Sitting Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly has been elected at the first count in the Ireland South constituency in the European elections, while voting in Midlands North West has proved tighter.
Just one count has been completed in Ireland South, but that was enough for Kelly, who surpassed the quota of 114,761 at the first attempt, polling at 122,777 first preference votes.
688,564 valid votes were received in the five-seater constituency.
After Kelly, the remaining candidates will likely have to face a number of counts before they know their fate.
However, sitting Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher is in a comfortable position after the first count, polling at 91,074 first preference votes, well ahead of third place Michael McNamara; the independent candidate is on 56,339 votes. Both men are expected to be elected eventually.
Rounding out the top five candidates in the constituency after the first count, we have Cynthia Ní Mhurchú from Fianna Fáil, on 55,209, and Mick Wallace from Independents 4 Change, with 52,803.
Green Party candidate and sitting MEP Grace O’Sullivan will certainly need transfers to go her way over the coming counts if she is to retain her seat. She polled the seventh-highest number of votes after the first count, with 47,661.
And also of interest to farmers, former general secretary of the Irish Cattle And Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) Eddie Punch faces an uphill battle to make an impression on the race for the five seats. He received 20,751 first preference votes.
Voting in Midlands North West
Moving on to Midlands North West, voting has been a bit tighter at the top, with no candidate elected yet.
The constituency saw 679,946 valid votes, giving a quota of 113,325.
While all candidates are someway off the quota, sitting independent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan is closest after three counts, with 78,700 votes.
After him, less than 100 votes currently separate two first-time MEP candidates – Fine Gael’s Nina Carberry, on 74,110, and Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen on 74,041.
Sitting Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh is not too far behind, with 71,693 votes.
Ciaran Mullooly, meanwhile, is well in contention to grab the fifth and final seat for Independent Ireland, with 57,530 votes.
After the first three counts, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has the eighth-highest number of votes, with 41,018.
Disappointingly from a Sinn Féin perspective, sitting MEP Chris MacManus has received the 10th-highest number of votes so far, with 29,527. MacManus was not a candidate in 2019, and was drafted in to replace former Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy when the latter decided to run in the 2020 General Election.
However, MacManus’ party colleague, former Northern Ireland agriculture minister and current Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly member Michelle Gildernew, is performing better in the voting, with 45,957 votes, placing her behind Ciaran Mullooly, although there is a gap to be made up before she would be in a position to take a seat.
The only Green Party candidate in this constituency, Pauline O’Reilly, is unlikely to make an impression, with just 13,816 votes at this point.
And just to check in on Dublin, no candidate is yet to reach the quota of 75,345 after 13 counts, but, as with after the first count, Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews and Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty are both on course to secure seats, with 63,866 and 62,509 votes respectively, well ahead of all other candidates at this point.
Radio presenter Niall Boylan has put himself in a position to spring a surprise in this constituency. He currently has the third-highest number of votes, with 39,615, after receiving a significant bump of almost 4,500 transfers on the last count.
After him, Sinn Féin currently occupies the spot for the fourth and final seat, with Lynn Boylan on 37,487.
The Green Party’s sitting MEP Ciarán Cuffe has a job on his hands to retain his seat, although he is not too far behind, sitting behind Lynn Boylan, with 33,737 votes.
However, the next count will involve the distribution of votes for the excluded Sinn Féin candidate Daithí Doolan, which may increase the gap between Cuffe and Lynn Boylan.
It’s worth bearing in mind that it is possible for candidates to be elected without reaching the quota, if, after a certain number of counts, the distribution of transfers would not change the make-up of the candidates who occupy the places for seats (top four candidates in the case of Dublin).