In brief
- Counting has resumed in the European elections. You can follow the results here
- Clare Daly and CiarĂĄn Cuffe have been eliminated from the European Election in Dublin.
- It is expected it could be Thursday before Ireland South has its five seats filled
- Counting for the Dublin and MidlandsâNorth-West constituencies continue with no candidates yet elected.
- Only a handful of seats remain unfilled in the local elections. See the full results in your area in maps and charts
- John Moran has been elected the Mayor of Limerick.
Local election results â State of the parties
European election results â State of the parties
9.53pm
Fianna FĂĄilâs Barry Andrews, Fine Gaelâs Regina Doherty, Sinn FĂ©inâs Lynn Boylan and Labourâs Aodhan Ă RiordĂĄin have been elected as MEPs for the Dublin constituency.
All four confirmed their places in the European Parliament after they were the only candidates left remaining in the field after the 19th and final count at the RDS centre in Dublin.
Independent Ireland candidate Niall Boylan was the last to be eliminated from the closely fought contest.
Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald and Labour leader Ivana Bacik were all at the count centre to congratulate their candidates as the result was announced.
9.12
In the Midlands North-West, there has been eight counts, with no change to the top five.
Luke Ming Flanagan still leads with 80,484 votes, with Nina Carberry in second with 74,955.
Barry Cowen and Maria Walsh are just behind, with Ciaran Mullooly for Independent Ireland with 58,802 votes.
Michelle Smith has been eliminated and her votes will be distrubuted.
8.12pm
Reflecting on the loss of his seat, CiarĂĄn Cuffe suggested the issue of migration had dominated the European election campaign over concerns about the climate.
âI think we have seen the rise of those voices who donât feel the state should be involved in helping the most vulnerable and I think I certainly have campaigned all my life to help the most vulnerable in society. Iâll continue to do that and my party will continue to do that,â he said.
âI think we need a green and a social transition. We need to help, particularly those who are facing difficult circumstances, and I think we need to be building bridges, not erecting walls in Europe.â
He added: âI think what characterised the 2019 election was the extraordinary urgency of the need to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. I donât think those issues have gone away. Itâs a bit like having a hole in the roof of your house and saying âah, weâll get around to that in a few yearsâ timeâ.
âI think we absolutely have to face up to climate breakdown and biodiversity loss, we have to ensure a green transition, but clearly at a European level the issue of migration featured very strongly.
âIt had to, given that the issue has been on the front page for a long time and that we really have had challenges in accommodating 100,000 Ukrainians and others who have fled persecution and violence, so that did dominate a lot of the campaign.â
7:38pm
CiarĂĄn Cuffe has become the second MEP in Dublin to lose his seat following the 18th count.
Fianna FĂĄilâs Barry Andrews and Fine Gaelâs Regina Doherty remain on course to secure two of the four seats after 18 counts, alongside Sinn FĂ©in’s Lynn Boylan.
With one more count to go, Niall Boylan leads Labourâs Aodhan O Riordain for the final seat.
7.28pm
Pearse Doherty has ruled out any interest in replacing Mary Lou McDonald as leader of a bruised Sinn Fein following worse-than-expected election results.
It comes after Aontu leader Peadar Toibin said Sinn FĂ©inâs slide in public support may not be over.
Mr Toibin, who was previously a Sinn FĂ©in representative, said there were âserious questionsâ about Ms McDonaldâs leadership and added that Mr Dohertyâs name was coming up âmore and moreâ.
However, Mr Doherty rejected the suggestion on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters at the TF Royal Theatre count centre in Mayo, he said: âThere is no question within the party in relation to the leadership of Mary Lou McDonald.â
Asked by reporters if he had any interest in being leader, he said: âNo.â
6.43pm
As we await the final counts in Dublin, it is Barry Andrews of Fianna FĂĄil and Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty still lead the way.
Lynn Boylan of Sinn FĂ©in picked up significant transfers from Brid Smyth to put her in a commanding position to take the third seat.
Aodhan O’Riordain has now overtaken Green MEP Ciaran Cuffe, and it looks set to be a battle between the Labour TD and Niall Boylan for the final seat.
5.55pm
Four candidates have been eliminated from the Ireland South European election.
Sean Kelly remains the only candidate elected for Ireland.
Independents Ciaran OâRiordan and Christoper V.S. Doyle and Ross Lahive from The Irish People are out of the running for a seat in the European Parliament after the fourth count.
Itâs expected there will be ten counts this evening. However, itâs understood MEP Billy Kelleher will not be re-elected until Wednesday.
Michael McNamara, Cynthia NĂ MhurchĂș and Mick Wallace are still expected to take the third, fourth and fifth seats.
5:40pm
Fianna FĂĄil European election candidate Cynthia Ni Mhurchu has said she is âabsolutely honouredâ to have received enough number one votes to put her in fourth position in her five-seat constituency.
Ms Ni Mhurchu, an Irish speaker who co-hosted the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, said they ran a âmilitary-styleâ campaign for three months up to polling day.
On her status as a so-called celebrity candidate, she said she was âchuffed to get any labelâ and would not mind being called âmother or slogger or grafter or lawyerâ.
Cynthia Ni Mhurchu speaks to assembled media upon arriving at Nemo Rangers GAA club in Cork, during the count for the European elections. Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
âThe celebrity factor obviously helped but only with an older cohort, and obviously we know that more people came out to vote,â she said at the Nemo Rangers GAA Club in Cork.
âBut funnily enough, when I was canvassing younger people, they actually responded to the fact that I wanted to be positive, centrist, slightly left of centre, but we actually wanted to get a lot of work done for the south east and the rest of Ireland South.â
Fine Gaelâs Sean Kelly became the first of five MEPs in the 10-county constituency to be elected after two days of sorting and counting.
He surpassed the quota of 114,761 with 8,000-odd votes to spare.
5:28pm
Independent candidate John Moran has made history by becoming Irelandâs first ever directly elected mayor after winning the race to be Limerickâs first citizen.
Moran topped the poll on 28,451 votes after the final count.
Speaking on his historical win, he said:âItâs an emotional day for everybody. Everybody knows we started this journey more than five years ago, in terms of getting a plebiscite to work.
âIt was obvious to the people of Limerick then, as I think it is more obvious today, that thereâs a system of government in Ireland needs to change, to re-establish democracy.
âI think that it was amazing to see that this was a campaign â and I would say that about all the other candidates â that we picked up votes right across the county.
âI think the vision we all have for Limerick was the same and now itâs a case of just implementing that vision.
âItâs about bringing places together. Itâs not about politics that only speaks to a small group of a people or to a particular group in one area of a county or otherwise.
âI think weâve done a brilliant job and I say fair play to Limerick. They came out in numbers to actually vote for this role.â
5.02pm
Clare Daly has lost her seat as an MEP in Dublin in the 17th count, as she failed to benefit from Brid Smith’s transfers.
Daly was on almost 33,000 votes following the 16th count, some 5,000 votes behind her closest rivals AodhĂĄn Ă RiordĂĄin and CiarĂĄn Cuffe.
She was hoping that she would get enough transfers from People Before Profit TD BrĂd Smith who was on 28,772 votes.
Daly finished with 39,334 votes after receiving 6,464 transfers from BrĂd Smith.
Several reporters asked outspoken former MEP Daly to comment as she left the RDS count centre after being eliminated. She declined.
When approached by RTĂ, the Independents 4 Change candidate said: âYou had no interest in talking to me for five years, so Iâve no interest in talking to you.â
Ms Daly then walked out of the centre along with a group of supporters.
Lynn Boylan received a considerable 5,899 transfers bringing her to 53,248 votes.
Independent Ireland candidate Niall Boylan remains in fourth place with 44,932 votes followed by Labourâs AodhĂĄn Ă RĂordĂĄn who now has 41,911.
4.48pm
We are now in count number seven in the Midlands Northwest, with Justin Barrett from the National Party eliminated.
Luke Ming Flanagan is still in pole positionn with 79, 582 votes, followed by Nina Carberry, Barry Cowen Maria Walsh and Ciaran Mullooly.
4.05pm
The two Sinn FĂ©in candidates in Midlands Northwest have conceded that it is âvery unlikelyâ theyâll take a European seat in the constituency.
After Count five in Castlebar, Michelle Gildernew is over 12 thousand votes behind former RTE correspondent Ciaran Mullooly, who sits in fifth place.
Luke Ming Flanagan, Nina Carberry, Barry Cowen and Maria Walsh all now look certain to take the first four seats.
Michelle Gildernew says she believes her chances of taking the last seat are slim.
âWe didnât get the result we wanted, weâre still in the mix, but Iâm probably not over optimistic I can overtake Ciaran Mullooly at this stage. I think heâs probably going to scrape in with the last seat.
3.32pm
Brid Smith of People Before Profit â Solidarity said left wing parties needed to âcop onâ and encourage more vote transferring between themselves.
Reflecting on her campaign after being eliminated in the European parliamentary race at the 16th count in Dublin, she said she was encouraged to have secured support from places and voters that would not ordinarily be thought of as sympathetic to the political left.
She said she believed the narrative around the advance of the far right was âoverstatedâ, albeit still âworryingâ.
âI think itâs worrying that far right candidates can move in and get council seats, but not that many.”
âBut what we have to do on the left is to be more cohesive and more coherent and transfer more strongly to each other.
âLike Fianna FĂĄil and Fine Gael transfer strongly to each other and the left needs to cop on and vote left and transfer left. We said that right throughout this election campaign, itâs been one of our slogans, and we think that that needs to happen from here on in. If that happens, it would marginalise the far right as well.â
3.21pm
In the Limerick Mayor election, Fianna FĂĄilâs Dee Ryan has been eliminated with 18,875 votes.
It is now between Independents John Moran and Helen O’Donnell.
Ms Ryanâs votes will now be distributed between the two candidates and will determine who will emerge the winner.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Ryan said: âI am very proud of my husband, my friends and everyone who rode in and got involved. We had a ball and couldnât have wished for a better campaign. Iâm really encouraged by the fantastic welcome that I got from the people of Limerick.
âIt was an honour to get out and meet people. Fair play to the independent candidates, they ran excellent campaigns.
âIâve no doubt that Limerick will choose the right mayor. I look forward to getting behind and supporting the right mayor when they are announced. I am very proud.â
2.59pmÂ
BrĂd Smyth has been eliminated from the European Election in Dublin.
Barry Andrews and Regina Doherty continue to lead the way after the 16th count.
Lynn Boylan is still in third and has opened more daylight between her and the chasing pack, with Niall Boylan in fourth.
However, transfers from the Social Democrats have brought Green MEP CiarĂĄn Cuffe back into the race in fifth, ahead of Aodhan Ă RĂordĂĄin of Labour and Independent Clare Daly.
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Count staff sort ballots at Nemo Rangers GAA club in Cork, Ireland, during the count for the European elections. Photo: PA Images
2.47pmÂ
The first candidate has been eliminated from the Ireland South European Parliament election after the second count.
Independent Ciaran OâRiordan from Cork city received 2,485 votes.
There could be at least 10 more counts before the next seat is filled by Fianna FĂĄilâs Billy Kelleher and that may not happen until tomorrow.
The top five remains unchanged, with Michael McNamara, Cynthia NĂ MhurchĂș and MEP Mick Wallace all in the running.
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2.10pmÂ
There will be âstrongâ public support for MicheĂĄl Martin to become Taoiseach again after the next election, a Fianna FĂĄil junior minister has said.
Jack Chambers said that he saw âhuge warmth and supportâ for Mr Martinâs leadership while canvassing during the local and European elections.
Mr Chambers, who was the partyâs director for the local elections, also said that Sinn FĂ©inâs lacklustre result was not a failure of strategy, and more a ârejection of Sinn FĂ©inâs messageâ.
He also joined the number of senior Fianna FĂĄil figures who have criticised internet panel polling in the wake of a strong performance from the party in the local and European elections.
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1.30pm
Fine Gaelâs Daniel Butler has been eliminated in the contest to become Limerickâs directly-elected mayor.
He is the 12th candidate to been eliminated from the election.
The Fine Gael councillorâs votes will now be distributed among the remaining candidates, which includes the frontrunner John Moran, independent candidate Helen OâDonnell and Fianna FĂĄilâs Dee Ryan.
Fine Gael candidate Daniel Butler. Photo: Niall Carson/PA
Speaking afterwards, Mr Butler said: âYou go into an election to win it and I was in it to win it.
âThere was a lot against us. We came in very late, we came in in the middle a change of leadership in the Fine Gael party and my director of elections lost his mother during it, and our house was threatened, and the safety of our family was threatened and compromised during the election.
âBut we fought on and fought a very good campaign, and I think the vote that I got is reflective of the energy and innovation that I fought in the campaign.
âI fought a very high-calibre campaign and delivered a lot in a short period of time.â
1.05pm
The latest update from Ireland South is that the result of the distribution of Sean Kellyâs 8,000-vote surplus could be announced around mid-afternoon today.
Fine Gaelâs Sean Kelly became the first MEP elected on Monday night, taking the first of five seats in the constituency.
Fianna FĂĄilâs Billy Kelleher, who is more than 20,000 votes short of the quota, appears to be in line for a good proportion of the transfers.
After those votes are distributed, the candidates on the lowest number of votes will be eliminated one by one and their votes distributed, with Mr Kelleher hoping to get elected this evening.
Next in the race for the remaining seats are independent TD Michael McNamara, Fianna FĂĄil candidate and 1994 Eurovision host Cynthia Ni Mhurchu. Outgoing MEP Mick Wallace, Sinn FĂ©in TD Kathleen Funchion and the Green Partyâs Grace OâSullivan also look to be contention.
The count in Cork could extend into Thursday. Follow the latest here.
12.15pm
Counting is back underway at the RDS for the Dublin constituency, but it will be a while before anyone is elected.
Fianna FĂĄil’s Barry Andrews continues to lead the way with over 63,800 votes â 1,300 clear of Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty.
After that, Niall Boylan is in third with over 39,600 â 1,100 clear of Sinn FĂ©in’s Lynn Boylan in fourth. Her running mate DaithĂ Doolan’s 11,000 votes are currently being distributed.
Incumbent Green MEP Ciaran Cuffe is next on 33,000, marginally clear of Labour’s AodhĂĄn Ă RĂordĂĄin.
Click here to get the latest on the count.
11.25am
Sinn FĂ©in’s Maurice Quinlivan has been eliminated from the Limerick mayoral race on the ninth count.
The TD finished the race more than 9,400 votes behind Independent candidate John Moran, who currently has 20,982 votes.
His votes will now be distributed among the remaining candidates, which includes the frontrunner Mr Moran, Independent candidate Helen OâDonnell, Fianna FĂĄilâs Dee Ryan and Fine Gaelâs Daniel Butler.
Sinn FĂ©in candidate Maurice Quinlivan (second from left) watches vote counting at Limerick Racecourse. Photo: Niall Carson/PA
Speaking afterwards, Mr Quinlivan said: âItâs a long count. The count is progressing and I want to thank everybody who came out and voted for myself.
âI really appreciate every single person who took time to come out, but also to thank those people who engaged in the mayoral campaign in the last number of weeks.
âI think it was a really positive campaign. One of the most positive campaigns we have been involved in.
âAll the candidates did themselves good. So, I want to wish whoever wins all the best for the role.â
11.10am
There will be âstrongâ public support for MicheĂĄl Martin to become taoiseach again after the next election, a Fianna FĂĄil junior minister has said.
Jack Chambers said that he saw âhuge warmth and supportâ for Mr Martinâs leadership while canvassing during the elections.
Mr Chambers, who was the partyâs director for the local elections, also said that Sinn FĂ©inâs lacklustre result was not a failure of strategy, and more a ârejection of Sinn FĂ©inâs messageâ.
Fianna FĂĄil figures have praised Mr Martinâs leadership as part of the reason for its steady performance.
Mr Martin said his party had done âfar better than predictedâ, and that âthe moral of the storyâ of the elections is that polls should not be taken as âgospelâ.
Mr Chambers agreed: âI think polling is having a disproportionate impact on the wider public narrative about party support.
âI think we have to be more balanced in our assessment or when we hear about the margin of error of polls, if the polling companies now set out that the margin of error is plus or minus 8 per cent, maybe thatâs a more accurate margin of error.â
He said he did not panic when polls put the party at the mid-teens, but said it was âfrustrating at timesâ to have to respond to a ânational narrativeâ about the partyâs position.
10.45am
The Taoiseach has expressed concern about the growth of the far right in Europe and said Ireland is not immune to that rise.
Far right parties are doing well in the elections across Europe, with some anti-immigration candidates getting elected to councils here.
“We have seen it significantly grow in some European countries and we are not immune from that here,” Mr Harris told Newstalk on his way to a Cabinet meeting this morning.
The Taoiseach said now is the time for centrist politicians to show “courage and guts” on the big issues that are concerning voters.
10.20am
Is a general election looming after these latest results?
The Irish Independent and the Irish Daily Mail have front page stories today about the prospects of by-elections and a snap election after a steady showing for the Government parties in the local and European polls.
Sinn FĂ©in leader Mary Lou McDonald last night challenged the Taoiseach to âbring it onâ and call an early general election.
She also rejected any suggestion Taoiseach Simon Harris would be doing her a favour if he stuck to his original plan to go to the polls in early 2025.
We can expect speculation over a DĂĄil election to grow further over the coming weeks and days…
Read more: Tuesday’s front pages
9.50am
Independent candidate John Moran topped the Limerick mayoral election yesterday, but vote counting in the landmark poll will continue today as he remains well short of the quota.
Mr Moran received a total of 18,308 first preference votes in the first count, and was followed in second place by another independent candidate, Helen OâDonnell, who received 12,903 votes.
Fianna FĂĄil candidate Dee Ryan is in third place while Fine Gaelâs candidate Daniel Butler was in fourth place. Sinn FĂ©in TD Maurice Quinlivan was in fifth place.
The quota is 39,873 votes.
9.30am
After three days of counting, there are still unfilled seats on some councils. Here is a quick rundown:
- Carlow â 2 seats to fill
- Kildare â 3 seats to fill
- Meath â 5 seats to fill
- Offaly â 2 seats to fill
And here’s the current state of the parties in local authorities:
You can compare this year’s local results with the 2019 election and get further detail on the vote share in your area by clicking here.
9.05am
Counting also resumes later in the Midlands-North-West constituency, where Fine Gael looks set to get both sitting MEP Maria Walsh and newcomer Nina Carberry elected.
Luke Ming Flanagan topped the poll, and is closely followed by Fianna FĂĄil’s Barry Cowen.
Former RTĂ reporter CiarĂĄn Mullooly is in a good position to take the fifth and final seat, while Sinn FĂ©in is likely to miss out.
The fourth count will get underway at the TF Royal in Castlebar at 10am this morning.
8.55am
DaithĂ Doolan’s 11,000 votes will be distributed as counting resumes for the Dublin constituency later this morning.
They’re likely to benefit his Sinn FĂ©in running mate Lynn Boylan, who was overtaken by Independent Ireland’s Niall Boylan into third place at the 13th count last night.
Fianna FĂĄil’s Barry Andrews and Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty continue to lead the way.
Green Party MEP CiarĂĄn Cuffe and Labour’s AodhĂĄn Ă RĂordĂĄin are also in the mix for the final two seats.
8.45am
Good morning.
With vote counting set to resume, there are still 12 of the 949 council seats to be filled, 13 of the 14 seats in the European Parliament to be confirmed, plus a mayoral contest in Limerick to be decided.
We’ll bring you the latest throughout the day here on breakingnews.ie.