Polling day as it happened: Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil neck-and-neck as voting ends
People Early A School Andy On Steady From National Morning Stream Of Picture: Schull Voting Friday At Gibson
Polling in the 2024 general election has now come to a close.
The first indication of how Ireland voted was revealed in an exit poll just after 10pm tonight.
Join us early tomorrow from the moment the ballot boxes are open until the very last candidate is elected to fill the 34th Dáil.
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A nationwide exit poll has revealed Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are deadlocked at the top, with Fianna Fáil narrowly behind in a tight three-way race.
The poll indicates that Sinn Féin has received 21.1% of first preference votes, closely followed by Fine Gael on 21% and Fianna Fáil on 19.5%.
Transfers and the sequencing of eliminations are now likely to play a significant role in the eventual make-up of a coalition Government, which may require at least four parties.
The Social Democrats on 5.8%, Labour on 5% and the Green Party on 4% may all now be included in post-election government formation talks, based on initial numbers.
It appears that Independents, which had been polling at up to 20% ahead of the election, have not gained as much support as predicted, with the exit poll putting non-party candidates on 14.6%.
The poll has People Before Profit on 3.1%. Aontú on 3.6%, and Independent Ireland on 2.2%.
As it hit 9pm in Cork county, the highest turnout was in Cork North West, where 57.4% of voters turned out. Slightly lower in Cork South West, with 55.4% heading to their local polling station.
On the west coast in Mayo, the turnout is more mixed. Some parts of the county are seeing in the low to mid 50s, while in one polling station in Castlebar it is as low as 36.7%.
In Thurles, they have surpassed 50% with almost 55% having voted by 8pm.
Mullaghmonaghan is coming in around the same with 52.8% having cast their ballots while Clones is trailing at 44%.
In Offaly, the late evening voters saw rural areas like Kinnitty and Killeigh rise up to 58% and 62% respectively while urban areas such as Birr and Edenderry are hovering around 50%.
A serious error appears to have been made on the Limerick City ballot paper putting candidates in the wrong order, which could see the eventual outcome challenged./url Members of the public casting their votes in the four-seat constituency have been given a ballot paper, which does not feature all candidates in alphabetical order.
Electoral law dictates that candidates must be listed in alphabetical order based on surnames.
However, it appears that Sinn Féin’s Maurice Quinlivan and Dean Quinn of The Irish People party have been placed ahead of long-standing Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea, Fine Gael's Kieran O'Donnell, and Elisa O’Donovan of the Social Democrats on the paper.
This could open up the possibility of a challenge, especially if the numbers are tight when the ballot boxes are opened and counting begins.
As the evening draws on, turnout is rising up and beyond 40% in parts of the country, while some polling stations are remaining in the low to mid 30s.
There’s been a steady trickle of voters in Meath East over recent hours, with new figures showing that there is a 42% turnout in Ashbourne as of 6pm. Similar figures are seen in Meath West, with two-fifths of the electorate casting their ballot in Trim.
In the south of the country, but particularly in Cork county, the turnout is approaching 40%. Cork South West is at the higher end, with 38% of voters having cast a ballot as of 5pm this evening.
In Cork city, there are wild variations depending on which polling station.
In Cork South Central, turnout in some polling stations is as low as 33%, while others are reaching up to 48% as of 6pm.
People are hotfooting it to vote out in the midlands, with the town of Mullingar seeing steady streams of voters as it reaches 44% turnout at 6pm.
One election official says that this is being seen all across the Longford-Westmeath constituency, as the cliché ‘teatime rush’ is in full swing.
In the commuter belt in Kildare North, Naas is reaching just over 41% in turnout, while in neighbouring Kildare South, Cullen is seeing the strongest number of voters with 39% having voted.
Turnout is picking up as people head to the polls this evening.
Some counties are reporting figures of 30%, with polls open until 10pm.
Polling stations have been open since 7am, and turnout is now starting to pick up.
In Dublin city most polling stations are reporting that their figures have doubled since lunchtime.
Figures in these constituencies range from 26.3% in Dublin Bay South to 36.7% in Dublin Bay North and it is expected this busy period will continue over the coming hours.
In County Dublin, the number of ballots cast has more than doubled since 1pm and now stands at 34%.
In Tipperary, votes are coming in a steady stream. While most areas in the north of the county are hovering around 30%, Carrick on Shannon is up to 42%.
In Monaghan, the voter turnout is ranging from 24.5% in Clones to 35% in Mullaghmonaghan.
The rural-urban divide is widening in Offaly where urban areas currently stand at 27%-29% while rural areas are coming in strong between 30%-35.4%.
The weather is understood to have had an impact in Waterford, with turnout at around 32% in the city.
Around 26% of people have turned up to vote in North Westmeath, with a figure of 32% in Kilbeggan.
Kilkenny is reporting a turnout of 30% so far, with Mayo floating around 35%.
Galway East is at 28%, while Galway West is at 22%.
In Kildare North, turnout has surpassed 30% in some locations like Naas.
Elsewhere, around 38% of people have cast their votes in Donegal.
Turnout is highest in Buncrana with 33%, while Letterkenny is at 29% and Stranorlar is at 32%.
Holly Cairns has received congratulations and well wishes from politicians from across the Dáil.
The leader of the Social Democrats announced the birth of her baby girl earlier today.
Among those sending well wishes to Ms Cairns was the Taoiseach who took to X to send his well wishes.
"Congratulations Holly and Barry. Wonderful news. Wishing the three of you a lifetime of happiness and good health," Simon Harris wrote.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin welcomed the new Corkonian as well, telling the new parents to "cherish and enjoy every moment with your beautiful new baby girl".
Meanwhile, Mary Lou McDonald sent her comhghairdeas saying it was "such great news".
"She will bring you untold happiness and joy. Wishing you all the very best. Enjoy these first days. They are some of the most special in life," the Sinn Féin leader said.
Some of Ms Cairns' Social Democrats colleagues also shared their joy on social media as did Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman and Labour leader Ivana Bacik.
Hours after posting the big news on her Instagram, Ms Cairns posted one last message urging people to get out and vote.
"So it turns out I won't be able to vote today," she wrote, clarifying that it was "for the best possible reason."
Referring her first election, the local election in 2019, Ms Cairns joked: "It's going to come down to one vote again, isn't it".
Voting has been brisk into the early afternoon, with election officials in Cork county reporting that there’s a “strong turnout” so far, particularly among younger voters.
As of 12pm, Cork North West has had the highest turnout in the county constituencies, with 15.5%.
In Cork city, election officials have a rough estimate of between 14% and 15% across the two city constituencies, but that this is varied depending on the polling station.
Out in the commuter belt, voting up to midday has been ticking along steadily, with one station in Leixlip, Co Kildare reaching 19%.
In Louth, one polling station, Dundalk Town Hall, is up at 18% turnout as of 12.30pm, with nearby Realt Na Mara NS following closely behind on 17.5%.
On the west coast, turnout is varied in Mayo as of 12 noon, with it up as high as 18% in rural Knockrooskey but dropping to 9% in Castlebar.
Polling stations across Dublin saw a welcome boost in numbers thanks to the usual lunchtime bump.
Large parts of the city saw a "massive jump" in voters compared to slow start in many places. The increase was attributed to those who used their lunchbreak to pop out and get their ballot in.
One staff member said that many lunchtime voters are working from home and likely were not too pushed on getting up and out early in the morning to vote before starting work.
The figures vary around Dublin ranging from 10% to a whopping 33% in Shankill by lunchtime today.
Dublin Central which had just 0.05% of ballots cast by mid-morning jumped to 10% by 1pm much to the joy of those working in the polling station.
Across much of the rest of the country, turnout is sitting around the high teens for the most part.
Weather is continuing to have an impact as the rain sweeps up over the country but in the early afternoon, Monaghan said it had only arrived and it hasn't put people off coming in so far.
With around 19% of votes cast in parts of the county, the pace has been steady and stronger than in the local and European elections earlier this year.
Further north, Donegal also enjoyed a midday surge with 14.8% of ballots cast by midday.
Over in the west, areas of Galway are reporting a 12% turnout as of lunchtime and Mayo is not far behind at 11%.
Down in the Kingdom, things are ticking along with an estimated 10% of ballots cast with some polling stations reporting a "strong turnout".
In the midlands, polling stations are reporting differences between their rural and urban voters with turnout ranging from 8% in rural Longford to almost 17% in rural Longford
Social Democrats leader and Cork South West election candidate Holly Cairns has given birth to a baby girl on the day of the general election.
Ms Cairns shared a picture of herself holding her baby on Instagram, with the caption “she’s here”.
The baby girl's name is yet to be confirmed.
The Sinn Féin leader has also been out to vote, with Mary Lou McDonald heading to Cabra’s Deaf Village at 11.30am today.
Ms McDonald said that the early reports of turnout are good and that it is “really, really encouraging”.
“I’ve been hearing stories during the week of young people travelling home, coming home to cast their vote so I’m really hopeful that we will get a really high turnout,” Ms McDonald said.
She said that it could be a “historic day”, where for the first time a Sinn Féin government is elected.
The Sinn Féin leader said that the election today has a “particular significance” for younger people.
She cited the ongoing housing crisis and that some young people are opting to emigrate rather than stay in Ireland.
“That’s not acceptable to us,” she added.
“A significant day for everyone, a particular significance for younger people and we’re asking young people especially make the effort to vote today. Please don’t miss this, this can be your election.
“And of course the mammies and daddies, the grandparents as well, of course vote for yourselves, for a better society, but for your young people too.”
Turnout in the general election is has been slow so far this morning, after polls opened at 7am.
As some feared, the weather has been a factor as people are opting to stay indoors as the rain moved across the south of the country this morning.
In Cork North Central, the rain was "chucking it down" and those on the ground said that things had been quite slow.
However, the rain is due to clear from the Munster area around lunchtime so turnout is expected to increase in the afternoon.
In the usually sunny South East, the picture is a little brighter with turnout approaching 10% in parts of Waterford while in Wexford centres reported around 9% at 11am.
In the capital, things have been slow and steady in most parts with turnout around 3%-5% with a steady trickle coming through over the course of the morning.
The weather in Dublin is set to turn in the afternoon so it may impact the afternoon footfall, something staff at Dublin South Central are hoping will not happen.
By mid-morning the turnout in the constituency was at 0.05% which has caused some concern but there is hope that this will turn around as the day progresses.
In County Dublin, things are a bit busier with around 7.3% of voters already casting their ballots.
In the west, Galway polling centres were reporting a 4% turnout by 10am while in Tipperary North around 8% of voters have made their choices.
Up in Cavan the flow of people was slow to get started but saw a jump of around 6% in the two hours up to 10am.
In Cork county, at 8.30am there was 2.9% turnout in Cork North West, while both Cork East and Cork South West were lower yet on 2.5% and 2.7% respectively.
Kerry has seen a steady turnout throughout the morning, with Castleisland topping the pile as 11.2% of voters have cast their ballot at 10.45am. Cahersiveen is following closely behind on 11%, while Killarney sits on 10%.
Towards the midlands, election officials are reporting a slow start to the day, with rural areas reporting between 8% and 10% turnout.
However, they say that it is much more brisk in Athlone, with voters turning out in greater numbers to start the day.
In Louth, the more rural parts of the constituency are coming out to vote in greater proportions than in urban areas.
At one polling station in the Drogheda Rural ward, there has been 13% turnout as of 11am this morning, the highest across the entire constituency so far.
President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina have also cast their vote in the election.
The pair voted at St Mary’s Hospital in Phoenix Park a short time ago.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin cast his vote alongside his wife Mary and his children at St Anthony's BNS in Ballinlough, Cork earlier this morning.
Asked how he will be feeling in the day of the count, Mr Martin said his only challenge will be "to make sure that I can keep the noise out".
"I will probably go into town and do a few things, go to Douglas market maybe. Then in around midday, 1pm maybe, depending when the tally will be finished, head to the count centre, and it’s very familiar ground for me, Nemo Rangers, and I’ll enjoy that.
The Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader is running in the five-seater Cork South-Central constituency.
You can find more information on this constituency here.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has cast his ballot in Wicklow before travelling across the country to urge voters to come out.
Speaking at Delgany National School, Mr Harris said that he was "feeling really good today" as polls open in the general election.
"I’m feeling really hopeful, hopeful in terms of the election, but hopeful for the future of our country,” he said.
“I wanted to vote early because I now want to head across our country today, continuing to encourage everyone to get out and have their say in this election."
The Fine Gael leader said that he would be travelling to multiple counties today, including Monaghan, Tipperary, Carlow, Laois and Dublin.
However, Mr Harris said that the country was in for a "long few days ahead of us" with counts.
"Isn’t it the beauty and the complexity of our system that when the clock strikes 10pm tonight, there’ll be an exit poll but that won’t even tell us the outcome of the election because of our PR-STV,” he said.
“Compare and contrast that with the British system, Big Ben hits 10pm and Sky News can say ‘the winner is…’ we don’t live in that sort of system."