18 council elections in a row have been fought and won by a Healy-Rae since 1974.
It’s thanks to the people of Kerry that we continue to serve them as their public representatives both locally and nationally. pic.twitter.com/72M3RZLC1e
It’s well known that the Healy Raes are a clan to be reckoned with and brothers Danny and Michael have been re-elected to the Dáil.
The family political dynasty was kicked off by patriarch Jackie Healy Rae, who after many years working with Fianna Fáil went independent and got elected to the Dáil in 1997.
But why are they so popular, and what makes them so beloved in Co Kerry?
We looked into just that for an episode of the The Explainer.
The Explainer / SoundCloud
Eoghan Dalton reports from Waterford:
There were jubilant scenes among Sinn Féin supporters after the party were confirmed to have won two seats in Waterford – the first time in its history.
“It feels like anything is possible now,” a tearful former mayor Breda Brennan said.
Brennan joined in the 1980s, following in the footsteps of family members who became part of the republican movement following the hunger strikes involving Bobby Sands.
“A United Ireland feels possible with something like this,” she said.
“I never thought this would happen, it shows the strength of the organisation here and the work that’s been put in by David and Conor.”
Earlier, one member who said he has supported the party “100 percent” for decades expressed that he would never in his “wildest dreams” have imagined it claiming two seats in Waterford.
“I went to join the Provos when I was 14 but was told I was too young, so I came back when I was 18. I’ve been behind them forever. I just can’t believe this.”
Outside the count centre on the Cork Road, party members poured into cars, beeped their horns and blared The Wolfe Tones. (‘The One Road’, for those wondering)
Ruth Coppinger has been elected in Dublin West, and has taken to X to say she is “proud to be Dublin West’s TD again”.
Megan O’Brien has been hearing from Roderic O’Gorman, the sole Green representative in the 34th Dáil.
“The greens are still here, our issues are still here & our party is still here,” said O’Gorman.
“And I on behalf of my party will be a strong voice on climate, nature, equality, families and children as we go into the next Dáil.”
Newly elected Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney has been speaking to reporters following her election in Dublin Rathdown.
She said the party “wants to govern and change how Irish society is”.
Niall has the latest for us on how it’s looking in Cork.
Fianna Fail’s Cllr Tony Fitzgerald has been eliminated in Cork North Central and the last seat fight will be for Deputy Mick Barry or Labour’s Eoghan Kenny.
That’s it for me, David Mac Redmond, for now at least. I’m going to take a break and leave you in the very capable hands of my colleague Diarmuid Pepper.
A little more context on Paul Gogarty’s viral Dáil clip, which is all over social media again this evening…
The newly-elected TD – who was successful in Dublin Mid-West tonight, returning to the Dáil after 13 years – is best known for his expletive-laden outburst towards a Labour colleague in the wake of the financial crash.
Gogarty, then a Green Party deputy, was part of the Fianna Fáil-Greens coalition when he rounded on Emmet Stagg in a 2009 Dáil debate telling him:
“With all due respect, in the most unparliamentary language, fuck you deputy Stagg! Fuck you!”
The Greens were under intense pressure at the time and Gogarty, as his party’s education spokesperson, had been tasked with defending budget cuts in a debate.
The TD apologised straight away in the chamber, but added:
“I don’t like what has to be done, but I’m going to take the responsibility and get it on the chin and get the unpopularity and lose my seat because it is the only thing we can do to get this country out of the state we are in.”
The exchange quickly went viral, and has been regularly referenced and parodied in the intervening years.
Today is the 11th anniversary of one of the best videos to ever come out of Ireland.
— Cian Maher (@cianmaher0) December 11, 2020
"With all due respect, in the most unparliamentary language - Fuck you Deputy Stagg! Fuck you!"https://t.co/BDiheMSLDT pic.twitter.com/RdRreMDusT
‘Fuck you Deputy Stagg’ but it’s performed by an Indie Band. pic.twitter.com/Bnt8662kMJ
— Michael Fry (@BigDirtyFry) February 7, 2021
The final count is in from Dublin Rathdown, where Sinéad Gibney of the Social Democrats has won a seat in the Dáil for the first time after getting 10,612 votes.
Fine Gael’s Maeve O’Connell is also in with 9,752 votes while Fianna Fáil’s Shay Brennan has won a seat as well with 8,999.
Our political correspondent Jane Matthews is hanging in there down at the RDS, which is starting to empty out now.
There’s been a huge clear out here from the RDS over the last hour.
— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) December 1, 2024
Just two counts ongoing here now with 4 seats left to be filled in Dublin Bay North and all 4 in Dublin South Central. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/KUhATRvADr
Here’s the moment Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman found out he’d been re-elected. It went right down to the wire in Dublin West.
#Breaking Roderic O’Gorman has held his seat and will return as the sole Green Party representative in the 34th Dáil#GeneralElection24 @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/ENyTrjTQsA
— Megan O'Brien (@MeganOBrien1997) December 1, 2024
Sinn Féin TD Donnachadh Ó Laoghaire has been re-elected in Cork South-Central.
Donnacha Ó Laoghaire going back to the Dáil. His vote is down on last time but he said the running of a second candidate may be to blame. #GE24 @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/p4T1aTdfOm
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has held onto his Dáil seat and is the only member of his party to do so in this general election so far.
People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger has also been elected in Dublin West. Aontú’s Ellen Troy has lost out.
Fianna Fáil’s Padraig O’Sullivan has been elected in Cork North-Central.
Padraig O’Sullivan and Micheál Martin chatting after the election. #GE24 @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/3nhRejM5ny
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
The final count is in from Dublin Mid-West, where two candidates have been elected without reaching the quota.
Fianna Fáil’s Shane Moynihan and independent Paul Nicholas Gogarty are in while the Social Democrats’ Éoin Ó Broin (not to be confused with Sinn Féin’s Éoin Ó Broin) loses out.
Our reporter Alex Cunningham has the details.
The Social Democrats’ Eoin Hayes has won a seat in Dublin Bay South at the expense of outgoing Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews.
Hayes was not one of the favourites to win a seat in the constiuency. His win is yet more good news for the Social Democrats, who look set to improve on the six seats they won in the last general election.
Social Democrats’ Eoin Hayes takes the final seat in Dublin Bay South - ousting incumbent Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews. He tells reporters that he believes people are not interacting with the government, and feels his party represent the change that’s needed. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/tEzwlDZ8Gy
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has survived the 12th count in Dublin West, our reporter Megan O’Brien tells me.
Labour’s John Walsh has been eliminated, which means O’Gorman still has a chance to pick up one of the two remaining seats.
He is currently behind People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger and áontú ‘sEllen Troy.
Walsh’s 4039 votes will now be redistributed, and it’s expected that a large majority of them will go towards the Green camp.
Joan Collins has shared her thoughts after failing to win re-election in Dublin South Central.
Joan Collins (Right To Change) has not been re-elected after almost 15 years in the Dáil. She tells reporters that she will not be contesting an election again, but will continue her local activism for everthing she has worked towards during her career. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/wSNfDFyoUE
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has arrived at the count centre in Cork North Central to support his party colleague Pádraig O’Sullivan.
Padraig O’Sullivan will be reelected shortly here. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/2uv2dhz3eh
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Our reporter Diarmuid Pepper has been talking to Fine Gael’s John McGahon in Louth.
Fine Gael’s John McGahon acknowledges it won’t be his day in the Louth constituency and congratulates running mate Paula Butterly, who he predicts will be elected.
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) December 1, 2024
Adds that it’s the media’s job to scrutinise politicians and says he felt supported by the party. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/XdI8q1KRaa
Muiris O’Cearbhaill reports from Dublin South Central:
We’re into the closing hours of day two of the count in Dublin city and Dublin South Central is still TD-less.
No candidate had hit the 7,469-vote quota by count 11, when Daithí Doolin of Sinn Féin was eliminated. His votes are being counted and distributed as you read this.
Meanwhile, counting for Dublin Bay South is likely to wrap up shortly – with the Social Democrats’ Eoin Hayes in contention to steal a seat from incumbent TD Chris Andrews of Sinn Féin.
The Social Democrats’ growth is an interesting trend of this year’s election. The party is likely to secure their existing seats and pick up some new ones.
Deputy leader of the party Cian O’Callaghan has stuck around in the RDS since being elected to the Dáil again a number of hours ago. He has been speaking to candidates and party members who have yet to find out their fate in their respective races.
Catherine Martin of the Green Party has been eliminated in Dublin Rathdown. The outgoing media minister’s 5,881 votes will now be distributed in the next round.
Meanwhile, her party leader Roderic O’Gorman’s fate remains uncertain in Dublin West after 11 rounds of counting.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has released a statement saying this has been “a monumental week” for her, “both personally and politically”.
It has been a good couple of days for the Social Democrats, who have five TDs elected already with plenty of counting still to go.
“It is clear from the party’s incredible performance this weekend that our message – on issues such as housing, disability, healthcare, childcare and climate action – really resonated with people on the doors,” Cairns said.
“Thanks to the overwhelming mandate we have received, we are now on course to significantly increase our number of TDs. In due course, we will talk to all the other parties about government formation.”
Cairns, who gave birth to a baby girl on Friday, also thanked all of those who supported her through her pregnancy, including the staff at Cork University Maternity Hospital.
Eoghan Dalton reports from Waterford:
A strong transfer from the Social Democrats has given Sinn Féin two TDs in Waterford for the first time in its history.
Dungarvan councillor Conor McGuinness – who benefited from being the only major party candidate in the west of the county – took the seat at outgoing TD Matt Shanahan’s expense.
McGuinness had a strong lead over the Independent but it came down to transfers, with votes from Mary Roche of the Social Democrats deciding it.
While some observers in the count centre thought Roche would transfer more to her city colleague and fellow health campaigner Shanahan, the Sinn Féin councillor in fact performed better – he took 1,694 of Roche’s transfers compared to Shanahan’s 1,340.
Key personnel in the Shanahan camp told The Journal earlier that they felt transfers were showing a ‘vote left, transfer left’ strategy, with McGuinness picking up second and third preferences but leaving Shanahan with none.
Our reporter Eoghan Dalton has the latest from Waterford, where they’ve completed the final count.
Final count in from Waterford sees Sinn Féin take two seats with Conor McGuinness elected.
— Eoghan Dalton (@EoghanDalton) December 1, 2024
Independent outgoing TD Matt Shanahan loses out on the final seat.
David Cullinane, John Cummins and Mary Butler make up the first three seats here
- @thejournal_ie
Good evening from the newsroom. David Mac Redmond here taking over from Lauren Boland, who put in a serious shift today.
With just over half the Dáil seats now filled, stick with us to see how the rest of this general election plays out.
That’s it now from myself, Lauren Boland, for the day. I hope you’ve found the updates useful! I’m handing you over now to my colleague David Mac Redmond.
It’s a tense evening for Roderic O’Gorman.
Megan O’Brien has the figures for us from the latest count in Dublin West, where O’Gorman is still behind Aontú’s Ellen Troy.
O’Gorman could do well from transfers from other left candidates, but given how difficult this election has been for the Greens, he’ll no doubt be watching carefully to see how the next couple of counts shake out.
His colleague Catherine Martin is in trouble in Dublin-Rathdown, where Aisling Redden reports for us that Fine Gael’s Maeve O’Connell is inching towards the quota with a total now of 8,123 votes.
Fianna Fail’s Shay Brennan follows with 7,908. Social Democrats’s candidate Sinéad Gibney benefited from 1,030 transfers and is now at 6244, just behind independent Michael Fleming with 6,291. The Green Party’s Catherine Martin is in last place with 5,480.
This election has garnered a fair bit of international interest. Politico, a Brussels-based politics newspaper, is leading its coverage this evening with the headline: “Ireland dodges bullet as Dublin voters narrowly reject gangland boss.”
Another nugget from Muiris in the RDS:
“Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe, before being elected to Dublin Central, asked the media (many times) for updates to the Tottenham Hotspurs V Fulham FC premier league game.
“He later took a selfie with us (without asking).”
Most of the 43 constituencies have at least a couple of seats filled by now but there are several that are still fully empty:
Rachel Holden is at the Carlow-Kilkenny count centre for us. At the end of the eighth count, Fianna Fáil are still leading as the top three candidates: John McGuinness (10,612), Jennifer Murnane O’Connor (8,388) and Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere (7,512).
Áine Gladney Knox of Sinn Féin (7,091) and Catherine Callaghan of Fine Gael (7,034) are currently in fourth and fifth place, Rachel reports, but there are a couple of other candidates not too far behind all hoping to be in with a chance of getting one of the five open seats.
Malcolm Noonan, an ougoing Green minister, has failed to keep his seat and has been eliminated on the eighth count on 3,501 votes.
An update from our reporter Muiris at the Dublin city counts: “They’ve run out of sandwiches in the RDS.”
Hang in there, Muiris.
Niall has the latest for us on how it’s looking in these two Cork constituencies:
Latest figures here in Cork North Central and Cork South Central. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/SIdCl931Gc
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Fine Gael’s John McGahon, whose campaign was embroiled in controversy, has said he now intends to take time away from politics.
John McGahon says he will be taking a step back from politics for the foreseeable and now plans to spend more time with his family.
— Marc O'Driscoll (@MarcODriscoll_) December 1, 2024
Speaking at the #Louth count centre in Dundalk, he thanked those he has represented and wished running-mate Paula Butterly well. #GE2024 @rtenews pic.twitter.com/X1YNIRECjr
Alex Cunningham reports from Dublin Mid-West:
Things are really heating up here in Dublin Mid-West after count number eleven. Paul Gogarty benefits hugely from transfers, picking up 1,144. Second was Social Democrats’ Eoin Ó Broin with just 368 in comparison. Gogarty now leads the pack of four contenders, boasting 6,274 votes.
Fine Gael’s Vicki Casserly is out of the count, with the lion’s share of her transfers expected to go to partymate Emer Higgins, although there are murmurings here than it may not be as large as expected. Regardless, Higgins should be very close to the quota on next count.
It’s looking like Higgins and Gogarty could be safe and that it will be neck and neck between Eóin O’Broin and Shane Moynihan (Fianna Fáil) for that last seat.
Sinn Féin’s Shónagh Ní Raghaillaigh and Labour’s Mark Wall have been elected in Kildare South (completing the constituency).
They’re the 87th and 88th TDs elected to the Dáil, meaning we’re now past the halfway point to finding out all 174.
Aontú’s Ellen Troy has leapfrogged Green leader Roderic O’Gorman to take fifth place in the polls in Dublin West, Megan O’Brien reports – but he should be able to make a comeback safely enough.
Independent Tania Doyle has been eliminated and her 2,086 votes will now be redistributed.
Other candidates still in the race are Sinn Féin’s Breda Hanaphy, the Social Democrats’ Ellen Murphy and Labour’s John Walsh – any of them, if eliminated, would be more likely to give transfers to O’Gorman than to Troy. People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger, who is leading, is also looking to pick up more votes to move towards the quota.
Meanwhile, in Dublin South-West, Fine Gael’s Colm Brophy has been elected.
Muiris Ó Cearbhaill reports from the RDS:
Two out of five constituencies counting in the RDS in Dublin have now been completed and there are only five seats left to be filled.
In the last hour, Social Democrats’ deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan has been elected to the Dublin Bay North constituency – the first seat filled after eight grueling counts.
It’s likely now that we will see a few more seats in that constituency starting to fill up soon, but it’ll continue on for the next few hours.
But there are still 10 candidates remaining in the race and many of them are in the running for the area’s fifth seat.
Meanwhile, seeing where the transfers from Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’Callaghan – who was re-elected to the third seat in Dublin Bay South – in the last hour, will be very interesting.
There is one seat and there are two candidates remaining, Sinn Féin’s Chris Andrews and the Social Democrats’ Eoin Hayes. It is likely they will mostly go with Hayes.
While all of us at The Journal are here working away hard this weekend, one of our editor’s dogs has taken the opportunity to get up to mischief.
Sinn Féin’s Thomas Gould, elected on the tenth count in Cork North-Central, speaks to us after his win. He’s the first candidate to take a seat in this constituency.
Thomas Gould speaks on his election. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/YS2cSlU3x2
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Aisling Redden has an update for us on the situation in Dublin-Rathdown.
The eighth count is on after a long re-check of the votes, Redden writes. The re-check saw the number of votes for Social Democrat Sinéad Gibney decrease from 5,510 to 5,214.
Lettie McCarthy of Labour has been eliminated with 3,478 votes.
Shay Brennan is up 300 to 7,601 votes but remains behind Fine Gael’s Maeve O’Connell by just 14 votes.
There’s a quiet but tense atmosphere at the centre as the count continues, Aisling says.
Over in Dublin West, Megan O’Brien reports that Patrick Quinlan of the National Party has been eliminated on the eighth count. His 1,658 votes will now be redistributed and we should be seeing some more elections here in the next few hours.
People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger is looking strong on 4,037 – she’s climbing steadily towards the quota of 7,373, Megan says. Green leader Roderic O’Gorman also creeping up, now on 3,468.
A dispatch from Steven Fox, our reporter on the ground in Mallow.
And that’s a wrap for Mallow! All three of our constituencies have been filled, with ten TDs at the ready to take their seats in the 34th Dáil. Here’s a rundown of what’s happened over the last couple of days.
In a round of counts that ran from 9am Saturday until nearly 5am Sunday, a tight contest put Fianna Fáil’s Aindrias Moynihan and Michael Moynihan over the line in Cork North-West, accompanied by Fine Gael’s John Paul O’Shea.
At the same time, Cork South-West saw two party leaders returned – Independent Ireland’s Michael Collins on the eighth count and the Social Democrats’ Holly Cairns on the tenth. They were joined by Fianna Fáil’s Christopher O’Sullivan, who crossed the line on the eleventh count.
Getting back underway with Cork East at 9am on Sunday morning, this constituency didn’t see its first TD until the afternoon, when Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor was elected on the tenth count.
As we’ve said in this blog before, elections are like buses – you wait around for one for a lifetime, and then a group come at once. Mallow was no different, with three seats all filled on the twelfth count, with Fine Gael’s Mark Stanton excluded, and Sinn Féin’s Pat Buckley, Fine Gael’s Noel McCarthy and the Social Democrats’ Liam Quaide being returned by default, as none met the quota.
With the job done, the hall here at Mallow GAA has started to clear out, and I will be joining them.
Cork East has finished counting and has its final three TDs: Fine Gael’s Noel McCarthy, Sinn Féin’s Pat Buckley, and the Social Democrats’ Liam Quaide.
Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor was already elected here earlier.
Another constituency done and dusted.
Some insights from the count centre for Waterford:
Martin Cullen is well used to these kind of days. The former Fianna Fáil senior minister gives his view on the race for the last seat in Waterford
— Eoghan Dalton (@EoghanDalton) December 1, 2024
- @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/ocYAKM8EKh
Another win for the Social Democrats: Rory Hearne has been elected in Dublin North-West, a first-time TD known for his academic work around the housing crisis.
All three of this constituency’s seats have been filled on the same count, by Hearne, Fianna Fáil’s Paul McAuliffe and Sinn Féin’s Dessie Ellis.
And that’s Dublin North West’s 3 new TDs - Social Democrats Rory Hearne, Fianna Fáil’s Paul McAuliffe and Sinn Féin’s Dessie Ellis
— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) December 1, 2024
@thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/Zwp6kjJQjJ
Alex Cunningham has an interesting update for us from Dublin Mid-West.
The tenth count has brought a big development. Eoin Ó Broin of the Social Democrats took an absolutely mammoth share of Gino Kenny’s transfers and Mark Ward’s surplus (+1,587) . He’s now leapfrogged Fine Gael junior minister Emer Higgins in the count, though Higgins has a path to make it back up on transfers if running mate Vicki Casserly is eliminated.
Independent Ireland councillor Linda de Courcy has been eliminated on 3,691 votes.
Alex says that its unclear where those transfers will go, given that from a political standpoint, she is almost diametrically opposed to all other remaining candidates in the race. Some think her transfers may benefit Paul Gogarty the most, if the independent vote can be any kind of unifying factor between the two, Alex writes.
Rachel Holden reporting from the Carlow-Kilkenny count centre: While waiting for our seventh count, a familiar face is in the crowd. Carlow’s own Richie Kavanagh makes an appearance.
Well, that couldn’t have been timed any better – today’s pizza order has thankfully just arrived (we held out until nearly 6pm yesterday but couldn’t even make it til 4pm today).
The moment Marie Sherlock was elected:
Labour’s Marie Sherlock takes the final seat in Dublin Central after a tight contest with Gerry Hutch @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/4p6E5QbtdG
— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) December 1, 2024
Dublin Central has been the nail-biter of this election.
On the eleventh count announced moments ago, Labour’s Marie Sherlock picked up far more of Paschal Donohoe’s surplus transfers than opponent Gerry Hutch (1,032 versus 127).
It was enough to push Sherlock ahead, finishing on 6,102 votes and taking the constituency’s fourth and final seat. Hutch finished on 5,321.
Dublin Central is done – Labour’s Marie Sherlock has been elected, beating Gerry Hutch.
Megan O’Brien has the latest for us from Dublin West after the seventh count.
Two seats are still open and People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger is looking good to take one with her 3,949 votes, Megan reports.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman is next on 3,207 but Aontú’s Ellen Troy isn’t miles behind on 2,842.
Fianna Fáil’s second candidate Lorna Nolan has been eliminated and her 1,247 votes will now be redistributed. But where will they go is the question.
The Irish Times and reports from other outlets caught up with Hutch as he arrived at the RDS count centre, ahead of the media scrum inside the doors.
Hutch said he wanted to thank everyone who voted for him, and that they were backing him because they wanted change.
Asked what kind of change that might mean he replied: “All types of change.”
Gerard Hutch has arrived at the RDS #GeneralElection24 @IrishTimes pic.twitter.com/NbTRbVgQZY
— Sarah Burns (@sarahburnss_) December 1, 2024
It’s a full house now in Roscommon-Galway. Claire Kerrane (Sinn Féin) and Martin Daly (Fianna Fáil) were elected to its second and third seats, joining Independent Ireland’s Michael Fitzmaurice to complete the constituency.
Arriving at the RDS a short while ago, Gerry Hutch was asked what he would have to offer to constituents if he was elected.
“They’re looking for change, and if I got elected in, I would give them the change that they want. I would do what they want,” he said.
Over by the count for Cork North Central, Niall also heard from Fianna Fáil candidate Tony Fitzgerald.
Cllr Tony Fitzpatrick - he is in the running for the fifth seat in Cork North Central. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/B4zSiQqAri
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
In Cork South Central, Fianna Fáil has won two of the constituency’s four seats for Micheál Martin and Seamus McGrath last night and earlier today.
Donnacha Ó Laoghaire of Sinn Féin could take the third, though he’s still a few thousand votes away from the quota.
Donnacha Ó Laoghaire of Sinn Fein - he’s in the running to retain his seat here in Cork South Central. He gives his view on a Government make up. @thejournal_ie #GE2024 pic.twitter.com/Ro1HtGNaCj
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Wow, only one vote separating Elisa O’Donovan of the Social Democrats and Conor Sheehan of Labour on the latest count in Limerick City. There’s still room for both of them to take a seat.
Gerry Hutch has arrived at the RDS count centre ahead of the result announcement for Dublin Central’s last seat. He was swarmed by media as soon as he arrived.
Following the sixth count in Carlow-Kilkenny, Áine Gladney Knox (Sinn Féin) 6,908 has taken over Catherine Callaghan (Fine Gael) 6,898, Rachel Holden reports.
The three top spots being held still by Fianna Fáils John McGuinness with 9,947, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor with 8,283 and Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere with 7,290.
Seán Ó hArgáin (Labour) was eliminated this count with 1,849. All seats still open here.
Reporter Muiris Ó Cearbhaill reports from the RDS:
Paschal Donohoe applauded Labour senator Marie Sherlock after she was awarded 513 of Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick’s votes during the tenth count in Dublin Central.
Sherlock has managed to close the gap between herself and independent candidate and criminal Gerard Hutch – but is still just over 100 votes short of surpassing him. However, Donohoe’s large, over-1,500-vote surplus will likely benefit the Labour party candidate.
Asked about why he applauded Sherlock, Donohoe told reporters: “I have great respect for Senator Maerie Sherlock. She has done huge work in Dublin Central.
“I’d rather talk about her positives at this point - if she does get elected, and I believe she will. She richly deserves it,” he added.
FG’s Paschal Donohoe applauds Labour’s Marie Sherlock after receiving 513 of FF’s Mary Fitzpatrick’s votes. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/MiyDp2Ear3
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Moments after election the public expenditure minister said he was proud of Fine Gael’s performance over the election, and a was confident his party are on the pathway to entering back into government.
Asked who might join Fine Gael in a coalition, Donohoe said it was for the party and all the elected TDs to decide over the coming weeks. He did outline, however, that he believes the electorate want a “stable government” – politically and economically.
While centre-left groups might seem best-placed to join the party, a number of independents are in the mix too.
Independent TD Michael Lowry last night said that there is an eager group of non-party politicians who would be seeking to enter government.
Donohoe said whether independent candidates want to enter power is a matter for them to decide by themselves. He added that Fine Gael want to give all parties and TDs the space to decide that.
“I am very confident a government will be formed. It’s pretty obvious that there’s a lot of work ahead of us to do that,” he said.
He added, however, that a government could be formed before Christmas.
Paschal Donohoe says there is a chance a government could be formed by Christmas @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/xu9EcquAqX
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Not too far away, we finally have an election in Dublin South-West, Megan O’Brien reports. Sinn Féin’s Sean Crowe has won the first seat on the sixth count but his running mate Sarah Barnes has been eliminated in a blow for the party.
Crowe had been topping the polls all weekend but took some time to get over the 11,138 quota. It looks like Fine Gael’s Colm Brophy (9,043) and Fianna Fáil’s John Lahart (8,970) are still in line to take the second and third seats, Megan writes.
Meanwhile, in Dublin-Rathdown, the re-check is ongoing, Aisling Redden reports.
“It’s ecstasy and heartbreak for two incumbent TDs in Dublin Mid-West on count nine,” says Alex Cunningham, reporting from the count centre.
Sinn Féin has retained its two seats in Dublin Mid-West with the re-election of Mark Ward. He joins his colleague Eoin Ó Broin who was returned to the Dáil yesterday.
This constituency has increase from a four to five-seater in this election. It’s looking like sitting Fine Gael TD Emer Higgins will get back in and will be joined by Fianna Fáil’s Shane Moynihan. The final seat is still in play – Paul Gogarty is in strong contention but Fine Gael’s Vicky Casserly and Social Democrats’ Eoin Ó Broin (a different person to Sinn Féin’s candidate of the same name) aren’t out of the running.
People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, who served two terms in this constituency, has been officially eliminated. We’ll see on the next count how the distribution of his transfers affects the playing field.
Here’s hoping we get results from Cork and Niall gets to go home at a good hour.
Waiting, waiting waiting. Nemo Rangers tipping along. Wild rumour we might be finished by 8pm. #GE24 @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/w4YIF3XlFI
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Speaking to media at the RDS, Paschal Donohoe says there is a chance a government could be formed before Christmas but that there is a “lot of work to do”.
Paschal Donohoe says there is a chance a government could be formed by Christmas @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/xu9EcquAqX
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, who struggled in this election in his constituency of Dublin Mid-West, has conceded that he will not be returned to the Dáil.
“Political activism doesn’t stop when this type of conventional politics ceases,” Kenny said. “In fact, it can give clarity in what political activism really is.”
— Gino Kenny TD (@Ginosocialist) December 1, 2024
The obligatory victory-hoisting of Paschal Donohoe in the RDS after he was deemed elected.
Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe elected with a surplus of over 1,500 votes to Dublin Central. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/rZF4nhXW1o
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe has been elected in Dublin Central, taking the third of its four seats.
It all comes down to whether his surplus transfers benefit Gerry Hutch or Labour’s Marie Sherlock.
After a few touch-and-go rounds, Sherlock has made quite the comeback and it’s looking good for her going into the next count; she’ll likely pick up more of Donohoe’s transfers than Hutch.
In Dublin South-Central, Fine Gael’s Mary Seery Kearney (a senator) has been eliminated.
At the count for Dublin-Rathdown, Aisling Redden reports that a re-check is underway after Shay Brennan’s (Fianna Fáil) team disputed the last count.
It’s just after 2pm. Let’s take a quick look at how things stand overall.
60 TDs have been elected so far.
18 of them are from Fianna Fáil, 16 from Fine Gael, and 10 from Sinn Féin.
Seven independents have made it in as well as three members of Independent Ireland.
Social Democrats and Labour both have two candidates elected while People Before Profit and Aontú have one each.
Independent TD Cathal Berry, a former Army Ranger known for his attention to issues related to the Defence Forces and security, has lost his seat in Kildare South.
Our favourite t-shirt wearing count centre staffer has struck again, by the way. Yesterday’s t-shirt’s slogan was ‘Maybe I Like The Misery’; today’s is ‘No Better Buachaill’.
Here he is, along with some more scenes from the Nemo Rangers GAA Club in Cork.
The rate of the elections is definitely picking up now. There’s still quite a few constituencies though where we’re waiting count after count for a seat to be filled – but that’s what makes an Irish election exciting, isn’t it?
In Dublin South-West, nobody has surpassed the quota yet, reports Megan O’Brien from the count centre, as the trend we’ve been seeing there this weekend grows stronger: Sinn Féin’s Sean Crowe is still topping the polls, now on 10,934. Fine Gael’s Colm Brophy next on 8,871 and Fianna Fáil’s John Lahart in third on 8,788.
No luck for the Social Democrats, however – their candidate Ross O’Mullane has been eliminated on the fifth count.
No sooner said than done – Fine Gael’s John Cummins has been elected in Waterford.
Elation in the Fine Gael camp as John Cummins wins a seat back for the party in #Waterford@thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/Kc5Bj1pFj8
— Eoghan Dalton (@EoghanDalton) December 1, 2024
Eoghan Dalton is keeping across the situation in Waterford, where we may have another election soon:
Fine Gael councillors and supporters - and at least one ex-SF councillor - are gathering around senator John Cummins as they expect him to officially gain a seat here in #Waterford in the next few minutes
— Eoghan Dalton (@EoghanDalton) December 1, 2024
- @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/7fovBwrLgz
Transfers from Fianna Fáil senator Lisa Chambers getting pushed out of the race in Mayo have been enough to put two other candidates over the line.
Fine Gael’s Alan Dillon and Fianna Fáil’s Dara Calleary have been elected there on the eighth count, joining Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway-Walsh who was elected earlier. Two more seats still up for grabs in this five-seater.
In Dublin Central, Labour’s Marie Sherlock seems to be feeling hopeful of getting the edge over Gerry Hutch.
Labour’s Marie Sherlock can’t help but have an optimistic smile on her face in the RDS, as her path to Leinster House is likely to come down to the very last vote in Dublin Central @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/I7zXJMiWIv
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Rachel Holden reports that our leaderboard remains the same in Carlow-Kilkenny with Fianna Fáil candidates John McGuinness now with 9,887, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor with 8,230 and Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere with 7,250.
Áine Gladney Knox (Sinn Féin) was given 241 in transfer distribution from Adrienne Wallace, further closing her gap between Catherine Callaghan (Fine Gáel), Rachel reports. Knox is on 6,848 and Callaghan is on 6,871.
Independent Luke O’Connor, who was on 1,626, has been eliminated. There’s still no seats filled here.
Mick Wallace’s bid of a seat in Wexford has ended; he’s been eliminated on the eighth count.
He and fellow Independent For Change candidate Clare Daly have both lost their chance of getting a seat in the Dáil, having already been knocked out from the European Parliament in MEP elections in June.
Dublin Mid-West’s eighth count is in, Alex Cunningham reports, and People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny looks to be up next on the chopping block.
As expected, the exit of Glen Moore of the Irish Freedom Party saw a bulk of his vote go to Independent Ireland’s Linda de Courcy, who now sits on 3,279 votes.
Kenny is going to need a bare minimum of 333 transfers from Labour’s Francis Timmons to stay in this race. He’s had his back against the wall in previous elections and made it out, but there doesn’t look to be a way of escaping this, Alex writes.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin reacts to Seamus McGrath’s election and has a few words to say about government formation talks. He says they’ll have to “wait for those final counts”.
“When you get into the final counts, that’s when it comes into challenging situations. You can lose seats on those last counts,” Martin said.
“There’s very little point in focusing on formation of government until we have clear light in terms of the strength of each party and independents.”
Has he been having conversations during the count with the leaders of Labour or the Social Democrats? No, he claims.
Seamus McGrath elected here in Cork South Central. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/lS5sGwjPHt
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
One McGrath exits, another enters: Seamus McGrath, the brother of Michael McGrath, has been elected for Cork South Central, filling the seat his brother is leaving to take up an EU Commissioner role.
Seamus McGrath elected here in Cork South Central. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/lS5sGwjPHt
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
Muiris Ó Cearbhaill reports from the RDS:
Reacting to the tenth count at the RDS in Dublin, Labour’s Dublin Central candidate Marie Sherlock can’t hide an optimistic smile as Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick is eliminated from the race.
Sherlock will likely benefit from transfers here, edging out independent candidate and criminal Gerard Hutch, but it does get a bit shaky as Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe has yet to be elected.
Donohoe are, presumably, to get the highest number of transfers from outgoing coalition partner Fianna Fáil’s candidate and be elected after this count – which will ensure Sherlock a place in the next count.
Sherlock, however, will need over 500 votes, at least, to stay in the race on the 11th count in order to close the gap between herself and Hutch.
She would then have to pick up a boost from Donohoe’s surplus on the 12th count. Filling the final seat in this constituency will all but come down to the very last vote.
After getting over the line in Dublin Bay South, Labour leader Ivana Bacik – whose party could be a kingmaker in coalition talks – doesn’t rule out going into coalition with Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil.
Ivana Bacik reiterates that Labour will be approaching the Social Democrats and the Green Party to form a common platform for coalition discussions. She does not rule out going into Govt with FF or FG. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/Pe8dKh62E7
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
I mentioned a little while ago about how the far-right has really not made the gains that it wanted. My colleague Shayne Raymond has written up an insightful article about how the election has been going for far-right candidates up until this point and what way it’s headed for those still in the race.
“Going into the election, three far-right parties and some independent candidates joined forces to create a new alliance that including the National Party, Ireland First and The Irish People.
“Other known far-right parties, such as The Irish Freedom Party and Liberty Republic, were not part of the alliance.
“Supporters were encouraged to transfer their votes among members in the election, in a bid to elect Ireland’s first far-right TD.
“However, judging by the current counts of the three leaders of the alliance, things are not going well.”
We finally have a candidate elected in Cork East: Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor becomes the first candidate elected with 9,924 votes. William O’Leary has been eliminated and his 6,643 votes will now be redistributed, reports Steven Fox.
When I’m not liveblogging general elections, I do a lot of our climate reporting here at The Journal, and I can tell you – there are a lot of climate activists very disappointed with how the election has gone for the Greens this time around.
There are others who feel that the Greens haven’t gone far enough on climate action and have looked to other parties instead (perhaps one factor that’s gone in to helping the likes of the Social Democrats?), but even their critics among the climate-conscious won’t be welcoming the marked decline in support for Green politics.
Climate didn’t feature very strongly overall in campaigns this election, despite warning upon warning from scientists that the world is still heading towards climate disaster.
The Green Party has put out a statement saying that it’s been a “hard weekend” but that it will “learn from the experience as we rebuild”.
It’s been a hard weekend for the Greens. The people have spoken and we will learn from the experience as we rebuild.
— Green Party Ireland (@greenparty_ie) December 1, 2024
We’re incredibly proud of our candidates, the effort they gave and all they achieved in government.
A huge thanks to all our supporters. We’ll be back again.
Niall O’Connor at the Nemo Rangers count centre reckons there’ll be a count shortly for Cork South Central.
Fianna Fáil candidate Seamus McGrath will take it, Niall expects. Seamus’ brother Michael – who has just vacated the seat that Seamus is taking up – won’t be long heading to the airport to take up his new role as Justice Commissioner in Europe.
A couple more updates from elsewhere in Dublin.
Alex Cunningham: “There’s been no significant movement in the race for the four remaining seats in Dublin Mid-West, with far-right candidates benefiting the most from the exit of Aontú’s Colm Quinn. Independent Ireland’s Linda de Courcy picked up 368 votes, while Glen Moore of the Irish Freedom Party received 330.”
“It wasn’t enough to guarantee Moore’s survival however, and he has now bowed out at 1,935 votes. De Courcy, now the sole far-right candidate left in this race, will almost certainly benefit the most from Moore’s exit. Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward is inching ever closer to that quota of 7,913, now just 850 votes shy.”
Megan O’Brien: “The fourth count in and still no more seats filled in Dublin West. The trend continues with People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger the favourite to take the fourth seat (3,758) and Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman (3,124) in with a chance to hold onto his for the fifth seat.
“The 206 surplus votes from Fine Gael’s Emer Currie, who was elected last night, will now be redistributed. No one eliminated but non-party runners Susanne Delaney and Natalie Treacy coming in last on this round.”
Bacik, the leader of the Labour party, is a well known face in politics from her many years as a senator but this is actually her first time winning in a general election; her first entry to the Dáil was through the Dublin Bay South by-election in 2021.
Lots of celebrating in the RDS as both James Geoghegan of Fine Gael and Ivana Bacik of Labour are re-elected on the fourth count.
Muiris Ó Cearbhaill reports from the RDS:
Halfway there in Dublin Central as Social Democrats’ Gary Gannon was elected at the RDS count centre in Dublin to the second seat in the constituency.
Gannon said his party must enter government “for a purpose and for a reason”, and is not interested in propping up other major partners.
“We’ve all been walking around. We see the hurt out there. It’s not going to be just to make up the numbers,” Gannon said.
“When, and if, the Social Democrats are in government it’s going to be a government of change and government of action,” he added.
He continued: “We’re not just here to make up the numbers. We’re here to make a difference. That will be the Social Democrats’ mandate in government.
“We’ve made our red lines very clear right from the start – if the other party leaders want to talk about living up to them, then of course we’ll talk to them.”
The Social Democrats’ leader Holly Cairns has made clear that a red line for going into government is the delivery of 50,000 affordable homes over a five-year term.
He told reporters after he was elected that he is not concerned that his job would be at risk because of it. “I’m not worried about losing my job – that’s the least of my concerns. I’m worried about what policies I can get on the table and make a difference.”
Gannon tells reporters that the Social Democrats want to implement policies that matter to people. Asked about concerns that going into Govt would lead to him losing his job, he says it is not a concern @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/6t5zcfpWwi
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Gannon thanked former leaders Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy for their work in the Dáil and on the campaign trail. He described both of them as “real mentors” and “real friends”.
“I also want to express my absolute awe at Holly Cairns, for the leadership she has demonstrated for the party. This is a political party, but it’s a party of friends as well. Today I just feel a sense of gratefulness, determination and let’s get onto what’s next.”
As we know, another group not doing well is the Greens. Outgoing TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh is the latest to lose his seat.
Sinn Féin candidate Conor McGuiness looks poised to take the last Waterford seat instead, along with Fine Gael’s John Cummins and Fianna Fáil’s Mary Butler who are also on track to take seats. Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane was already elected there on the first count last night.
Far right candidates have largely failed to gain the footing that they were seeking in this election, with quite a few high-profile names already out of the running.
Derek Blighe, who ran in Cork North Central, has been eliminated on the seventh count.
Another count in Cork North Central. Derek Blighe is out now. #GE24 pic.twitter.com/bufPkDYaFG
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
The third count is on in for Dublin West, where the final two seats are still unfilled, reports Megan O’Brien.
People Before Profit/Solidarity’s Ruth Coppinger had the most votes in this round on 3,666 after receiving 27 transfers. Roderic O’Gorman coming in behind her on 3,078 after getting just four transfers. O’Gorman is hoping to hold onto his seat here – if he does, he’ll be one of very few Greens getting back in – potentially the only one.
Non-party candidates Umar Al-Qadri and John Forde have been eliminated on 398 and 104 votes respectively. Their transfers will now be redistributed for the fourth count.
The fifth count Roscommon-Galway brought 791 votes worth of transfers from Cormac Ó Corcoráin (Aontú) and Andrew Mannion’s (People Before Profit/Solidarity) to Claire Kerrane (Sinn Féin). Kerrane is on 9,331 followed by Martin Daly (Fianna Fáil) on 8,010.
The sixth count is underway. If the previous speed is matched, we could well have an update within the hour, reports Emma Whitney.
Looking at the figures suggests that Eugene Murphy (Independent) could be in trouble as it is likely Dymphna Daly Finn’s (Fine Gael) transfers would go largely to her party counterpart Aisling Dolan. Murphy is currently on 5,441 votes and Dolan is on 5,228, Whitney reports. Dolan could knock Murphy out – but would it be enough to be elected in this three-seater?
Another Aontú elimination in Dublin-Rathdown, where Liam Coughlan was knocked out on the sixth count.
Fine Gael’s Maeve O’Connell is on 7,440 votes, while Fianna Fáil’s Shay Brennan follows with 7,199. Sinead Gibney of the Social Democrats and Independent Michael Fleming are now over the 5,000 mark, while the Green Party’s Catherine Martin trails with 4,472, reports Aisling Redden.
You might remember Paul Gogarty, either as a long-time Dublin Mid-West politician (once as a Green, now an independent in more recent years) or for his viral clip in the Dáil addressing Deputy Emmett Stagg with unparliamentary language.
Gogarty, a local councillor, has been out of the Dáil since 2011 but it looks like he may be returning to Leinster House this time around.
Alex Cunningham reports from the count centre in Adamstown that Gogarty has been the main benefactor of independent Alan Hayes’ transfers. Gogarty picked up 225 votes, bringing his share to 4,076. It’s early days but Gogarty looks to be primed to take a seat here, with the opportunity to end his 13-year Dáil hiatus.
People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, however, looks to be in a real spot of bother here, Alex reports. Some trickling down of Eoin Ó Broin’s surplus hasn’t been enough to recover from a difficult first count for Kenny. Looking ahead, there doesn’t seem to be a clear and obvious candidate he can gain a major amount of transfers from, says Alex.
Aontú’s Colm Quinn has been knocked out, leaving a potential 1,601 transfers to distribute.
There’s lots of talk about the risk smaller parties face going into coalition with bigger parties in the wake of the massive hit the Greens have taken in this election.
Fresh off being re-elected, Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats says he is not worried about losing his job. “That’s the least of my concerns. I’m worried about what policies we can get on the table.”
Gannon tells reporters that the Social Democrats want to implement policies that matter to people. Asked about concerns that going into Govt would lead to him losing his job, he says it is not a concern @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/6t5zcfpWwi
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
But it’s big news for Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats – he was in line for a seat from the start and has now officially been pushed over the quota.
Here we go – Neasa Hourigan’s transfers are being redistributed.
Marie Sherlock picks up 851 of them – not as many as she might have been hoping for.
Gerry Hutch gets just 26 of them.
Muiris reckons there’s going to be another count announcement in Dublin Central very soon. This could make or break it for Marie Sherlock.
In the same neck of the woods over at Nemo Rangers in Cork, Niall O’Connor has the latest.
Numbers here for all the poll watchers out there for Cork South Central and Cork North Central.
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
They are still working their way through the people who hadn’t a hope of getting elected.
@thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/1WNA29rCAb
The calm before the storm in Mallow, where we’re waiting for counts for Cork East.
Brian Stanley – the former Sinn Féin TD who ran in this election as an independent after a recent public fallout with the party – has been re-elected in Laois.
Emma Whitney is at the count for Roscommon-Galway for us, where Sinn Féin’s Claire Kerrane is on track to take a second seat, joining Independent Ireland’s Michael Fitzmaurice.
She’s expecting the next count announcement there soon, which could see Fine Gael candidate Dympna Daly-Finn eliminated.
Fourth count announced here in Roscommon. Martina O’Connor’s and Alan Sweeney’s transfers of 755 votes down as follows - Andrew Mannion and Cormac Ó Corcoráin have been eliminated @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/hJvx7mk4xo
— Emma Ní Fhuitnigh (@emmamgw14) December 1, 2024
There’s Niall now back in Nemo Rangers. He’s been speaking to Simon Coveney, an outgoing Fine Gael minister – one of the party’s many TDs that decided not to run again for election this time around.
Good morning from Nemo Rangers. Day two. Simon Coveney has been chatting and he gave his view on the last Government. He wouldn’t be drawn on what he is going at next but said it is a change of career. @thejournal_ie #GE24 pic.twitter.com/6RaUJesi9a
— Niall O’Connor (@NiallJournal_ie) December 1, 2024
In Carlow-Kilkenny, Rachel Holden is reporting for us that the conclusion of the third count has left John McGuinness (Fianna Fáil) still leading with 9,841.
He’s followed by running mates Jennifer Murnane O’Connor with 8,116 and Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere with 7,235.
In short, Fianna Fáil has three candidates in this constituency and all three are topping the poll.
Eliminated on this count was Orla Donohoe (Irish Freedom Party) with 818 votes. No seats have yet been filled here.
Muiris Ó Cearbhaill reports from the RDS:
All very unscientific counting here from myself, but large numbers of transfers from Neasa Hourigan of the Green Party are heading towards Social Democrats’ Gary Gannon and then continuing to Labour’s Marie Sherlock.
Similarly, a good number of Hourigan’s votes are transferring to Sherlock first and then Gannon.
The Social Democrats’ candidate is likely to be elected on the next count in Dublin Central. Sherlock may have a comeback late into the next count – but, as of now, it looks unlikely.
My colleague Eoghan Dalton has the latest from Wexford:
In Wexford, Labour’s George Lawlor remains in the driving seat to nab the final seat ahead of Fine Gael’s Cathal Byrne.
The quota to be elected is 10,502 and there’s still three seats up for grabs.
Lawlor, on 7,395 votes, has a gap of around 2,300 votes ahead of the Fine Gael councillor Byrne in the four-seater.
Fianna Fáil’s James Browne is looking assured for the second seat on 8,986 – around a thousand votes from the quota – and Sinn Féin’s Johnny Mythen looks safe to retain his seat with 7,923 votes so far.
They will be joining Independent Verona Murphy who topped the poll yesterday with 21% of the vote.
Some Fine Gael insiders here believe that its two-candidate strategy backfired – with the party at risk of being without a TD here for the first time since the 1920s.
Byrne will be relying on his running mate Bridin Murphy’s transfers from her 3,157 votes transferring heavily to him to give himself a chance.
Independent Jackser Owens, Peadar McDonald (Green) and Martina Stafford (PBP) have all been eliminated and we are now moving towards count 7 in Wexford.
We have more updates from counts in a few Dublin constituencies:
Aisling Redden: “In Dublin-Rathdown People Before Profit’s Ní Aonghusa’s votes have been transferred and the next count announced. Elaine Mary Dunne of Fianna Fáil has been eliminated on the fourth count with 1,443 votes. The Social Democrats’ Sinéad Gibney is now slightly ahead of independent Michael Fleming by 293 votes. No candidates reached the quota on this round.”
Megan O’Brien: “The excitement seems a long way off in Dublin West, with the third count yet to begin despite being due to start an hour ago. Two seats to fill here after Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers, Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly and Fine Gael’s Emer Currie won the first three.
“Last night’s numbers indicate that People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger will be in next as she sits on 3,639. Meanwhile, Independent candidate Dr Umar Al-Qadri will likely be eliminated next, he sat on just 397 votes after the second count.”
Alex Cunningham: “In Dublin Mid-West, Fianna Fáil Lynda Prendergast’s numbers have been distributed, and as expected, Fianna Fáil colleague Shane Moynihan receives the lion shares of transfers. Those votes bring Moynihan up to 5,276 votes, leapfrogging Fine Gael TD Emer Higgins, who now sits on 5,036. Both candidates still have a sizeable amount of work left to do in order to hit the quota of 7,913.
“Independent candidate Alan Hayes has been knocked out of the count, with his votes likely to benefit the remaining centre-left candidates in the race.”
A big blow for Fianna Fáil in Galway East: Anne Rabitte, who was a minister of state in this outgoing government, has lost her seat on the ninth count.
Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has picked up many of independent Malachy Steenson’s transfers on the latest count in Dublin Central after Steenson was eliminated.
Labour’s Marie Sherlock is still in with a chance but only if she gets a significant boost from the next few transfers. She could pick some up now from the elimination of Green Party candidate Neasa Hourigan.
Labour’s Marie Sherlock survives another count after the distribution of independent Malachy Steenson’s votes.
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Gerard Hutch widens the gap between him and Sherlock, as Green Party incumbent Neasa Hourigan is eliminated @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/OK6nHYVSAp
In Fingal East, outgoing Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fáil) has just been re-elected.
Rate my colleague Muiris’s count-announcement handwriting in the comments (mine would be worse).
A couple of eliminations: Philip Sutcliffe (Independent Ireland councillor in Dublin South-Central) and Brian Leddin (Green TD in Limerick City) are both out.
Leddin’s seat loss is not a surprise for the Greens at this stage given the blow the party has taken in this election but it’s still another confirmation of what is a disappointing result for them.
Reporter Muiris Ó Cearbhaill has more analysis for us from the RDS:
Count 7 is concluding, slowly, here at the RDS for the nail-biting Dublin Central constituency.
Staff began counting here at 10am to distribute non-party candidate Malachy Steenson’s transferable votes.
As the last few votes are counted from that batch, the only staff who are still working are those at independent candidate and criminal Gerard Hutch’s desk – he is likely to get the vast amount of transfers from Steenson.
It will be a tight race until the very end here, as Labour’s Marie Sherlock is also in contention for a seat.
Sherlock chasing the Monk. You couldn’t write this.
News Correspondent Niall O’Connor is en route to the Nemo Rangers count centre in Cork and is jumping with joy after learning that it’s looking like counting will continue there up to midnight.
Megan O’Brien in reporting from the count for Dublin South-West, where counting is about to resume.
She writes that we left off here after two counts yesterday without anyone elected. The latest count left Sinn Féin’s Sean Crowe in the lead on 9,939, Fine Gael’s Colm Brophy on 8,517 and Fianna Fáil’s John Lahart on 8,293.
This is a five seater and it looks like People Before Profit’s Paul Murphy and Fianna Fáil’s Teresa Costello are in position to take the last two seats, Megan reports. They’re sitting on 5,136 and 4,777 respectively.
Far-right independent candidate Gavin Pepper has been eliminated in Dublin North-West on the sixth count.
Dessie Ellis of Sinn Féin are Rory Hearne of the Social Democrats are performing well here.
Independent candidate Gavin Pepper has been eliminated from the Dublin North West race. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/7aqNDlZcvg
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Steven Fox has a nice round-up for us here of where things stand in the Mallow count centre.
He writes that in Cork East, it’s still all to play for, with Fine Gael’s Mark Stanton and Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor closely following Pat Buckley of Sinn Féin.
1/5 Good morning, I'm back again at a (much more sedate) Mallow count centre, reporting on all the counts for @thejournal_ie . Here's where things stand:#mallow #ge2024 #corkeast #corknorthwest #corksouthwest
— Stiofáin Ó Sionnaigh (@StiofainS) December 1, 2024
Over in Mallow, Cork East has announced its eighth count, but there’s still no candidate over the quota.
Independent Mary Linehan Foley, who was on 4,526 votes, has been eliminated.
Pat Buckley of Sinn Féin is the closest to the quota.
We have our first election of the day: Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway-Walsh has been elected in Mayo on the sixth count.
Here at the RDS for @thejournal_ie on Day 2 of the election count for Dublin City constituencies where counting has just got underway again.
— Muiris Ó Cearbhaill (@muirisoc) December 1, 2024
Catch updates here, on another twitter-like app and on our liveblog. pic.twitter.com/6IW3O7Tjoc
Reporter Steven Fox is in the count centre in Mallow, which is counting several Cork constituencies and produced something of a flurry of results late last night. Only Cork East is left to declare.
Alex Cunningham is in place for us to report at the count for Dublin Mid-West in Adamstown, where Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Bróin was elected very comfortably yesterday.
Back in Adamstown for @thejournal_ie, with the fourth count for Dublin Mid-West set to get underway. A long, drawn out day of results to be expected pic.twitter.com/k6IHSXiZKu
— Alex Cunningham (@A_Cunningham03) December 1, 2024
Our reporter Muiris Ó Cearbhaill has arrived at the RDS count centre and has this insightful analysis for us:
While all the attention has been on Dublin Central, one would almost forget that there are four other constituencies counting here in the RDS.
Counting has kicked off here in the last few moments, with seats likely to be filled left, right and centre throughout the day.
In Dublin South-Central, it is likely Sinn Féin will pick up another seat later today in this constituency.
No one has reached the quota after the fifth count. Staff will start at 10am to get started with distributing the transfers from independent Dolores Webster, who was eliminated last night.
Similarly, in Dublin Bay North, no one has yet to be elected but the Social Democrats’ Cian O’Callaghan had a good day yesterday after topping the poll on the first count.
As it stands, Fianna Fáil are in the mix to pick up a second seat – in the absence of Aodhán Ó Ríordáin of the Labour Party who resigned after being elected as an MEP in June. It is unlikely that Labour will hold the seat.
Elected councillor Deirdre Heaney, who is the leader of Fianna Fáil in Dublin City Council, is in the running to be elected to the fifth seat – 200 votes ahead of Fine Gael’s Aoibhinn Tormay.
There’s a lot of action expected in Dublin Bay South today.
By-election rivals James Geoghegan (FG) and Ivana Bacik (LAB) will be elected at some point today – meaning Fine Gael regains a seat and Labour retains a seat it pipped from Eoghan Murphy in 2021.
What gave way for this shake up? The Green Party’s wipe out. Experiences councillor Hazel Chu was eliminated last night, and her votes are set to be distributed.
Maybe we are not reporting on this one for a reason.
At this point in the count in Dublin North-West in 2020, the race looked the exact same.
This time, however, the Social Democrats’ Rory Hearne is in the place of Róisín Shortall – and has done enough to retain the seat. Many candidates in this constituency saw Hearne’s candidacy as an opportunity, but he seems to have held the party support.
Cavan-Monaghan is now the only constituency that still hasn’t announced the results of its first count.
We have the first count of the morning coming out of Kildare North. It’s also this constituency’s first count overall.
No candidate reached the quota (9,505); James Lawless of Fianna Fáil was the closest, with 8,734 votes.
Sean Gill of the Centre Party of Ireland with 67 votes and Avril Corcoran of Irish People with 533 votes have been eliminated for the next count.
And of course, it’ll also be very interesting to see how the counts play out in Wicklow, where outgoing health minister Stephen Donnelly is hoping to hang on to his seat.
Fine Gael leader Simon Harris was re-elected there on the first count last night. Jennifer Whitmore is on track to join the Social Democrats’ enlarged representation in the Dáil as the party expects to boost its seat numbers.
Another place that hasn’t gotten as much attention but is worth a watch is Galway West. The top few candidates should get in easily enough to this five-seater but look at how close next few coming up behind them are. Gráinne Seoige, however, who ran for Fianna Fáil, didn’t manage to gain much ground.
As counting resumes, one of the constituencies everyone has their eye on is Dublin Central.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald took its first seat yesterday on the third count, with three more seats still up for grabs.
Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats is chasing the quota – he’s less than 200 votes away and will get by easily once he picks up a few more transfers. Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe isn’t far behind him.
The fight for the last seat is coming down to Labour Senator Marie Sherlock and none other than Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, who currently has the edge.
Our live results centre is the go-to place to find out the makeup of the 34th Dáil.
The centre fills in each new TD, their party and constituency as candidates are officially elected. It also show how each party is faring, comparing their final seat number to 2020′s outcome, and keeps track of how each candidate is doing after every round of counting.
Let’s set the scene a little for today: Met Éireann is forecasting sunny spells with some showers moving eastwards across the country. It should be mild enough overall with highest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees and light to moderate southwest winds.
When we left off our live updates last night around midnight, 31 seats had been filled.
There was a rush of late-night elections since in the wee hours in a handful of constituencies, especially in Cork, bringing the number of taken seats up to 41.
Here are the elections you missed overnight:
Cork North-West
Cork South-West
Donegal
Offaly
Limerick County
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