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The count is well and truly underway with TDs being elected across the country. Here are six things we learned on the first day of counting for Election 2024.
1. Green wipeout
The Green Party has had a catastrophic day at the polls and are potentially facing a total wipeout, as some of its most high-profile TDs face the fights of their political careers.
Roderic O’Gorman, the Green leader, is currently in fifth place in the five-seat Dublin West, with transfers from other left-wing candidates likely to decide his fate.
Catherine Martin in Dublin Rathdown will be fighting for the final seat in her constituency after she topped the poll in 2020.
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Other key Greens, like Joe O’Brien in Dublin Fingal West, have already been eliminated and more will follow in the hours ahead.
It isn’t the first time the party has been wiped out, but it will be a very difficult pill to swallow for party activists across the country.
Both the Labour Party and Social Democrats are on track to enter the double digits of Dáil seats after performing well across the country.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, who gave birth to a baby girl on polling day, will likely retain her seat in Cork South-West and the grouping is now hopeful of seeing between 10 and 13 TDs elected to Leinster House.
Labour’s Ivana Bacik is in a similar position. With a likely outcome of at least 10 TDs, it sets her party up to enter serious coalition talks after all the votes are counted.
Dublin Central provided the story that most people will be talking about on Sunday — and possibly far beyond.
Veteran criminal Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch is in a position to challenge for a seat in the constituency, having announced his candidacy just five weeks ago.
Mr Hutch arrived at Dublin Airport earlier this month after being arrested in Spain last month as part of an international investigation into money laundering. He has reportedly been released on bail of €100,000.
But that did not stop 3,098 voters from giving him a first preference, landing him fourth in the running. He is around 600 votes ahead of Labour’s Marie Sherlock and is expected to grow that lead when anti-migrant campaigner Malachy Steenson is eliminated.
Whether Ms Sherlock is able to attract a sizeable number of transfers from Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick and the Greens’ Neasa Hourigan will determine the destination of the final seat in the centre of the capital.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said it is clear now that there is a strong appetite for change, and she will be speaking to others on the left after the votes are counted.
Arriving at the RDS count centre added that she is going to “knuckle down now” and do everything she can to “to bring about change”.
“Not so long ago, the old traditional establishment parties monopolised not just government but also opposition, that’s changed now, and I think this election is confirmation of that,” said Ms McDonald who topped the poll in Dublin Central.
Elections can be cruel and this time around a number of high-profile candidates are in the danger zone.
This includes Health Minister Stephen Donnelly who polled around 6% of first preference votes.
In what has been a bad day for the Greens, party leader Roderic O’Gorman will be fighting it out to retain his seat in Dublin West.
In Galway East, junior minister Anne Rabbitte has not polled as well as expected on 7.5% and could be taken out by her own party colleague councillor Albert Dolan.
Every election, there are always stories of lost items making their way into ballot boxes, and general election 2024 is no different.
In Donegal, one box from Scoil Eoghain in Moville had an errant wedding ring land into it, as a voter came to cast his vote.
Local polling station staff ensured to warn the incoming count staff of the lost ring, with it tumbling out once counting kicked off early this morning.
Local 100% Redress councillor, Ali Farren, managed to return the ring to its rightful owner, with a happy reunion after a few hours stuck under stacks of ballots.