Election 2024 - Day two count as it happened
For Society Royal Count Harris Picture: The The Damien Arrives Elections At Storan/pa During The Taoiseach European Dublin Simon Wire
The second day of counting in the local elections saw over 750 seats filled as the end is in sight.
No candidate reached the quota for the Dublin MEP seats after the first count and we can expect a lot more action in the European election throughout Monday.
Stay with us as we will continue to have live updates on the local, European, and Limerick mayoral elections as counts continue.
In Kilkenny, Castlecomer's last two seats were filled on count five by Fianna Fáil's Michael Delaney and Independent Maurice Shorthall.
While Fianna Fáil's Joe Malone was elected in Kilkenny LEA on the 12th count.
More from Dublin as People Before Profit's Jess Spear, partner of TD Paul Murphy, was elected for Tallaght Central alongside Sinn Féin’s Niamh Whelan on the 16th count.
In Fingal, Labour's James Humphreys, son of former TD Kevin Humphreys, was elected for Swords alongside Sinn Féin's Marian Buckley and Independent Darren Jack Kelly.
In Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, a complete recount will take place in the Blackrock electoral area in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown after Independent Cormac Lucey lost out on the sixth and final seat to newcomer Fine Gael’s Dan Carson by just two votes.
Mr Lucey, an accountant and commentator, who was championed by former minister Michael McDowell asked for the recount after the 11th and final count was declared.
Returning officer Stephen Brady agreed to the recount.
Labour Cllr Martha Fanning, Fine Gael Cllr Maurice Dockrell and Mr Carson had been deemed elected without reaching the quota.
The count will recommence at 11 am on Monday in the Cherrywood Business Park count centre.
In Stillorgan, Social Democrats candidate John Hurley was elected on the ninth count. The party had one representative in the previous council in the Dun Laoghaire area but outgoing councillor Dave Quinn stood down.
Fine Gael retained its three sitting councillors in the LEA – Barry Saul, Maeve O’Connell and John Kennedy.
Fine Gael and Independents make up 50% of the newly elected Waterford Council, whilst seven of Sinn Féin’s eighteen candidates get elected.
The 32 seats across six local election areas have been filled in Waterford, with Fine Gael and Independents both ending with eight seats each, ahead of Sinn Féin (seven), Fianna Fáil (five), Labour (three) and Social Democrats (1). Zero Green Party candidates get elected and the two sitting members both lose their seats.
Just before midnight on Sunday, Independents brought themselves level with Fine Gael for number of candidates elected.
Sitting Mayor of City and County Joe Conway got elected alongside fellow Independent Blaise Hannigan who returns to the council for the first time since 2014.
They were joined by returning councillors Sinn Féin's Jim Griffin and Fianna Fáil's Eamon Quinlan.
In North Roscommon, the third Boyle LEA seat has been filled by Micheál Frain leaving three seats remaining.
He received a total of 1,837 votes on the seventh count tonight at the Dr Hyde Count Centre. His surplus votes of 209 are now being distributed to the remaining candidates.
We have a heap of results here from Louth, Sligo, Dublin, and Cavan.
In Louth, Independent Cllr Jim Tenanty is the first candidate to be elected to the council from the Ardee local electoral area.
Mr Tenanty was elected in the ninth count, just before 10.30pm, continuing the trend of Independent success.
Sligo is halfway there with nine out of 18 seats filled after Independent Joseph Queenan was elected on the ninth count in Ballymote Tubbercurry.
Fine Gael's Thomas Walsh has topped the poll in Sligo Drumcliff with 1,891 first preference votes. He has exceeded the quota and was elected on the first count.
However, still no sign of a first count in Sligo Drumcliff!
Turning our eyes to Dublin and in Fingal, Brian McDonagh of the Labour Party elected in the Howth/Malahide area.
Accountant and commentator Cormac Lucey lost out on the final seat in the Blackrock LEA of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council by just two votes to Fine Gael's Dan Carson.
Three councillors were elected without reaching the quota, Labour's Martha Fanning, Fine Gael's Maurice Dockrell and Cllr Carson, elected for the first time.
Malachy Quinn of Sinn Féin elected for Balbriggan area in Fingal on the 10th count.
Fine Gael’s Caroline Brady, Labour’s Joanna Tuffy and Independent Liona O’Toole elected for Lucan on the 12th count, meaning the five-seater local electoral ward will be made up of four women alongside Independent Paul Gogarty.
In Cavan, sitting councillor Paddy McDonald of Sinn Féin has been eliminated in Bailieborough Cootehill's sixth count; although running mate Stiofán Conaty looks set to hold the seat for the party.
Still four seats to fill but with five left in the race, it will be decided on the next count - provided no recheck or recount is sought. The status quo in this LEA remains one seat each for Aontú and Fine Gael.
In Carlow, just three votes separate three candidates for the final two seats in Tullow LEA.
Fine Gael's Brian O’Donoghue is on 895, Sinn Féin's Jim Deane on 893 and Fine Gael's Catherine Callaghan on 892. Full recount ordered for the morning at 10am
Counting has wrapped up in Midlands North West for the night, with no results in as of yet.
The returning officer has instructed count staff to be in place at 8.30am tomorrow. Further to this, adjudication of doubtful ballots will be held at 10.30am tomorrow.
As to when we can expect a first count, there is some expectation that it could be in the afternoon or evening.
In Galway, former PD and now Independent Donal Lyons has topped the poll in Galway West for the sixth time in a row and has been elected on the first count after polling 1,415 votes and easily meeting the quota of 1,250.
His surplus will be distributed and then the count for the final LEA in Galway city will halt and resume again at Westside Community Centre at 9.30am on Monday morning.
Fine Gael’s Clodagh Higgins (1,074) is set to retain her seat with Fianna Fáil’s John Connolly (981), Social Democrats’s Alan Curran (884), Fianna Fáil’s Peter Keane (768), Labour’s Niall McNelis (673), Green Party’s Niall Murphy (600) set to battle it out for the four remaining seats.
An arguably bigger moment in Portlaoise because Laois has FINALLY elected a councillor, the last county council to do so.
Willie Aird of Fine Gael has been elected, having reached the quota in the first count of Portlaoise LEA.
Not to be outdone, the Graiguecullen-Portarlington LEA in the same county has elected Sinn Féin's Aidan Mullins on the fourth count.
A big moment in the RDS, as the first count has been completed for the Dublin MEP election - and no candidate has reached the quota of 75,345.
Barry Andrews topped the poll with 62,147 first preference votes, followed by Regina Doherty on 61,344 first preferences.
Lynn Boylan, Niall Boylan, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Ciarán Cuffe are all bunched together after the first count gaining more than 30,000 first preferences each.
Máire Devine of Sinn Féin and Ammar Ali of Fianna Fáil have rounded out the elections in Dublin's South West Inner City, while Edel Moran has taken the second seat for the Artane-Whitehall LEA for Sinn Féin
Baltinglass LEA in Wicklow has also completed their count, electing Fine Gael's Avril Cronin, Independent candidate Jason Mulhall and Patsy Glennon of Fianna Fáil in doing so.
In the same county Louise Fenelon Gaskin has retained her seat for Fine Gael in the Greystones LEA, where she is joined by Independent Orla Finn.
In Kildare, Chris Pender has held on to his seat in the Newbridge LEA for the Social Democrats - and Independent candidate Donal Lyons has doing the same in Galway City West. .
If you're a fan of recounts, you'll be looking at Kildare LEA, Tullow LEA, Galway City East LEA and Enniscorthy LEA on Monday morning!
And, as reporter Sean Murray has put it, recounts in Wexford are like buses apparently. As well as Enniscorthy, we're going to have a full one in Rosslare tomorrow morning too.
Three recounts now underway in Fingal; in the Swords, Castleknock and Blanchardstown areas.
Sitting Independent councillors Tony Waldron and Nigel Dineen have been returned to Roscommon County Council. Two seats in the Roscommon LEA remain to be filled.
In nearby Mayo, Westport LEA's first candidate has been elected on the second count.
Independent Ireland's Chris Maxwell topped the poll.
Meanwhile, four candidates have been elected at once to complete the New Ross LEA in Wexford.
Marty Murphy (Wex Ind Alliance), Bridín Murphy (Fine Gael), John Fleming (Fianna Fáil) and John Dwyer (Independent) all take a council seat.
In Louth, Drogheda Urban LEA has elected its first councillor too - Labour's Pio Smith.
The Green Party’s Pauline O’Reilly is the first candidate in Midlands North West to concede the race, saying that she does not expect to be a front-runner as counting continues.
“It’s a very challenging constituency… For me personally, the numbers are holding up well in Galway West, which is my core but across the rest of the constituency its obviously much more challenging.
“Not expecting to be, in any way, a front runner.”
Ms O’Reilly was critical of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael candidates for their “ongoing attacks” on the Green Party throughout the campaign.
While Ms O’Reilly is bowing out, counting continues at the TF Royal in Castlebar, with counting expected to continue for a few more hours yet.
Galway City Central LEA is the latest to finish their counting.
It has seen Josie Forde of Fianna Fáíl, John McDonagh from Labour and Eibhlín Seoighthe of the Social Democrats elected.
In the same county, Sinn Féin’s Dermot Connolly has held on to his seat in Ballinasloe LEA, as has Fine Gael’s Peter Keaveney and that LEA is now finished too.
Sinn Féin are finally off the mark in Wexford. Tom Forde has taken a seat for them in the Wexford LEA on the eighth count
Two Sinn Féin councillors have been elected on the final count in the Ballymun-Finglas area of Dublin City Council: sitting councillor Anthony Connaghan and first time councillor Leslie Kane.
Conor Reddy of People Before Profit Solidarity and Mary Callaghan of the Social Democrats were also elected to on the 12th and final count, joining Gavin Pepper (Ind) and Keith Connolly of Fianna Fáil.
In Waterford, Dungarvan LEA is wrapped up as Joe O'Riordan, an Independent, and Labour's Thomas Phelan have taken the final seats.
Gabriel Keating of Fine Gael and Michael Shannon of Fianna Fáíl have won the final seats in Kilrush LEA in Clare.
In Kilkenny, Fianna Fáil's Michael McCarthy and Fine Gael's John Brennan have been elected in Castlecomer LEA.
Sinn Féin's Leah Cull has taken a seat in Roscommon in the Boyle LEA.
In Dublin, Jimmy Guerin has retained his seat in Howth-Malahide LEA as an Independent, where he is joined by Cathal Haughey - the grandson of Charlie Haughey - of Fianna Fáil.
South Dublin County Council has seen Shane Moynihan of Fianna Fáíl elected on the 10th count in the Palmerstown-Fonthill LEA.
Staying in Leinster and to Wicklow where the Bray East LEA is also complete with the election of Sinn Féin's Dermot O'Brien and the Social Democrats candidate Caroline Winstanley.
In Kildare, the Kildare Town LEA is also finished up, with Pat Balfe of the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin's Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh taking the final seats.
By contrast, the first count for the Leixlip LEA in the same county has only just been announced - Fine Gael's Joe Neville and Nuala Killeen of the Social Democrats have been elected.
Back to Dublin and in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Green Party Cllr Conor Dowling has been elected on the ninth count in the Blackrock electoral area.
Kay Keane of People Before Profit, Louise Dunne of Sinn Féín and Independent Dermot Richardson have all been elected in Tallaght South on the ninth and final count.
Sarah Barnes of Fine Gael and Róisín Mannion of Sinn Féin are elected on the eighth count for Firhouse-Bohernabreena LEA in Dublin too.
In Carlow, Ben Ward has been elected to Carlow County Council for Fine Gael on the twelfth count in Tullow.
Independent Eugene McGuinness has been elected on the eighth count in Kilkenny.
Amanda Smith, an Independent, has taken the second seat in the Ashbourne LEA in Meath.
The Social Democrats have taken a seat in the South West Inner City LEA after candidate Jen Cummins was elected on the 12th count.
Sinn Féin have secured their first seat on South Dublin County Council - Willie Carey elected on the 12th count in Clondalkin.
In Limerick, the Cappamore-Kilmallock LEA is done and dusted with Sinn Féin's Gregory Conway and Tommy O'Sullivan of Fine Gael being elected on the 10th count.
In Wicklow, Sylvester Bourke of Fine Gael has been elected on the sixth count in Arklow LEA.
Fianna Fáil candidate Brian O'Loughlin has been elected in the Kildare LEA.
In Wicklow, the Baltinglass LEA has seen Fine Gael's Peter Stapleton elected on the ninth count
The count in Limerick City North has been completed, with Aontú's Sarah Beasley, Sinn Féín's Sharon Benson and Shane Hickey-O'Mara of the Social Democrats being elected on the 15th and final count.
The count in Waterford City East is also done, as Jim D'Arcy of Fine Gael and Mary Roche of the Social Democrats have been elected.
In Donegal, Fine Gael's Martin Harley and independent Frank McBrearty have filled two seats in Lifford- Stranorlar.
In Dublin, a tenth count for the Artane-Whitehall LEA has seen Fianna Fáil's Rachael Batten elected.
Meanwhile, in Wexford, the seats are filling fast - with Michael Sheehan taking the latest one in the New Ross LEA for Fianna Fáil.
Gavin Pepper an anti-immigration activist with a prominent social media presence has become the third far-right candidate elected in Dublin city, joining Malachy Steenson and Phil Sutcliffe.
The Independent councillor has been a leader in several recent anti-immigration demonstrations.
A proponent of the view that “Ireland is full” Pepper attended a protest in the city centre in May of last year that ended with a migrant camp on Sandwith Street being set alight.
Pepper later said gardaí raided his house and accused him of being responsible.
He also encouraged crowds to gather in the city centre in the wake of the stabbing of three children and a carer on Parnell Square last November.
Meanwhile, Tipperary County Council has finished it's local election counting.
Sinn Féin's Annemarie Shiner took the final seat in Cashel-Tipperary LEA - and the county overall.
In Limerick, PJ Carey of Sinn Féin was elected in the Cappamore-Kilmallock LEA on the 10th count.
In Waterford Sinn Féin's Joeanne Bailey, Frank Quinlan of Fine Gael and Labour candidate Séamus Ryan have all been elected in the Waterford City South LEA.
Another far-right candidate has been elected to Dublin City Council.
Independent Ireland's Phil Sutcliffe, boxing coach for Conor McGregor, has taken a seat in the Ballyfermot Drimnagh LEA on the 10th count.
Mr Sutcliffe ran on an anti-immigration platform.
The Green Party's Ray Cunningham, and Hazel De Nortúin of People Before Profit also won seats in the final count.
Elsewhere in Dublin, counting is complete in the Glencullen-Sandyford LEA of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, with Fine Gael's Kazi Ahmed, Fianna Fáil's Tom Murphy and Independent Kevin Daly elected.
In the Stillorgan LEA of the same region, Fianna Fáil's councillor Liam Dockery has been elected on the sixth count.
In Clare, Independent Michael Begley, Fine Gael candidate Tony Mulcahy and Fianna Fáil candidate Pat O'Gorman were elected on the eleventh count in the Shannon LEA.
In the same county, Fianna Fáíl's Rita McInerney and Independent candidate Ian Lynch have won two seats in Kilrush.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael continue to dominate proceedings in Wexford, taking another seat apiece in Gorey through Joe Sullivan and Darragh McDonald respectively.
Meanwhile, a full recount has been called in the Ballymahon LEA in Longford.
Four of the six seats in Ballinasloe LEA in Galway have been filled after the first count.
Michael Connolly of Fianna Fáil topped the poll, followed by Declan Geraghty of Independent Ireland, Evelyn Parsons, an Independent candidate, and Alan Harney of Fine Gael.
In the Galway City Central LEA, Fine Gael's Frank Fahy has won the third of nine seats on the council.
In Dublin, Brendan Ryan of Labour and Tom O’Leary of Fine Gael were elected for Balbriggan in Fingal on the eighth count.
Green Party candidate Feljin Jose was elected on the 12th count for the Cabra-Glasnevin LEA.
Michael Clark has won the second seat in the Blackrock LEA of Dun Laoighaire.
The sixth count in the Cavan Belturbet LEA has returned three candidates to complete the count.
Niamh Brady of Fine Gael and sitting Fianna Fáil candidates John Paul Feeley and Patricia Walsh took the final seats.
Aontú's Emer Tóibín and Sinn Féín's Eddie Fennessy have taken the first two seats of the Navan LEA in Meath.
In Offaly, Fianna Fáíl's Declan Harvey and Ollie Bryant have rounded out the count in Tullamore LEA.
To Dublin and the counting has finished in Dun Laoighaire LEA, where Labour’s Thomas Joseph, Fianna Fáil's Justin Moylan, Fine Gael's JP Durkan and his party colleague Mary Fayne secured the final seats.
Former European boxing champion Eric Donovan has been elected for Sinn Féín in the Drogheda Rural LEA, which has now finished its count.
Fine Gael's Frank Staples has been elected in Wexford.
He took a seat on the Rosslare LEA on the sixth count.
Eugene Cassidy of Fine Gael has been elected on the second count for Kells LEA in Meath.
More councils are getting filled up.
Independent candidate Martin Scanlon has joined Sinn Féin candidate Gary Doherty on the council after they were both elected on the fifth count in the Lifford-Stranorlar LEA in Donegal.
In the same county, Fianna Fáil's Donal 'Mandy' Kelly has been elected on the first count in the Letterkenny LEA.
There is a quirky situation in Offaly, as Sinn Féin's Claire Murray has been elected to the Edenderry LEA - where Fianna Fáíl's Claire Murray was elected on Saturday evening.
Fine Gael's Noel Cribbing was also elected on the sixth final count for the LEA.
The final count has also been completed in Ballyjamesduff in Cavan where Sinn Féin's Noel Connell and Fine Gael's TP O'Reilly have been elected without meeting the quota.
In Athlone LEA in Westmeath, John Dolan has taken the fourth seat for Fine Gael.
And in Dublin's South West Inner City, Darragh Moriarty of Labour has been elected on the eleventh count.
Another recount ordered - this time in Wexford.
A full recount will take place in Enniscorthy... but not until 10am tomorrow morning.
Cyril Wheelock, from Verona Murphy's Wexford Independent Alliance, was set to be eliminated after the sixth count on 1,016 votes. However, he's just five votes short of Sinn Féin's Colette Nolan.
Both of them currently trail Pat Kehoe, occupying 6th place and the last seat in this six-seater on 1,296 but a recount will mean all to play for.
Cllr Sarah Kiely of Fine Gael has been re-elected in the Limerick City East LEA on the eighth count, while in Dublin, Jim Gildea and Frank McNamara of Fine Gael have both been elected in the Killiney-Shankill LEA.
In the Shannon LEA, Fianna Fáil's Rachel Hartigan and John Crowe of Fine Gael have been elected on the tenth count
A recap: More than half of the 949 local council seats have now been filled and so far, it's good news for Independents, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
As of 7.30pm, 492 seats have been filled. Here's the state of play, by party:
Fine Gael: 144 seats;
Independents: 132 seats;
Fianna Fáil: 127 seats;
Sinn Féin: 36 seats;
Labour: 29 seats;
Social Democrats: 12 seats;
Green Party: 9 seats;
People Before Profit–Solidarity: 3 seats.
Get live results updated as they happen at our election results hub.
The political editor Elaine Loughlin and special correspondent Mick Clifford reflect on the second day of counting in the local and European elections from the RDS count centre.
To Kilkenny, and the Castlecomer LEA has its first two seats filled - Fine Gael's longest serving councillor Mary Hilda Cavanagh and Fianna Fáil's Pat Fitzpatrick have passed the quota.
Fine Gael’s Vicki Casserly has been elected for Lucan on the eighth count in South Dublin.
In Roscommon, the Boyle LEA has elected its first councillor for the next council term.
Cllr Valerie Byrne was elected on the third count.
Verona Murphy's Wexford Independent Alliance has taken another seat in the county, with Nicky Boland winning a seat in the Gorey LEA on the eighth count.
In Limerick, Noreen Stokes of Fine Gael, has been elected in the Cappamore-Kilmallock LEA on the ninth count.
Clonmel LEA's count has finished, with Independent Niall P Dennehy taking the final seat.
Fianna Fáil's Paul Taylor has been elected on the sixth count in Ballymote Tubbercurry LEA in Sligo, as has Michael Clarke, an Independent.
In Dublin, Independent Grainne Maguire has been elected for the Balbriggan area in Fingal on the seventh count, while Angela Donnelly of Sinn Féin was elected for the Ongar area in Fingal on the seventh count.
Donegal has elected its first openly gay county councillor.
Community worker Declan Meehan was the first councillor over the line in the hotly-contested three-seat Milford LEA.
The Milford & District Resource Centre manager topped the poll with 2,074 votes.
Meehan, a prominent LGBTQ+ campaigner, is also the first openly gay man to be elected as a public representative in Donegal.
He said he is humbled to be a part of history.
A number of counts are nearing their finish.
Independent Declan Power has been re-elected to Louth County Council for the Drogheda Rural LEA.
In Meath, Gillian Toole tops the polls in the Ratoath LEA as an Independent and takes the first seat there, joined by Maria Murphy of Fine Gael.
Fine Gael's Cllr Sharon Tolan also took the first seat in Laytown/Bettystown LEA of Meath County Council.
In Monaghan, all six seats in the Carrickmacross-Castleblaney LEA are now filled following the election of first-time Sinn Féin candidate Paul Gibbons and the re-election of Fine Gael's Peter Conlon on the eighth count.
Former TD Ruth Coppinger of People Before Profit Solidarity and Ellen Troy of Aontú have been elected in Castleknock LEA of Fingal County Council.
However, there is drama in Dublin too as a full recount is being sought in the Swords area in Fingal.
More elected representatives!
Both Tom Ruddle (Fine Gael) and Francis Foley (Fianna Fáil) have been elected in Limerick's Newcastle West LEA.
Liam Blaney of Fianna Fáil, and Independent Pauric McGravey haven taken seats in Milford LEA in Donegal.
John O'Donoghue has taken a seat on Kerry County Council for the Killarney LEA on the second count.
Councillor Donna McGettigan is the second Sinn Féin candidate elected following the eighth count in the Shannon LEA.
The seventh count in Ballyjamesduff LEA in Cavan sees two sitting councillors returned in Philip Brady of Fianna Fáil and Winston Bennett of Fine Gael, while in Cavan-Belturbet Cllr Damien Brady of Sinn Féin has been elected.
In Mayo, Cllr Paul Lawless of Aontú has been elected in the Claremorris LEA.
Frankie Keena and Aengus O'Rourke, both of Fianna Fáíl, were elected on the second count in the Athlone LEA.
In Meath, Fine Gael councillor Sarah Reilly tops the poll in the Kells area of Meath Co Council and is elected on the first count.
In Offaly, Liam Quinn from Fine Gael has been elected on the fifth count in the Edenderry LEA.
People Before Profit Cllr Melisa Halpin has been re-elected to the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown LEA in Dublin on the 6th count.
Elsewhere in the capital, Vincent Jackson was elected in the Ballyfermot-Drimnagh LEA as an Independent.
Independents Ian Neary and Malachi Duddy were both elected to Wicklow County Council in Bray East on the seventh count
Finally, for now, in Naas LEA, Ger Dunne of Independent Ireland and Carmel Kelly of Fianna Fáil have taken the last two seats.
Simon Harris earlier spoke to the media from the RDS count centre. Elaine Loughlin and Alison O’Reilly report:
Taoiseach Simon Harris has accused Sinn Féin of insulting the Irish people by saying the public didn't understand what Mary Lou McDonald's party were "selling".
Ms McDonald admitted her party has lessons to learn after its performance in the elections.
Mr Harris said one of the things he took from an interview given by the Sinn Féin leader and which he said was "rather unedifying and quite insulting to the Irish people" was to "try and second guess" them.
"I was very disappointed to hear her comments in relation to, that maybe the Irish people on this occasion didn’t really understand this.
“The people of this country are sovereign. I think they people knew exactly what Sinn Féin were selling and they just didn’t want to buy it," he said.
He also said the "penny has now dropped" with Ms McDonald that if you want to lead government "you have to have solutions and policies".
“I thought it was quite interesting here on this very spot a few hours ago that the leader of the opposition said, ‘maybe we need to develop some policies and make it clearer what the policies and solutions are’.
“Six years as a leader of party, two local elections she’s led her way through. I welcome the fact there is now a realisation that politics isn’t just about challenges it’s about coming up with solutions."
He also ruled out calling a general election saying there is still “lots to do” and that he looks forward to getting back to work on Monday.
"I'm 61 days as Taoiseach of this country,” he said. “They want me to bring energy not just to the campaign trail, but to also solving some issues, including ones that have seemed intractable in the past, and that's my absolute determination.
"But don't worry. We will have a general election and I very much look forward to it in due course," he said adding that his position remains unchanged.
Tracey and Peggy O'Dwyer, both of Fine Gael, are not related. What they have in common though is a huge electoral following.
Tracey topped the poll in the Newbridge LEA while Peggy followed her past the quota to take the first two seats on the first count.
Independent Cllr Laurence Fallon has been returned to Roscommon County council on the third count.
More from Limerick City North as seats three and four go to Kieran O'Hanlon of Fianna Fáil and Olivia O'Sullivan of Fine Gael
In Monagham, Ballybay Clones LEA is now filled with first-time Sinn Féin candidate Sinéad Flynn elected along with her running mate Pat Treanor. The pair are elected on the seventh count.
And in Dublin, another quirky moment as Fine Gael's Britto Pereppadan is elected on the ninth count for Tallaght Central.
His father, Baby Pereppadan, was elected for Tallaght South earlier today on sixth count.
Helen Ogbu has been elected to Galway City Council.
A few more results.
Independent Joe Bonner has been elected in Ashbourne LEA in Meath.
Independent Declan Meehan has been elected in the Milford LEA in Donegal
In Dublin, Sinn Féin's Breda Hanaphy has retained her seat on Fingal County Council for Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart.
Shay Brennan of Fianna Fáil has been elected in Dundrum, while Tom Kivlehan of the Green Party has won a seat in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
Eoghan Dockrell of Fine Gael, Paul Mullville of the Social Democrats and independent Cathal Boland were elected without reaching the quota in the Rush/Lusk area of Fingal.
Independent candidate Joe Newman was elected for the Swords area in Fingal on the seventh count.
Three seats have been filled in Longford's Granard LEA - Fine Gael's Garry Murtagh topped the poll, followed by Independent Turlough 'Pott' McGovern and Fine Gael's Paraic Brady.
And in Wexford, Fine Gael’s Oliver Walsh exceeded the quota on count 4 in Kilmuckridge LEA, as did Wexford Independent Alliance candidate Paddy Kavanagh.
Counting in Sligo Strandhill has completed, with seats being filled by Nessa Cosgrove of Labour, who reached the quota, and Arthur Gibbons (Sinn Féin) and Gino O'Boyle (People Before Profit), being elected without reaching the quota.
Meanwhile, in Waterford, Tom Cronin of Fianna Fáil has been re-elected in Dungarvan LEA.
Counting in Portlaw-Kilmacthomas LEA has completed with Sinn Féin's Catherine Burke and Independent Declan Clune being elected on the eighth and final count.
There have been two more seats filled in Dublin too, with Breda Hanaphey elected for Sinn Fein in Fingal County Council for the Blanchardstown/Mulhuddart area.
Independent candidate Ciarán Perry has been elected in Cabra-Glasnevin.
In Monaghan, Sinn Féin councillor Noel Keelan has been re-elected on the seventh count to his seat in Carrickmacross Castleblaney LEA
Sinn Féin’s Deirdre Ferris has secured her seat on Kerry County Council.
Ms Ferris exceeded the quota with 1,723 votes on the fifth count. She is the third councillor to be elected in the Tralee LEA.
In Longford LEA, Gerry Hagan and Peggy Nolan of Fine Gael and Martin Monaghan and Seamus Butler from Fianna Fáil have all been elected.
An update from Cork: Far-right candidate Derek Blighe has been eliminated on the sixth count for Fermoy LEA.
In that LEA, Mayor of County Cork Frank O’Flynn has been elected in Fermoy.
Elsewhere, counts have been completed in Kanturk, Mallow, Macroom and Carrigaline.
In European elections for Ireland South, it will be a "miracle" if there is a first count tonight.
Returning Officer Martin Harvey said that the count could go on until Wednesday morning.
The early indications show Fine Gael's Sean Kelly and Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher will be re-elected to Europe. Green Party MEP Grace O'Sullivan, however, says she feels her chance at retaining her seat is "slipping away".
Follow all the latest from the count centres in Cork at our dedicated live blog.
In Limerick City West, Joe Leddin has been elected for the Labour Party on the eighth count.
Andrew McGuinness of Fianna Fáil and David Fitzgerald of Fine Gael have both been elected in Kilkenny LEA.
More results coming in
Labour councillor Fiona Connelly and Green Party councillor Carolyn Moore were re-elected on the ninth and final count in Kimmage-Rathmines, as were Fine Gael candidates Punam Rane and Patrick Kinsella and Social Democrats candidate Eoin Hayes.
Aoife Masterson won a seat in Tullamore LEA on the fourth count for Sinn Féin in Offaly.
In Westmeath, Ken Glynn of Fianna Fáil has taken a seat in Mullingar LEA while Liam McDaniel of Fianna Fáil and Johnnie Penrose of Labour have filled two gaps in Moate LEA.
Erika Doyle, also of Fianna Fáil, has retained her seat in Bray East LEA.
Donna Cooney of the Green Party and Alison Field of Labour have filled the final two seats for the Clontarf LEA on Dublin City Council.
In Donegal, Independents Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig and Michael McClafferty were elected for Glenties LEA with Jack Murray of Sinn Féin being elected in Buncrana.
Fine Gael’s Michael Foley has been elected in Listowel with 2,131 votes on the second count.
A total of three Listowel LEA candidates have now been elected to Kerry County Council.
In Kildare, Fine Gael's Ivan Keatley had held on to his seat on the second count in Athy, while Anne Breen of Labour and Seamie Moore, an Independent, have taken seats in Naas.
In Galway, Independent Ireland's Shaun Cunniffe, Fianna Fáil's Donagh Mark, Independent candidate Karey McHugh Farag and Ollie Turner of Fine Gael have all been elected in Tuam LEA.
Two candidates from the 100% Redress party - set up by people affected by the defective blocks scandal- have been elected on the first count in Donegal.
Joy Beard in Buncrana and Ali Farren in Carndonagh have taken the first two seats for the party.
Elsewhere, Ivan Canning of Fianna Fáil has taken the last of five seats in the Loughrea LEA in Galway.
In Offaly, Independent Sean O'Brien, Fianna Fáil's Tony McCormack and Aoife Masterson of Sinn Féin on the fourth count in Tullamore LEA.
Anti-immigrant candidate Malachy Steenson has been elected for Dublin Inner City North, taking the seventh and final seat in the LEA without reaching the quota.
A solicitor, Steenson has a history of association with anti-immigration activists including Irish Freedom Party leader Hermann Kelly.
Steenson led anti-immigration protests in East Wall in late 2022 and has shared social media posts referencing the “plantation” of migrants into Ireland as well as a video of an asylum seeker being told to “get your stuff and f**k off out”.
Speaking after the result, he launched a scathing attack on RTÉ, saying he would “encourage the public not to pay their TV licence to RTÉ”.
He said: "Every policy and point we made from November 2022 has been accepted by the Government. That is why they held up their votes in this election they are saying exactly what we said, but it’s funny they are not being called racists or fascists, unlike us."
Independent Nial Ring and Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats were also elected without reaching the quota for the LEA, but Sinn Féin's Janice Boylan did reach it.
Elsewhere in the capital, Cian Farrell of the Social Democrats, Independent Mannix Flynn and Danny Byrne of Fine Gael have all been elected for the South East Inner City LEA, without reaching the quota.
The first count is finished in Killarney LEA and Maura Healy-Rae has followed her brother Johnny and cousin Jackie into Kerry County Council.
She topped the poll, while Independent candidate Martin Grady also passed the quota to take the first two seats.
In Clonmel LEA in Tipperary, there is just one seat left to be filled after Independent Richie Molloy was elected.
More than 31 hours after boxes opened in Meath, we finally have a first count result and two candidates have been elected.
Independent candidate Noel French topped the poll, with Fine Gael's Joe Fox also being elected for Trim LEA.
In Louth, Fine Gael's Anne-Marie Forde has reached the quota in the Drogheda Rural LEA.
Another completed count: this time in Galway as Sinn Féín's Louis O'Hara and Fianna Fáil's Cillian Keane take the final two seats in Athenry-Oranmore.
In Dublin, Fine Gael's Pierce Dargan is celebrating following his election to the Glencullen-Sandyford area of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, as is the Green Party's Oisín O'Connor.
In Waterford, Pat Fitzgerald of Sinn Féín is re-elected on the sixth count in Waterford City East, while Independent Tom Fortune has been elected in Wicklow for the Greystones LEA.
Another quirky moment as the fourth count in Bailieborough-Cootehill LEA in Cavan has has resulted in a tie between the two lowest candidates - Kristofer Shakelton of Independent Ireland and Garry Cosgrove (Ind) who are each on 727 votes.
The Returning Officer, Lynda McGavigan, has acceded to a request for a full recount of those candidates' votes.
While they are both unlikely to be in contention for a seat, the order in which they are eliminated will have a major bearing on which candidates secure the remaining seats.
In Monaghan, Seán Conlon of Sinn Féin has been elected on the seventh count at Monaghan LEA and Independent William Paton has been elected in Carlow for the Tullow LEA.
We won't have a result for the first count of the Midlands-North-West constituency until at least Monday afternoon, according to count staff.
Some 320 counters are working their way through the hundreds of thousands of votes from across the vast constituency, sorting into pigeon holes and then stacking in piles of 50.
Incumbent MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan said earlier that he booked a hotel room for the whole week.
Meanwhile, Aoife Breslin of Labour has taken a seat in Naas LEA and Fine Gael's Baby Pereppadan has been elected for Tallaght Central on a sixth count.
In Tipperary, Roscrea-Templemore LEA is the fifth to be completed, with William Kennedy of Fine Gael being elected on a sixth count.
Another recount!
Cillian Murphy of Fianna Fáil was eliminated on the eighth count in Kilrush LEA in Clare.
Clare County Council CEO, Pat Dowling has announced that a full recount, requested by Mr Murphy, will commence at 6pm.
However, council staff will take a break from counting the Shannon Electoral Area at 3.45 to allow people to see the Munster SHC final!
Elsewhere, former Lord Mayor of Dublin Christy Burke has retained his seat on Dublin City Council for the North Inner City LEA.
In Westmeath, Vinny McCormack of Fianna Fáil has taken the second of four available seats in the Moate LEA.
And staying in Leinster, Fine Gael's Aoife Flynn Kennedy has been elected in the Bray East LEA,
The Healy-Rae reign continues in Kenmare, as Johnny, son of Danny Healy-Rae, was elected on the first count, as was Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Cahill.
Mr Healy-Rae attributed his success to"hard work and a common sense approach"
In Monaghan, Sinn Féín's Sean Conlon and Bronagh McAree and Fine Gael's Pauric Clerkin and David Maxwell have all won seats for the Monaghan LEA - which has completed its count.
More good news for Sinn Féin in the capital as Mícheál Mac Donncha has been re-elected to Dublin City Council for the Donaghmede LEA - the final seat in the area.
Daryl Barron of Fianna Fáíl, Paddy Monaghan of the Social Democrats and Singh Supriya of Fine Gael were all elected on the 10th count alongside Mr Mac Donncha.
Siobhan Shovlin of Fine Gael has been elected on the fifth count for the Castleknock area in Fingal.
More count completions in Munster as Thurles LEA has finished up with the election of Fine Gael's Peggy Ryan.
The party have also taken another seat in Cahir, where Marie Murphy was elected on the fifth count.
Independent Ireland candidate John O'Donoghue has won a seat in Adare-Rathkeale in Limerick as has his party colleague Tommy Hartigan.
The Labour Party’s Terry O’Brien has been re-elected to Kerry County Council.
The current mayor of Tralee exceeded the quota of 1,688 on the third count with 1,721 votes.
In Clare, Independent candidate Dinny Gould is the first to be elected in Kilrush Local Electoral Area after securing 1,863 in the seventh count.
While in Dublin, Catherine Stocker of the Social Democrats has been re-elected in Clontarf and Sinn Féin retained their seat for the South East Inner City LEA after Kourtney Kenny was elected following the 10th count.
In Mayo, Fine Gael's Gerry Coyle and Fianna Fáil's Paul McNamara have both passed the quota in Belmullet, as has Sean Carey of Fianna Fáil to close out the count there.
Plenty of action around the country as more seats get filled.
Fianna Fáil's Suzanne Doyle and Fine Gael's have been elected on the first count at Kildare LEA.
In Dublin, the Green Party are celebrating as Janet Horner has been elected in the North Inner City, while Fianna Fáil's Rory Hogan has taken the final seat in the Pembroke LEA.
Pat Dunne of Right To Change has become the first candidate elected to the Kimmage-Rathmines LEA in the capital.
Fine Gael's Sean Gilliland has been elected to Ballybay Clones LEA for Monaghan County Council on the fourth count.
In Offaly, Fianna Fáil's Frank Moran has been elected on the third count in Tullamore LEA, while Independent candidate Mick Dollard has won a seat in the Mullingar LEA in Westmeath on the first count
First out the traps from within the coalition parties to call for a general election is Fine Gael's Michael Ring, saying that Taoiseach Simon Harris should call it for October.
“I think Fine Gael would be well to go to the country, go to the country in October,” Mr Ring said, adding that he didn’t want to see the party call the election in early 2025.
“Now is the time.”
He admitted that Fine Gael had been in a “bad place” a few months ago while Leo Varadkar was still leader, but that he believes Mr Harris has done a “superb job”.
The Mayo TD was also critical of the 73cm length of the Midlands North West ballot paper, calling it a “disgrace”.
“It was like a toilet roll so it was. It was a disgrace.”
On whether or not he planned to run in the next general election, Mr Ring said that he “cannot confirm or deny” but the media would be the first to know once he makes his decision.
What do you know about the Ireland South constituency ahead of the first count result? Paul Hosford is in Cork and has the answers.
We have our first recount called of the elections and it's in Galway City East.
Three of the six seats have already been filled, with four candidates chasing the remaining three.
Aisling Burke of Sinn Féin and first-time Labour candidate Helen Ogbu look good to claim seats but with Shane Forde of Fine Gael just 16 votes ahead of sitting councillor Mike Crowe, the Fianna Fáil candidate has sought a recount which Galway City Returning Officer Gary McMahon was ‘an acceptable request’.
Elsewhere, in Longford, Paul Ross of Fine Gael has been elected to Ballymahon LEA on the first count,
Two Listowel LEA candidates have been elected to Kerry County Council on the first count.
Fine Gael councillor Mike Kennelly has topped the poll with 2,301 first preference votes, exceeding the quota of 2,095.
Liam ‘Speedy’ Nolan, an independent backed by the Healy-Raes, secured his seat with 2,223 votes.
There are six seats up for grabs in the Listowel LEA, with 12 total candidates.
The electorate was 25,821, with a total valid poll of 14,660.
In Midlands North West, early indications are showing a very strong vote for Independent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, with Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen and Fine Gael's Maria Walsh and Nina Carberry also performing well.
Despite these indications, Mr Flanagan says that he will only be confident about his own chances “if I take the seat”.
The Independent MEP says that he believes a recount at the TF Royal is “nearly odds-on”, with a full recount possible due to the number of candidates likely to receive large swathes of votes and how close the final result will be.
There is an expectation within the TF Royal count centre that there will not be a first-count completed today, with it instead more likely to be tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil’s Dara Calleary, said that it is “crucial” for his party to return an MEP in Midlands North West for the first time in a decade.
Another LEA has wrapped up - with the final three seats in Piltown in Kilkenny being filled without reaching the quota on the ninth count by Ger Frisby and Jenny Catt Slattery of Fianna Fáíl and Fine Gael'ss Fidelis Doherty
In Limerick, Bridie Collins of Fianna Fáil has taken the third of six seats in Adare-Rathkeale on the sixth count.
There are more celebrations for the 'Lowry Team' in Tipperary too, with Cllr Eddie Moran elected in the Roscrea/Templemore LEA.
In the same county, Mark Fitzgerald of Fine Gael has been elected in the Carrick-on-Suir LEA, taking the final seat there.
Counting is also complete for Lismore LEA in Waterford, with Sinn Féín's Donnchadh Mulcahy being elected.
Elsewhere, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has made a return to local politics, being elected in Athlone LEA in Westmeath.
Carina Johnson of Labour has won second seat for the party in Rush/Lusk area in Fingal on the third count.
Nenagh LEA has completed its' count, with the final seats being filled by Louise Morgan Walsh of Labour and Independent candidate Seamus Morris.
Two more councillors have crossed the line in the Wexford LEA, with independent Leonard Kelly and Fianna Fáil’s Garry Laffan elected on the second count.
Fine Gael's Carmel Brady is elected on the third county in Bailieborough Cootehill. She takes the sixth seat of 18 on Cavan County Council.
While in Roscommon, two sitting Fianna Fáil councillors have been returned on the first count this afternoon, - Cllrs Paschal Fitzmaurice and Marty McDermott.
Back in Dublin, Labour's Pamela Kearns has been elected in Rathfarnam-Templeogue on the first count as well as Independent Ronan McMahon with 2,873 votes.
There was more joy for Labour in Killiney-Shankhill as Carrie Smyth was elected on the first count.
A few more names elected in the last while.
In Dublin's Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown race, Independent Seán McLoughlin (IND) topped the poll with 2,310 votes following the first count, while Jim O'Leary of Fine Gael also reached the quota.
In a unique situation in Edenderry LEA in Offaly, Claire Murray of Fianna Fáil has been elected, while her namesake who is running for Sinn Féín remains in the hunt.
While in Monaghan, two more names have been elected in the Monaghan LEA - Raymond Aughey of Fianna Fáil and Independent Seamus Treanor.
Independent Cllr Maeve Yore has been re-elected to Louth County Council, after topping the poll for the Dundalk South LEA.
In Waterford, there are now 12 elected councillors - five of which are Fine Gael, three are Independents and two are Sinn Féin. Fianna Fail and Labour have one each.
While in Limerick, Cllr Elena Secas of Labour hase been elected in Limerick City East on the third count.
Speaking in the RDS in the last few moments, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald admitted that it "hasn't been our day."
Ms McDonald said the party would work "very hard" to give the people the best possible representation from their elected councillors.
"I am sorry that we didn't do better. I know that we can do better and I am determined that we will do that."
She said the party will now be carrying out a full review of the campaign to ascertain what went wrong and what the party must change.
Sinn Féin has secured around 11% of first preference votes at local level, compared to Fianna Fáil which is on around 22% and Fine Gael on 23%.
As of 2pm, that support has transferred into 15 Sinn Féin council seats, significantly lower than the 85 already claimed by Fine Gael and 78 by Fianna Fáil.
Asked if the review could include her own leadership, Ms McDonald said: "I will lead this reflection and this process. When the going gets tough, that's the point at which leaders step forward, they don't step down."
She said: "We ran a record number of candidates, 335 in total in every local election area.
"Obviously, we are disappointed that we didn't manage to get more of them elected. We have made some gains, they are modest, but they're there. She said people's frustrations had "translated into votes for Independents and others. So we have a job to do".
"We now need to go and reflect on that we need to learn from it. We will regroup."
She added: "What we're going to do is review and reflect on all of those things. We ran a very extensive slate of candidates. A lot of them new first time candidates up against in many instances people with long incumbency and that's always an ask, but everything for the review is on the table."
She said many votes had shifted away from Sinn Féin to Independent candidates adding that the party needs to "sharpen our offering" especially in relation to the key issues impacting people.
Sinn Féin’s Colm Carthy - brother of the party's TD Matt - is re-elected on the 4th count to Carrickmacross Castleblaney LEA in Monaghan.
Fine Gael's Aidan Campbell also retains his seat for the area on same count.
In the capital, Ray McAdam has just been elected in North Inner City for Fine Gael.
Verona Murphy’s new group the Wexford Independent Alliance is on the board in the south-eastern county.
It has its first councillor in the form of Pat Barden, who topped the poll in New Ross with 1,900 votes and was elected on the first count
While in Wicklow, Danny Alvey has been elected to Wicklow County Council for the Social Democrats.
An update from Cork: Counting is well underway in the Ireland South constituency for the European elections.
The count is taking place in Nemo Rangers GAA complex and the early indications are that Fine Gael's Sean Kelly and Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher will be elected.
In the local elections, Fianna Fáil's Audrey Buckley has been elected in Carrigaline.
Follow all the election news from Cork at our dedicated live blog.
In Limerick, Cllr Conor Sheehan of Labour has been re-elected in Limerick City North following the fifth count, alongside Independent Frankie Daly
John Pratt is re-elected in the Lismore LEA on the fourth count, making him the first Labour candidate to be elected in Waterford.
Fine Gael's Niamh O’Donovan is also elected on the fourth count.
More counts being completed - Celbridge LEA in Kildare is the latest, with Labour's Rupert Heather elected on the 7th count, joining David Trost (Fianna Fáil), Claire O'Rourke (Social Democrats) and Lumi Panaite Fahey (Fine Gael.)
Staying in Kildare and outgoing Fine Gael councilor Evie Sammon has been re-elected in the Naas LEA.
While in Roscommon, Emer Kelly (Independent), Tony Ward (Independent) and John Naughten of Fine Gael have been elected on the first count in Athlone LEA.
Back to Kerry, where a first count is due in Killarney at 2pm.
While it's highly likely all seven sitting councillors will be re-elected, including Martin Grady.
Mr Grady was co-opted onto Killarney LEA after his father Donal retired in 2023 and only got onto the ballot after a court case which challenged a Government circular on council employees on Kerry County Council.
Mr Grady has been outspoken on the migrant issues - including bringing a motion to Kerry County Council in September calling for Ukrainian refugees living in hotels to pay towards heat, accommodation and other costs.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has conceded that his party's candidate in the Midlands North West will not take a seat in the European elections.
Mr Ryan said Senator Pauline O'Reilly "is not in line for running for a seat".
However, Mr Ryan said Dublin candidate Ciarán Cuffe is "still in the mix" in Dublin.
"I think there'll be about four or five people in running for the last seat. I think Ciarán is going to be one of them. So fingers crossed and here's hoping he keeps ahead of the pack as he said himself."
He said it is still to early to know how Grace O'Sullivan is doing in the Ireland South constituency.
Meanwhile, Labour candidate Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said he is "not surprised" by the level of support he has received, which now puts him in contention to take an EU seat in Dublin.
Initial tallies put Fianna Fáil's Barry Andrews in place to top the poll, with strong support for Fine Gael's Regina Doherty.
However, a number of other candidate's including Mr Ó Ríordáin, Independent Ireland candidate Niall Boylan, Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe, Independents 4 Change Clare Daly and PBP candidate Bríd Smith will all be in the running for the one of four seats.
Arriving at the count centre, Mr Ó Ríordáin said: "It has been a very long and tiring, exhausting - but paradoxically a kind of energising - campaign. We're feeding good, we have had a good day."
Asked about his own performance, he said: "We are not surprised really because the reception we were getting around the county was very positive and people were connecting me with issues that they felt strongly about, from drugs, education, to football, to various different reasons as to why people were wanting to chat to me about about our campaign, and we tried to be positive.
"It wasn't an anti government campaign."
Results are absolutely flying in now
In Dublin, Barry Heneghan has become the first Independent elected to Dublin City Council on the fifth count in Clontarf, while Fingal Council have elected John Walsh of the Labour Party.
Fine Gael Councillors Barry Saul and Maeve O’Connell were re-elected on the first count in the Stillorgan electoral area of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown after the party’s spectacular 53 per cent vote in the area.
Keith Connolly of Fianna Fáíl was elected on the 4th in Ballymun Finglas, becoming the first councillor in for the area.
Joan Hopkins topped the poll for the Social Democrats in Howth-Malahide LEA, while Tania Doyle has been elected in Ongar LEA.
In Galway, outgoing councillors Shane Curley of Fine Gael, his party colleague Jimmy McClearn and Declan Kelly of Independent Ireland have all been re-elected on the first count in Loughrea LEA.
Next in Wexford we’ve a first count in Rosslare that has seen an independent and an Aontú candidate exceed the quota.
Ger Carthy (Ind) and Jim Codd (Aon) polled very strongly with 1,949 and 2,455 votes respectively.
And in Shannon, first time candidate David Walsh of Fianna Fáil has been elected after the first count in the Shannon LEA with 1,534 votes.
Fianna Fáil’s Mikey Sheehy is the first councillor to be elected in the Tralee LEA on Sunday.
Mr Sheehy, who lives in Tralee and is a former mayor of the town, received 2,114 first preference votes to get him re-elected on the first count.
He fills the first of seven seats in Tralee, with 17 candidates on the ballot paper in this election.
The Tralee electorate is 26,411, with a total valid poll of 13,502.
The quota, which Mr Sheehy exceeded, is 1,688.
The second count is now underway with Mr Sheehy’s surplus votes being distributed.
There are two Fianna Fáil candidates in this LEA, two Fine Gael, four Sinn Féin, three independents, two Labour, one Social Democrats, one Green Party, one Irish People Party and one National Party.
Behind Mr Sheehy, those to receive the most first preference votes in Tralee were: Sinn Féin’s Deirdre Ferris (1,560); Labour’s Terry O’Brien (1,537); independent Sam Locke (1,057); Sinn Féin’s Paul Daly (1,046); Fianna Fáil’s Anne O’Sullivan (819); and Fine Gael’s Angie Baily (806).
The first counts are starting to come in thick and fast in Wexford, with both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael winning a seat each in the first count in Enniscorthy.
Aidan Browne of Fianna Fáil and Cathal Byrne of Fine Gael exceeded the quota of 1,608 by 1,617 and 2,275 votes respectively.
Fianna Fáil are in the hunt for another seat here in this six-seater with Barbara-Anne Murphy on 1,340 votes. Two independents in John O’Rourke and Jackser Owens are well placed to take seats too with Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and Wexford Independent Alliance in the hunt for the last seat.
So far, Wexford has elected two Fine Gaelers, one Fianna Fáiler, one Labour candidate and one independent
Fine Gael's John Fitzgerald will hold his seat in Tipperary's Clonmel LEA after he was elected on the second count within the last couple of minutes.
Four seats of this six-seater LEA have now been filled.
Overall, it seems that Labour are on course to trebling their vote in Tipperary, with two seats announced already and a third expected.
Former Labour leader Alan Kelly’s cousin and party colleague Fiona Bonfield topped the poll in Newport.
First time candidate Michael 'Chicken' Brennan - the 22nd of 40 candidates to be elected so far - was elected on the second count for Carrick-on-Suir with 1,486 votes.
In Nenagh, it is expected that Louise Morgan Walsh will also take a seat for Labour.
Deputy Kelly told the : “We are going to treble our votes and, across the country, that is probably one of our best results.
”The Labour Party always works harder than anybody else because it has to, and we stick to our beliefs," he said.
Mr Kelly said his the politics of populism had got "an awful belt in this election."
”We see what is happening with Sinn Féin and the supposed Far Right, which hasn’t manifested itself," he said.
Wexford town has delivered its first count with two candidates exceeding the quota of 1,425.
Fine Gael’s Robbie staples received 1,576 first preference votes while Labour's George Lawlor topped the poll by almost 1,000 votes earning 2,361 first preferences.
Looking well placed for seats in this seven-seater are Gary Laffan (FF) on 1,412, Leonard Kelly (Ind) on 1,341 and Tom Ford (SF) on 1,150.
Then it is an almighty scrap for the last few seats but Lawlor’s surplus transfers should be enough to get one of Catherine Biddy Walsh (425 votes) or Vicky Clancy Barron (412 votes) over the line for a second Labour seat.
Fianna Fáil candidate in Dublin’s North Inner City area, Caio Benicio, the Brazilian delivery driver who intervened in the Parnell Square attack last November, will not secure a seat. He won just 3% of first preference votes and was one of three candidates for the party in the area.
Sinn Féin's John Hearne is the first councillor to secure a seat in Waterford today. He has been re-elected on the second count in the Waterford City South LEA.
Fianna Fáil’s John O’Leary has also been elected in the second count in Portlaw/Kilmacthomas LEA.
He joins Fine Gael’s Liam Brazil and Seanie Power, who were elected in count one on Saturday.
That means that seats are currently filled across city and county, with 22 left to be filled.
The Green Party’s Claire Byrne has become the first councillor elected in Dublin city on Sunday. She was elected on the sixth count in the South East Inner City LEA.
“I’m delighted” she told the .
“We kind of new last night it was going to happen, but I am more relaxed this morning more than I was yesterday.
“My first preference votes were around 1,090 so we are really happy”.
Elsewhere in the the capital, Daithi Doolan of Sinn Féin has just been re-elected on the second count in the Ballyfermot-Drimnagh LEA. Doolan is also running in the Dublin constituency for the EU Parliament election.
The first results are from Wexford and the Kilmuckridge LEA. The four incumbents in this four-seater were expected to retain their seats and this may well be the case going by the first count.
Independent Mary Farrell has topped the poll on 1,720 votes, exceeding the quota of 1,498 votes, and she is the first councillor elected in Wexford.
Pip Breen (FF) and Oliver Walsh (FG) are also looking strong on 1,461 votes and 1,371 votes, respectively.
Willie Kavanagh of FF is in fourth place on 1,101. Two other candidates contested this constituency - Paddy Kavanagh for the Wexford Independent Alliance is on 914, while and Declan Kelly of Sinn Féin is on 921.
Over to Tipperary now, where staff at the count centre in Thurles are currently proceeding with the surpluses of a number of candidates who topped the polls across the eight LEAs.
The councillors were among 20 elected in just 20 minutes just before midnight last night.
They include Independent Máirín McGrath in Cahir, Fianna Fail’s Imelda Goldsboro in Carrick-in-Suir and independent John O’Heney in Cashel-Tipperary, Fine Gael’s Michael Murphy in Clonmel, Independent Joe Hannigan in Nenagh, and Labour’s Fiona Bonfield in Newport.
Those of Fianna Fail’s Michael Smith in Rosscrea-Templemore and Independent Jim Ryan in Thurles are also being redistributed.
Last night's wins saw an early indication of independents holding their own, and Sinn Féin not doing as well as they expected and will be lucky to keep the two seats it already had.
Counting has recommenced at Cork City Hall this morning with just five out of 31 seats of Cork City Council filled so far.
For a full rundown of all of the electoral developments in Cork City and Cork County, check out our Election 2024 - Cork live blog:
Counting has resumed at the RDS Main Hall for the 11 local electoral areas which elect Dublin City Council's 63 councillors.
When counting concluded just before midnight, eight councillors had been elected.
In Clare, counting has resumed in the Treacy's West County Hotel in Ennis, as local authority staff decide the fate of candidates in the seven-seater Shannon area and the five-seater Killaloe area.
Tallies suggest that newcomer David Griffin of Fianna Fáil will top the poll in Shannon following the retirement of his party colleague councillor Pat McMahon before the elections.
In Clare, staff are making a strong effort to conclude counts before the throw-in of the Munster SHC final between Limerick and Clare at 4pm.
Counting has also resumed in Waterford, where 8 of 32 seats have been filled thus far, four of which are from Fine Gael, three of which are Independents, and one of which is from Sinn Féin.
In the Lismore Electoral Area, no candidates reached the quota of 1,289 when the Returning Officer announced the resumption of the count.
In the Tramore-Waterford City West, Lola O'Sullivan (FG) topped the poll with 1,313 votes.
In Waterford City East, Independents David Daniels and Declan Barry were elected on the first count.
In the Portlaw-Kilmacthomas LEA, Liam Brazil and Seánie Power, both of Fine Gael, exceeded the quota of 1,299 and were re-elected.
In Dungarvan, Fine Gael's Damien Geoghegan topped the poll with 1,584 votes. Conor McGuinness of Sinn Féin was also elected with 1,408 votes.
At 9am this morning, counting resumed in Killarney, Kenmare, Tralee, and Listowel in Kerry. No official counts were completed in Killarney on Saturday, though seven councllors were elected between Corca Dhuibhne and Castleisland.
17 candidates are vying for seven seats in Tralee, with tallies showing Fianna Fáil councillor Mikey Sheehy currently on top 15% of the vote.
Counting has also resumed in Killarney for the two large electoral areas Kenmare and Killarney.
At this point, Killarney seems to be something of a foregone conclusion with the same seven councillors likely to be returned. The first official count is expected around lunchtime.
Vote counting in Ireland's European elections begins later today.
With 14 candidates to be elected across three constituencies, here's a detailed look at who is running, and how things might play out:
Counting in Castlebar in Co Mayo began at lunchtime on Saturday and only concluded at nearly 8.30am on Sunday morning!
With Independent candidate Michael Kilcoyne elected in the first count alongside Fine Gael’s Ger Deere, it was the 11th count at 4.30am before a third candidate - Fianna Fail’s Blackie Gavin - surpassed the 1,877 quota. Shortly thereafter, he was joined be his party colleague Al McDonnell.
Fine Gael’s Cyril Burke took the fifth seat on the 14th count without reaching the quota. His party colleague, Donna Sheridan, then took the fifth seat.
The race for the sixth seat went back and forth for several hours, before Independent Harry Barrett eventually managed to secure it.
The seventh and final seat was taken by FG's Donna Sheridan.