Cork South Central: All seats filled as Jerry Buttimer and Pádraig Rice secure the final two 

9.40pm: Jerry Buttimer and Pádraig Rice took the fourth and fifth seats on the eighteenth count in the Cork South Central constituency - a historic breakthrough for the Social Democrats, who tripled their seats in Cork.

Mr Buttimer ended up with 10,917 after 3,667 transfers from Mr O’Callaghan, while Mr Finn got 474 transfers and was eliminated on 6,651, leaving Mr Rice to be elected on 10,242 without having reached the quota.

The Social Democrats celebrated a historic day in Cork South Central with the election of the party’s first TD for the constituency.

Commenting after his election, Mr Rice said: “I’m deeply honoured to have been elected as a TD for Cork South Central.

“A huge thank you to the over 5,000 people who went out in the rain on Friday to put a number one next to my name. I really appreciate the support.

“This is a historic breakthrough for the Social Democrats as it’s the first time we have won a seat in this constituency.” 

He explained: “In Cork South Central, we ran a really energetic campaign. We knocked on thousands of doors right across the constituency. 

“I had a fantastic team of volunteers who put their hearts and souls into it.

“Our campaign was positive, progressive and solutions-focused – I think that really resonated with people.” 

Mr Rice added: “I would like to thank everyone I met during the campaign. On the doors, people shared their worries, hardships and concerns.

“One thing is crystal clear: people want to see real change in relation to housing, healthcare, disability, childcare and climate. I hope this election is the catalyst for that change.” 

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said: “It is an incredible achievement to win a seat in such a hugely competitive constituency.

“This victory is a testament to Pádraig’s hard work on the ground, since he became a councillor during the summer, and the hugely positive campaign he ran.

“This breakthrough also marks a major milestone for the Social Democrats. The surge in support we have seen in this election, in Cork and all around the country, makes it very clear that people out there want a new kind of politics.

“The Social Democrats did not engage in auction politics, we were clear with the electorate about what our deal breakers for government would be, and that message of honesty and transparency resonated with huge numbers of people.”

Mr Buttimer said it was “a huge honour to be re-elected to Cork South Central” after eight years, congratulating everyone who was elected tonight and those who were "brave enough” to run but had not been selected, particularly his colleagues Una [McCarthy] and Shane [O'Callaghan].

“Today is a special day for me because it’s my mum’s birthday, and I know she’s in heaven watching over me,” he said, thanking her and his father for all they had done for him.

“The people have spoken, they made a decision, it’s now time to form a government on behalf of the people,” he concluded.

8.20pm: No candidate has been elected on the seventeenth count.

Fine Gael’s Shane O’Callaghan has been eliminated and his 5,958 votes will now be distributed.

Social Democrats candidate Pádraig Rice is now at 9,563; Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer is at 7,250 and Independent candidate Mick Finn is at 6,177.

7.45pm: Nemo Rangers has enjoyed the second sing along of the night as Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has been elected to the third seat in Cork South Central on the sixteenth count.

Mr Ó Laoghaire surpassed the quota by just under 200 votes after getting close to 500 transfers from Labour’s Laura Harmon.

Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer got just under 700 transfers from Ms Harmon, and is now on 7,223, while Social Democrats Pádraig Rice got 1891 and is now on 9,418, while Mick Finn (Ind) got 4,98 votes and is now on 6,193.

Shane O’Callaghan, also of Fine Gael, has 5,943 votes after getting 431 transfers, but is likely the next to be eliminated.

They are distributing Mr Ó Laoghaire’s surplus as it could theoretically put Mr O’Callaghan over Mr Finn, but it is almost impossible that it will as he would need almost the whole surplus.

After Mr O’Callaghan is eliminated, his votes will possibly put Mr Buttimer over Mr Rice, but both are almost certain to be elected barring a major swing of transfers to Mr Finn.

6.10pm: No elections at the fifteenth count in Cork South Central, but it is expected that the next count will see Sinn Féin's Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire lifted onto shoulders while flags wave, potentially even with a sing along like his party colleague Thomas Gould enjoyed earlier this afternoon in North Central.

With 2,299 transfers from his running mate Michelle Cowhey Shahid, he now stands on 10,152 and needs 299 votes to reach the quota.

Labour’s Laura Harmon was eliminated – her 4,643 votes will now be distributed, and will likely favour Social Democrats Pádraig Rice, but Mr Ó Laoghaire will be hoping to get enough of those transfers to push him over the line.

Mick Finn (Ind) also performed well, picking up 152 transfers taking him to 5,640, still ahead of Fine Gael’s Shane O’Callaghan who is on 5,512. The unpredictability of Independent transfers make it difficult to predict who is likely to take more of Ms Harmon’s transfers, but Mr Finn is expected to hold onto his lead, meaning Mr O’Callaghan will be eliminated next.

Mr Ó Laoghaire is unlikely to pick up many transfers from the Fine Gael candidate, so will be keen to get in on Ms Harmon’s transfers.

Each count is taking just over an hour, but the constituency is now expected to be finished counting tonight, with the final two candidates likely to be elected without reaching the quota.

These likely candidates are Jerry Buttimer (FG), currently on 6,532 and Pádraig Rice (SD), who is currently on 7,527.

5.40pm: Nobody has been elected on either the thirteenth or fourteenth count in Cork South Central – Anna Daly of Aontú and Michelle Cowhey Shahid of Sinn Féin have now both been eliminated.

Transfers of Monica Oikeh's (G) 2,596 votes and Ms Daly’s 2,951 votes pushed Ms Cowhey Shahid up to 3,214 – her running mate Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire will be hopeful to take a sizeable amount of these transfers given the strength of Sinn Féin to Sinn Féin transfers nationally, but it will likely not be enough to push him over the quota.

Independent Mick Finn got 903 votes from Aontú transfers, more than three times as much as the next highest candidate, and has slightly overtaken Fine Gael’s Shane O’Callaghan who stands at 5,479 compared to Mr Finn’s 5,488.

Mr Ó Laoghaire sits at 7,853 votes needing 2,598 to get elected, Pádraig Rice (SD) at 7,279, Jerry Buttimer (FG) at 6,459 and Laura Harmon (Lab) at 4,405 – she is likely to be the next candidate eliminated.

All candidates remaining are expecting it to be a long night, or even for the count to be called for the night and resumed tomorrow.

5pm: It is looking likely that the Social Democrats will triple their seats in Cork, following similar growth in the locals in June.

Party leader Holly Cairns was elected in Cork South West early this morning and Liam Quaide in Cork East within the last hour.

Pádraig Rice, who is currently sitting on 6,324 votes and will likely take either the fourth or fifth seat in Cork South Central depending on how transfers go, told The Echo: “It’s really positive.

“We have two definitely and it’s looking really positive for me here, so a really great day for the party locally and nationally and we’re really grateful for all the support we got.

“It’s an exciting time, I think our message and the way we were straight with people around our deal breaker issues for government and the issues we focused on really resonated with people."

3.20pm: No candidate has been elected on the twelfth count, and the Green Party’s Monica Oikeh has been eliminated.

The first time candidate polled better than many might have expected, but, in keeping with the national trend, was not in the running for a seat at any point since the first count. Her 2,596 votes will now be transferred.

Transfers from FG’s Una McCarthy slightly favoured Shane O’Callaghan over Jerry Buttimer, with her running mates receiving 871 and 774 votes respectively.

This proves enough for O’Callaghan to overtake Independent Mick Finn, but not enough for him to overtake his party colleague.

Neither of them have overtaken Pádraig Rice (SD), meaning his shot of taking a seat becomes even more likely.

The order of the remaining candidates now stands at: Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF) on 7,468 followed by Pádraig Rice (SD) on 6,324, Jerry Buttimer (FG) on 5,955, Shane O’Callaghan (FG) on 5,004, Mick Finn (Ind) on 4,486, Laura Harmon (Lab) on 3,555, Michelle Cowhey Shahid (SF) on 2,993, Anna Daly (Aon) on 2,892.

It is looking possible that two or even three candidates could be elected without having reached the quota, with Mr Ó Laoghaire unlikely to pick up enough transfers from Michelle Cowhey Shahid to be elected when she is eliminated, and instead having to rely on transfers from Aontú and Labour.

2.20pm: Nobody has been elected on the eleventh count in Cork South Central, as Séamus McGrath’s small surplus of 307 votes was transferred.

Fine Gael’s Una McCarthy will now be eliminated and her 2,347 votes will be spread out among the candidates.

Fine Gael's Jerry Buttimer (currently on 5,181) and party colleague Shane O’Callaghan (4,133) will be hoping to make significant gains from these, and it will be interesting to see which of her two running mates Ms McCarthy’s voters favour, though Mr Buttimer looks almost definite to take the seat in the end.

Still in the race is: Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF) on 7,418 followed by Pádraig Rice (SD) on 6,238, Jerry Buttimer (FG) on 5,181, Mick Finn (Ind) on 4,433, Shane O’Callaghan (FG) on 4,133, Laura Harmon (LAB) on 3,404, Michelle Cowhey Shahid (SF) on 2,969, Anna Daly (Aon) on 2,846 and Monica Oikeh (G) on 2,447.  

It is likely to be several counts before any candidate meets the quota.

1pm: Fianna Fáil’s Séamus McGrath has secured the second seat in Cork South Central.

He was elected on the tenth count with 10,758 votes having exceeded the quota of 10,451.

Speaking following his election, Mr McGrath told The Echo: “I’m absolutely ecstatic, it’s great to finally make it over the line so I just want to thank everyone for their support.

“It’s a wonderful day for the McGrath family, Michael takes up his role as EU commissioner today and I’m elected as a TD so it’s a very special day.” 

Michael McGrath said: “It’s emotional, I’m so proud of him – he had my back for 25 years in politics, he did all the hard work, so I’m so proud to be here with him today.” 

Party leader and constituency poll-topper Micheál Martin said: “I’d like to pay tribute to Séamus on an outstanding result, he has been a fabulous councillor and a political powerhouse for Michael over the years, he’s a very formidable politician in his own right.

“It’s some achievement for the family, they must be very proud, and Séamus will be a very effective member of Dáil Eireann, of that I have no doubt.” 

He added: “It confirms a very strong representation for Fianna Fáil in Cork South Central again,” saying: “the bottom line is it’s hard work that gets these results.”

12.25pm: No candidate has been elected on the ninth count in Cork South Central, but the elimination of Fianna Fáil’s Margaret Kenneally and the transfer of her 1,241 votes means there will likely be an election on the next count.

Fianna Fáil's Séamus McGrath got 13 votes from People Before Profit’s Shane Laird transfers and now has 10,064 votes – he needs 381 to reach the quota or 30% of Ms Kenneally’s votes, which seems almost certain given that he got over 50% of Micheál Martin's surplus yesterday afternoon.

The transfer of the remaining votes has benefited Pádraig Rice (SD), who now stands on 6,194 after 514 transfers, and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF) who has 7,383 after 138 transfers, while Jerry Buttimer (FG) is on 4,927 with just nine transfers and Mick Finn (Ind) is on 4,369 after getting 46 transfers.

12pm: Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney, who is not contesting this year but had held a seat in Cork South Central for over 20 years, has arrived at Nemo Rangers.

He told The Echo: “It’s very different this year, but I’m almost as nervous for some of the candidates as I would have been myself.

“My role over the last number of months has been to support and mentor new candidates, particularly in Cork but further afield too.

“I’ve launched lots of campaigns and canvassed for lots of candidates - some made it, some haven’t, so now it’s about trying to deal with the drama and emotion of that.

In Cork South Central, he said: “We’ve got 16.5% of the vote, so down on results in the past, but you have to understand that two of the biggest vote winners for Fianna Fáil are in this constituency including the party leader – that is going to have a skewed impact on the result, especially when you have no counterbalance with a Fine Gael minister.” 

He noted that in Wicklow, Fianna Fáil have seen a similar drop in votes in Mr Harris’ constituency, saying that the party’s fight for the fifth seat in South Central was to be expected with such a strong ticket from their former government colleagues.

“We had three great candidates, two who were brand new to general elections including Una [McCarthy] who has only been in politics for a year, Shane [O’Callaghan] who has been in politics for five years but it’s his first general election, they both did very well.

“Jerry Buttimer is making a big comeback, we had one outgoing seat, and we do want to build on that for the future but it’s looking like we will hold a seat quite comfortably.”

11.40am: No candidate has been elected on the eight count in Cork South Central.

Fianna Fáil’s Séamus McGrath remains the closest to the quota of 10,451 with 10,051 votes.

He is followed by Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire now on 7,245 votes ahead of Social Democrats candidate Pádraig Rice on 5,680.

People Before Profit’s Shane Laird has been eliminated and his 1,052 votes will now be distributed.

Mr Laird told The Echo that he was pleased to have gotten more votes than The National Party’s Ted Neville and to have come to close to Fianna Fáil's Margaret Kenneally. "I'm proud to have gotten over 1,000 before being eliminated," he said.

11am: They are tearing through the counts in Cork South Central, but after the seventh count there has still been no elections since Micheál Martin on the first count.

His running mate, Séamus McGrath now stands on 10,016 after receiving 34 transfers from Independent Paudie Dineen.

Mr Finn received the lion’s share of the transfers with 240, but remains in sixth place on 4,083 despite getting almost four times as many as the next highest candidate, Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire.

Mr Ó Laoghaire got 63 transfers and remains in third place on 7,179, followed by Social Democrats Pádraig Rice whose 35 transfers bring him up to 5,665 and Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer who got 31 transfers and now sits on 4,909.

The National Party’s Ted Neville has been eliminated, and his 978 votes will now be transferred – these will likely not favour either government or left wing parties.

People Before Profit’s Shane Laird will likely be the next to go with 1,018 votes – both he and Mr Neville got 16 transfers on the last count.

His transfers are likely to favour Mr Rice and probably won’t help Mr McGrath reach much closer to the quota, which he is 435 votes behind.

The ninth count will likely see Fianna Fáil’s Margaret Kenneally – currently on 1,232 votes – eliminated, meaning Mr McGrath will probably be elected on the tenth count.

From there, all the candidates are currently on over 2,000 votes, so counts are expected to take longer and provide larger boosts to the candidates vying for the final seats.

10.30am:

The sixth count has seen no change in Cork South Central – Fianna Fáil's Séamus McGrath got 10 transfers leaving him on 9,982, still 473 behind the quota.

The Social Democrats Pádraig Rice is on 5,630 after getting nearly a quarter of Ms Bogue’s transfers, and it is looking increasingly certain that he will take either the fourth or more likely the fifth seat in the constituency, as his party has proven to be transfer-friendly in this and previous elections across Ireland.

Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire sits on 7,196, Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer is on 4,878 and Independent Mick Finn is on 3,843.

Independent Paudie Dineen was eliminated, and his 633 votes will now be transferred. 

Mr Finn will be hoping to pick up a high percentage from his former council colleague to keep him in the contest, though large transfers from Mr Buttimer’s two Fine Gael running mates remain to be divided, likely pushing him ahead of Mr Rice to take the fourth seat.

The next to be eliminated will be - depending on how Mr Dineen’s transfers are allocated - either The National Party’s Ted Neville currently on 962 or, with radically different political views, People Before Profit’s Shane Laird on 1,002.

10.10am: Nobody has been elected on the fifth count in Cork South Central - the first count of Sunday morning - and Rabharta’s Lorna Bogue has been eliminated with 460 votes. Ms Bogue performed significantly worse than in the 2020 general election, where she came very close to taking the final seat ahead of Micheal McGrath.

Mr McGrath’s brother Seamus gained just 15 votes from the transfers of Independent Ireland’s Veronica Houlihan’s 392 votes and is now on 9,972 – 483 from the quota of 10,451 – it will likely be lunchtime or later before he is elected.

Anna Daly of Aontu did the best from Ms Houlihan’s transfers, receiving 66 votes, while Ted Neville of the National Party received 55 votes – they sit on 2,379 and 959 votes respectively now, both far from the quota and the frontrunners.

The order of the main contenders remains unchanged - Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire sits on 7,092, Social Democrats Pádraig Rice on 5,512, Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer on 4,854 and Independent Mick Finn on 3,816, with Mr Rice likely to benefit most from the transfers from Ms Bogue.

11pm:

Nobody was elected on the fourth count in Cork South Central – Fianna Fáil's Séamus McGrath got just four transfers and is 497 from the quota.

Independent Ireland’s Veronica Houlihan has been eliminated and her 392 votes will be transferred, starting at 9am tomorrow.

10.40pm: Nobody has been elected on the third count in Cork South Central.

Fianna Fáil's Séamus McGrath picked up just ten votes from the transfers of the elimination of the bottom three candidates and is now at 9,950 – 501 votes off the quota.

Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire is on 7,055, Social Democrats Pádraig Rice on 5,455, Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer on 4,840 and Independent Mick Finn on 3,734 after the third count.

Independent Graham De Barra has been eliminated and his 230 votes will now be transferred – these are likely to favour Mr Ó Laoghaire, Mr Rice and Mr Finn over Mr McGrath and Mr Buttimer, but do not have the potential to elect anyone regardless.

Mr McGrath may not be elected until six counts time, when his running mate Margaret Kenneally, currently on 1,215 votes, will likely be eliminated if the order remains the same – there are a further five candidates between her and Mr De Barra with under 1,000 votes. 

9.40pm: Nobody has been elected on the second count in Cork South Central following the distribution of Micheál Martin’s surplus of 4,057.

His party colleague Séamus McGrath gained 2,146 votes, leaving him at 9,940, meaning he is now just 511 off the quota of 10,451.

Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer got 427 votes from Mr Martin, putting him at 4,834 – he remains in fifth place behind Pádraig Rice (SD) who got 79 second preferences and is now on 5,447, while Mick Finn (Ind) remains in sixth on 3,706 after getting 124 transfers.

The three lowest candidates have been eliminated, Independent Ireland’s Valerie Ward, who ended on 105 votes, Independent John O’Leary who ended on 61 and Tony Field, also an Independent, who ended with 37 votes.

Their 203 votes will now be distributed, but do not have the potential to elect a candidate even in the unlikely event that all of their voters gave their second preference to Mr McGrath.

Graham De Barra, an Independent candidate on 223 votes, is likely to be the next eliminated, with Independent Ireland’s Veronica Houlihan (on 353) and Rabharta’s Lorna Bogue (on 423) possibly next – it will likely take several more counts before another candidate is elected.

8.45pm: Micheál Martin told The Echo that he plans to celebrate his election with “a pint of Murphy’s or Beamish” alongside his family and canvassing team.

“I’m in Nemo Rangers, so I couldn’t be in a better place but I’m tired as well, it was a hectic couple of weeks, particularly last night – the exit poll which has now proven not to be correct was a bit of a downer.” 

He thanked his family and election team, and said that overall the party had put up an incredibly strong showing in Cork.

“Cork North West is going to be very close to keep our two seats, in South West Christopher O’Sullivan looks like he’ll hold in, we’re in for a fight in Cork East and in North Central, Tony Fitzgerald is really in with a chance of winning a second seat – I take a lot of heart from that.” 

Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer, who is currently in fifth position, told The Echo: “It’s early days yet, but from that first count it’s clear that there’s a Fine Gael seat in there anyway – it’s a question of transfers now, I’d like to compliment Una [McCarthy] and Shane [O'Callaghan] too – we ran a great campaign.

“Micheál Martin got a huge vote, I’d like to congratulate him on that, he has a big surplus so hopefully some of those will go to the Fine Gael element of the government and myself and my two colleagues will benefit from that.” 

Mr Buttimer added: “I want to thank the people who supported me, it’s a great element of trust which I am humbled by, and those who volunteered to knock on doors on wet and cold nights.

“Our democracy is precious, and anyone who has any doubts about democracy should be here in Nemo Rangers today seeing how it all works.”

8pm: Independent candidate Mick Finn told The Echo he faces a "big battle" in trying to secure a seat in Cork South Central. 

“I did well enough, but I’d be a bit disappointed with the first preference votes based on what I’d been hearing on the doorsteps – I did okay, but I have a big battle ahead to get the last seat, I’d need a lot of things to fall my way," he said. 

The poll-topping former councillor is currently sitting in sixth position with 3,582 votes – he is just 825 votes behind Fine Gael's Jerry Buttimer, but there are two Fine Gael candidates below them who will likely transfer well to their party colleague.

He added: “I want to give credit to the other candidates, and in particular well done to Pádraig Rice getting a huge vote in his first ever general election – it has been at my expense sadly, but there’s still over ten thousand votes to be transferred and I’ll likely be in the mix until the last or second last count.”

7.10pm: Tánaiste and leader of the Fianna Fáil party Micheál Martin has been elected in the Cork South Central constituency on the first count.

Mr Martin secured 14,526 first preference votes well exceeding the quota of 10,451.

No other candidates were elected on the first count.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Martin said he is feeling “relieved and elated and very humbled” by what he described as an “extraordinary vote of confidence” from the people of Cork South Central.

Mr Martin thanked his wife Mary who he said worked “night and day” while he was canvassing elsewhere in the country.

He also thanked his three children, Micheál Aodh, Aoibhe and Cillian and his parliamentary assistant Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Rose Desmond as well as other party staff and volunteers. 

Asked if he will be the next taoiseach, Mr Martin said: “That remains to be seen, obviously in terms of the results across the length and breadth of the country.

“It’s been a bit of a roller- coaster over the last 24 hours… if I’m honest we were kind of left wondering last evening where were we in that but now it transpires that we probably will exceed that exit poll prediction, above the margin of error so we could be at 21.9% or whatever – now better mathematicians than me will work that out! 

“So that’s positive today, but then I’m very conscious that there’s going to be a lot, a lot of twists and turns,” adding that the election will be “extraordinarily competitive”.

“The good news for us in Fianna Fáil is notwithstanding that competition, multiple parties and Independents, we are competitive in every single constituency.”

Mr Martin’s party colleague, Séamus McGrath is set to retain his brother Michael’s seat – he received 7,794 first preferences. 

Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire is also in a good position with 6,947 first preferences, as is Pádraig Rice of the Social Democrats with 5,368 and Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer on 4,407.

Chasing them are Independent Mick Finn on 3,582, Fine Gael’s Shane O’Callaghan on 3,664 and Labour’s Laura Harmon on 3,005.

Behind them and most likely out of the running are Sinn Fein’s Michelle Cowhey Shahid on 2,715, Aontú’s Anna Daly on 2,237, Fine Gael’s Una McCarthy on 2,078 and Green Party’s Monica Oikeh on 2,156.

Ted Neville of the National Party finished on 858, a higher showing than many might have expected but well short of winning a seat, as he is unlikely to be transfer-friendly.

Shane Laird of People Before Profit is on 876, Fianna Fáil’s Margaret Kenneally is on 726, Independent Paudie Dineen is on 543, Lorna Bogue of Rabharta is on 425 and Independent Graham de Barra is on 217.

Independent Ireland’s Veronica Houlihan is on 348, while her running mate and partner of Cork South West TD Michael Collins, Valerie Ward, received just 104 first preferences, likely due to being a late addition to the ballot and not submitting a picture.

Independent John O’Leary, who has ran in four of the five Cork constituensies, got 58 votes, while Tony Field, whose election promises included bringing back the death penalty, is on 35 and will likely be the first candidate eliminated, unless he gets enough transfers from the Tánaiste’s surplus to overtake Mr O’Leary.

6.15pm: Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire told The Echo he felt cautiously optimistic following the results of the tallies. 

“I’m feeling encouraged, you never want to say in advance what’s going to happen but it does look positive that there should be a Sinn Féin seat in Cork South Central, one in North Central with the possibility of a second and one in Cork East too.

“I’d like to pay tribute to all the candidates who put themselves forward for the party, particularly my running mate Michelle Cowhey Shahid who got a very respectable and strong vote," he said. 

Mr Ó Laoghaire is expected to take the third seat in Cork South Central, with 6,740 first preference votes according to early tallies, ahead of the first count which is expected very soon.

He added that the party looks likely to pick up seats in places including Waterford, Dublin North West and Dublin South Central.

“Candidates who, six months ago people were saying were in danger, have performed very strongly, but as for the amount of overall seats individual parties are going to get, we will see in time – we’ve had very few first counts yet but the picture will become clear over the next few days."

He concluded that his party fought to get the most seats, and said that if they do, they will be keen to start talks to form a government.

“Some parties have been saying they won’t be talking to X, Y or Z, but we’ve been very honest – we’ll talk to any party once our priorities and our red lines around affordable housing and things like childcare are listened to.”

Meanwhile, Social Democrats councillor Pádraig Rice, who is coming fourth with around 5,242 first preferences according to the tally, told The Echo that the numbers were “looking really positive.” 

He said: “It looks like thousands of people across the city went out and put a number one next to my name on a wet Friday – I’m really honoured and delighted.

“It’s been a really positive day for the party locally but also nationally, and I really appreciate the support people have given us.”

5.15pm: Tánaiste and leader of the Fianna Fáil party Micheál Martin said it is “heartening” that Fianna Fáil is on course to exceed the exit poll results but cautioned that it is still “early days yet”.

Speaking at the count centre in Nemo Rangers where the Cork South Central and Cork North Central votes are being counted, Mr Martin paid tribute to the party’s candidates in the constituencies.

Mr Martin, who is on course to be elected this evening after topping the tally, extended his thanks to his family for their support and said Fianna Fáil had ran an “impactful” campaign.

“I think we ran probably the most effective and impactful on the ground campaign, knocking on doors everywhere and in every constituency, so I pay tribute to the Fianna Fáil organisation and to our membership and to our volunteers.

“It seems, I mean it’s early days yet, but we look like we will certainly exceed the exit poll somewhat and that is heartening to us and again, it’s very, very early days but we do see a route to a very strong finish here in this election but I will predict that we will go into the early hours of tomorrow morning.

“I think we could go to Monday before a lot of these final seats in many constituencies will be decided because we have a very competitive and fragmented electoral situation, let’s be honest, multiple parties now, small and different scale and Independents,” he said.

“There is a very clear root back to Government, although it’s not fully determined because a lot will depend on those final seats that I’ve spoken about.

“All we have at the moment are tallies of first counts which in the majority of cases will be reasonably accurate but then you have to work out geography, you have to work out eliminations, you have to work out the distribution of surpluses and it will be many, many counts later before we really are in a position to look at the destination of the final two seats in five-seaters or the final two seats in some four-seaters,” Mr Martin added.

“Geography would be particularly important in the transfer area so it’s a bit too early yet to call the exact type of government that will be formed and the composition of the next government.

“But I think there will be a sufficiency of seats, it seems to me, that aligns with the core principles that I articulated at the outset of this campaign and throughout the campaign, around the pro-enterprise economy, around a pro-European Union position, a government that will strongly push for home ownership and parties that are transparently democratic in how they conduct their affairs.”

Mr Martin stressed that he was wary to make final predictions.

“It’s just far too early” to say if he will be the next Taoiseach, he added, saying: “There will be a lot of twists and turns before this is over.”

3.45pm:The first count is now underway in Cork South Central, with the Tánaiste set to be elected at around 6pm, but the fight for the remaining seats is likely to go into tomorrow.

The three candidate strategy has gone well for Fianna Fáil, who got 36.7% of the vote according the final tally – 23.2% for Micheál Martin and 12.4% for Séamus McGrath, who will likely be the first two TDs elected, and 1.1% for Margaret Kenneally.

The same strategy has not gone as well for Fine Gael – who have a combined 16.2% of the vote – 7% for Jerry Buttimer, 5.9% for Shane O’Callaghan and 3.3% for Una McCarthy – they are almost certain to take one seat but unlikely to take a second.

Sinn Féin finished third with 15.4% of the vote – 11.1% for Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, who is likely to be the third TD elected, and 4.2% for Michelle Cowhey Shahid.

The Social Democrats were the party with the fourth best showing - 8.6% of the vote for its singular candidate, Pádraig Rice, who is in with a chance to make a breakthrough in the constituency.

Mr Rice’s success was not predicted by political analysts or bookmakers, but Social Democrats co-founder Róisín Shortall told reporters earlier this month that they were “quietly confident” that Mr Rice, who has been involved with the party since its inception, would prove successful.

Independents finished on 7.2%, the majority of these votes being for Mick Finn, who is on 5.8%, while Independent Ireland’s two candidates picked up just 0.7% between them.

Labour finished on 4.8%, Aontú on 3.6%, the Green Party on 3.4%, PBP – Solidarity on 1.4%, the National Party 1.3% and Rabharta on 0.7% - each party ran one candidate.

3pm:

All boxes have been tallied in Cork South Central, where Tánaiste Micheál Martin is set to top the poll and be elected on the first count, with around 14,067 first preference votes representing 23.2% of voters.

This would be Mr Martin’s second strongest ever showing, with the Fianna Fáil leader having received 26.29% of the first preference votes back in 2002.

Currently in second place is Mr Martin's party colleague Séamus McGrath (12.4%), who is closely followed by Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (11.1%) but likely to get a stronger wave of transfers from Mr Martin’s surplus – the Tánaiste is expected to be close to 4,000 over the quota.

Mr McGrath told The Echo: “I’m very pleased with my own vote, it looks like I’ll finish with the second highest amount of first preferences out of 22 candidates, so I’m very pleased with that, and I’m hopeful to take a seat, maybe the second or third.

“The party’s overall result in Cork South Central is very strong, there’s a long weekend ahead of us yet, but overall I feel I’m in a good place personally.” 

Social Democrats’ Pádraig Rice is on 8.6%, putting him in a good spot to take a seat, though Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer, currently in fourth with 7% of the vote, may overtake him following transfers from Mr Martin and McGrath, as well as from his running mate Shane O’Callaghan who is in sixth place on 5.9%, closely followed by Independent Mick Finn on 5.8%.

Transfers from Laura Harmon of Labour, who stands at 4.8% and Michelle Cowhey Shahid of Sinn Féin at 4.2%, as well as from Mr Ó Laoghaire, could help Mr Rice hold his strong position.

Monica Oikeh of the Green Party, Anna Daly of Aontú, Una McCarthy of Fine Gael, Shane Laird of People Before Profit-Solidarity, Margaret Kenneally of Fianna Fáil and Ted Neville of the National Party are all between 1% and 5%.

1.30pm: Tallying in Cork South Central is continuing, with approximately 90% of boxes counted. 

Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin leads the way out of the boxes tallied so far, with 23.5% of the vote – a number that has remained relatively steady since the first boxes were opened this morning. He is expected to arrive at the count centre soon.

His party colleague Séamus McGrath is on 9.1%, with Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire having overtaken him and sitting on 11.8%, while Social Democrats Pádraig Rice holds fourth place at 9.2%.

Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer is at 7.7%, followed by Independent Mick Finn at 6.8%, Shane O’Callaghan, also of Fine Gael, at 6.2%, and Laura Harmon of Labour at 5.1%.

Under 5% are Michelle Cowhey Shahid of Sinn Féin, Monica Oikeh of the Green Party, Anna Daly of Aontú, Una McCarthy of Fine Gael, Shane Laird of People Before Profit-Solidarity, Margaret Kenneally of Fianna Fáil and Ted Neville of the National Party.

Lorna Bogue of Rabharta, Veronica Houlihan and Valerie Ward of Independent Ireland and Independents Paudie Dineen, Tony Field, Graham De Barra and John O’Leary are all on 1% or under, with Mr Field likely to be eliminated first with just over 30 votes so far.

12pm: Social Democrats could be set to make a breakthrough in Cork South Central, with the party’s Padraig Rice currently coming in fourth with just under a quarter of the boxes tallied.

Mr Rice was elected to Cork City Council for the first time in June, and currently has about 8.2% of the votes, behind Micheál Martin (23.9%) and Séamus McGrath (12.6%) of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (11.2%).

Fine Gael’s Senator Jerry Buttimer is in fifth place at 7.7%, but has two running mates, city councillor Shane O’Callaghan and county councillor Una McCarthy, who are currently on 4.8% and 3.6% of the vote respectively, so will hope to pick up transfers from both, as well as from the two Fianna Fáil candidates, as exit poll data shows the two coalition parties are set to transfer well to each other.

Mr Ó Laoghaire’s running mate, Michelle Cowhey Shahid, is on 4.2% of the vote, with Independent Mick Finn and Labour’s Laura Harmon on 5.4% and 5% of the vote respectively, so it could be a close contest for the final seat as the remaining three quarters of the boxes are tallied before the official count begins.

Mr Rice’s husband and campaign manager Aaron O’Sullivan told The Echo: “It’s looking quite positive, though it’s still early days and there’s a lot of transfers to come into play.

“We don’t want to count our chickens before they’re hatched, but we’re certainly in a positive position and we’re happy enough with where we are."

“There’s some strong boxes and then still reasonable showings in areas where we wouldn’t be as strong or have done as much work given the timeline, so we’re optimistic.”

11.15am: Fianna Fáil look well placed to retain two seats in Cork South Central, as Séamus McGrath seems set to keep the seat his brother Michael vacated this year.

Early tallies, with just under 15% of the boxes counted, show Tánaiste Micheál Martin in first place, with Mr McGrath in second, with the two of them representing over 40% of the vote between them.

Sinn Féin and Fine Gael both also look well placed to keep at least one seat, but as more boxes are opened and tallied, the percentages may change dramatically as candidates are likely to poll best in the areas closest to them.

Earlier: The tally is underway in Nemo Rangers, where boxes opened at 9am for the votes for Cork South Central.

In Cork South Central, 22 candidates are to fight for five seats.

This includes just two incumbents, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, as the constituency gains a seat and former Ministers Simon Coveney and Micheal McGrath don’t contest.

There are three Fine Gael candidates, three Fianna Fáil, two Sinn Féin, two Independent Ireland and five Independent candidates running.

One Social Democrats candidate, one Labour, one Green, one Aontú, one People Before Profit-Solidarity, one National Party and one from Rabharta are also contesting the race.

Speaking to The Echo at the count centre former finance minister Michael McGrath cautioned against reading too much into the result of last night’s exit poll, saying “it’s all to play for”.

An exit poll, conducted by Ipsos/B&A on Friday for The Irish Times/RTÉ/TG4/TCD, showed Sinn Féin (21.1%), Fine Gael (21%), and Fianna Fáil (19.5%) virtually neck and neck in first preferences. The poll had a margin of error of 1.4%.

“It’s all to play for, it’s very early days,” Mr McGrath, who tomorrow takes up his position as EU Commissioner designate for Democracy, Justice and Rule of Law, said. 

“I think the exit poll shows the three largest parties are broadly within the margin of error and there could be movement beyond that even when the actual votes are counted, so I would caution against reaching too many conclusions.” 

He added that while the exit poll offered a snapshot of first preferences and second preferences, it did not give a closer analysis of what would certainly be a complex transfer pattern.

“Looking at ballot papers here this morning in Nemo Rangers, many people are going down to their 14th, 15th preference.

“You have 43 individual contests, you will have lots of local factors, the transfer patterns will be crucial for determining the last, the second-last seats, in particular, in the constituencies,” he said.

“It’s too early to predict what the outcome will be.” 

He said that transfers between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were “inevitable” given that the parties have been in government together, with voters looking to each of the parties as “a vehicle for offering stability”.

“I think it is going to be a complex result; it will be for all of the party leaders to work out what this means over the days and most likely the weeks ahead.” 

He said it was the first time in a long time that his own name was not on the ballot, and he was there to do what his brother Seamus “did for me for a very long period of time”.

Mr McGrath said he was looking forward to taking up his role as commissioner, overseeing democracy in the EU.

“We’re very fortunate in Ireland to have free and fair elections, and despite the weather yesterday, many, many people went to the effort to exercise their democratic franchise and cast their vote.

“I think it’s a fantastic exercise in democracy, and I look forward to seeing the final shape of the next Dáil emerge over the next couple of days.

He added that Ireland was fortunate that governments tended to last four or five years, something he saw as a real strength of Irish democracy.

“My only observation is that it’s important to have a significant majority, because things will happen over the course of a full term of Dáil Éireann, for different reasons, people may exit politics, or fall out of favour with their parties for whatever reason.

“Things can and will happen, so I think it is important to have a significant buffer for unforeseen events that will happen over the coming five years.”