The results of initial counts in the local and European elections have been guardedly acknowledged by the trio of Coalition parties, sparking conversations about whether the Sinn Féin party may have put forth an excessive number of candidates across the country. The Green Party, as internal sources suggest, is potentially exceeding initial predictions in the polls. Meanwhile, Fine Gael is quietly confident their electoral performance will concur with recently published opinion polls.
Prospects also seem bright for Independent candidates as the election weekend unfolds. The ballot box unsealing process commenced countrywide from 9am, leading to an outpour of completed tallies for local and European elections as well as the mayoral vote in Limerick. A grand total of 949 council seats and 14 European Parliament seats are on the line.
Counts suggest a sense of security for the Coalition and no evidence of a significant increase for Sinn Féin, while the Independents seem to be performing well. The Coalition remains tentatively positive following initial counts, with doubts surfacing about the quantity of Sinn Féin candidates.
Despite the increasing odds, early counts indicate that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael might lose council seats while Greens seem to be holding their ground. Estimates by Fine Gael insiders suggest the party’s countrywide average to be approximately 22%, based on initial counts.
The Sinn Féin appears to be on the rise, possibly indicating a recovery from the 2019 loss of half its council seats. However, the performance of the recent additions to the ballot papers, potentially new contenders or lesser-known candidates from Sinn Féin, seems to be lacklustre.
Labour members suggest that the overall situation for them is still ambiguous, but there are glimmers of hope as per initial indications from regions like Drogheda and Cork.
As per the counts from over sixty per cent of the boxes in Dublin’s North Inner City, Fine Gael’s Ray McAdams is predicted to be ahead in polls. Malachy Steenson, an Independent candidate with anti-immigrant views, might have a chance at winning a seat as per early tallies.
There appears to be a potential for Fine Gael to secure a seat in Swords with Luke Corkery, a 22-year-old newcomer, poised to meet a quota on the first count.
In Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are receiving firm support as indicated by initial counts.
Based on an 84% tally of the vote boxes, Michael Pidgeon from the Green Party has taken the lead in Dublin’s South West Inner City, receiving 19% of the primary votes. In Ballymun-Finglas, there is hope for another Green Party candidate, Caroline Conroy, despite the original expectations being more on the negative side. Fianna Fáil candidates Keith Connolly and Briege McOscar are performing strongly in the same region.
In Edenderry, Fianna Fáil has been receiving a substantial number of votes after 20% of the boxes were counted, with candidates Eddie Fitzpatrick and Claire Murray leading the way with respective 18.6% and 15.3% of the votes.
In Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, early numbers suggest a preference for Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, while in Meath, after the opening of 50 out of 234 boxes, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have received 24% and 22% of the votes, respectively.
Independent candidates Joe Bonner and Noel French are expected to receive the highest votes in Ashbourne and Trim. An initial count in Birr suggests that Fine Gael’s John Clendennen might win with a 21% lead.
In Monaghan, where nearly 50% of the boxes were opened, Sinn Féin’s Cathy Bennett is leading with 15.19%, followed by Fianna Fáil’s Raymond Aughey with 11.16% and independent candidate Séamus Treanor with 11.13%.
In Dublin’s North Inner City, Sinn Féin candidate Janice Boylan appears to be the front-runner based on a 44% count of the vote boxes, holding 15.5% of the primary votes. Voting results from Connemara North suggest that independent candidate Tom Welby is expected to win, with strong pollings for another independent, Mánus Ó Conaire, and Séamus Walsh of Independent Ireland.
In Castleisland, Kerry, Jackie Healy-Rae, offspring of Kerry TD Michael Michael Healy-Rae, is demonstrating an excellent election performance, according to all open ballot boxes. He has managed to accumulate 2,892 votes, translating to 30.2% of the count, a figure high enough to likely determine his election in the first vote counting.
Regarding the EU elections, preliminary vote counts seem to match with recent forecasts. Initial vote counts from Co Clare in Ireland South suggest robust performances from both Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher and Sean Kelly of Fine Gael. Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú from Fianna Fáil are also reportedly showing significant progress in Carlow.
In the capital, Dublin, Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews is picking up a notable amount of first-preference votes. Kevin Humphreys of Labour party, in his interview with RTÉ Radio 1, reported that preliminary counts demonstrated potential for both Mr Andrews and Regina Doherty of Fine Gael to procure a seat. In addition, counts from various Dublin City Council regions hinted at support for Independent candidate Clare Daly.
In the Midlands-North-West, early vote counts indicated that Barry Cowen from Fianna Fáil is performing well within his native Offaly. Other notable performers include Ciaran Mullooly, former correspondent for RTE Midlands and candidate for Independent Ireland, and Fine Gael’s Nina Carberry, ex-jockey, and her party associate Maria Walsh. Independent Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan shows promising results in hopes of retaining his seat.
Vote counts for Limerick City Mayor depict Independent John Moran as the frontrunner in both the city and county areas, closely shadowed by Helen O’Donnell, another Independent candidate.