LIVE UPDATES: Longford/Westmeath election count
21.30
Well, it looks we may be getting kicked out of this media centre shortly, so just a quick word of thanks to all the count staff and everyone involved in the logistics of this election for their courtesy and good humour, it's been much appreciated. It's been some way to spend my birthday weekend but I've enjoyed every second! Thanks to everyone for following us on social media and don't forget to pick up your Westmeath Independent on Wednesday for even more analysis, features, election photos and much, much more! It's Deirdre Verney signing off for the final time, oiche mhaith folks!
21.15
Here's the numbers from the final count, the tenth, which involved the distribution of in excess of 6,000 votes from Longford's Micheal Carrigy (FG).
As expected the 'Team Longford' voting pattern came into play to bring Joe Flaherty over the line and ensure Longford has a TD this time around, something that the county was determined to right since 2016. It's a big success story for the party bringing home two TDs in the constituency.
In the end Athlone's former Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran fell just 700 short of retaining his spot as Longford votes stayed in the county in transfers crossing party lines in the process. There will be a lot of soul searching as the town is now without a TD, and the focus shifts to Mullingar and Longford politically.
The figure played out as follows:
Burke +2709 11,034
Flaherty +2828 11,064
Moran +774 10,003
Troy +173 10, 793
Non-transferable votes 497.
Fianna Fail's Joe Flaherty, Fine Gael's Peter Burke and Robert Troy of Fianna Fail were all elected without reaching the quota.
21.00
Jubilant scenes and whoops of up Longford as Joe Flaherty is the second elected for Fianna Fail picking up 2,828 of Micheal Carrigy's transfers to take him over the line ahead of Peter Burke with 11,034, and Fianna Fail's Robert Troy, the poll-topper last time out, the fourth elected on this occasion.
Former Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran ended up just over 700 votes short in the end leaving Athlone with no TD. Watch the final count below!
20.23
We've had our first yahoo in the media centre among Longford FF activists leading one person to quip: "No one yahoos like a Fianna Failer!" Joe Flaherty is accepting congratulations in the count centre.
20.03
As expected Carrigy's transfers are going in large numbers to his party colleague, Peter Burke, and his countyman Joe Flaherty (FF). Some of Boxer's team now admit it is not there for him but it's closer than anyone thought yesterday.
19.54
Fianna Fail's Robert Troy has told the Westmeath Independent that he believes he will have a party colleague in the constituency, Joe Flaherty. The Longford vote will get him over the line, he maintained.
On the national picture, he said it's been a bad election for the party and they were "punished" for keeping Fine Gael in government.
19.19
Boxer has got the bounce all day, according to his team, and they believe he's very much in the fight. They believe it could come down to just 150 votes.
Cllr Aengus O'Rourke believes that his party colleague Joe Flaherty will still get over the line by some 700 votes as does former Cllr Tom Allen but he thinks it could be much closer than that.
9th count figures just in. Most privately accept Boxer's challenge is on the brink, Micheal Carrigy has been eliminated and Peter Burke will beneft as will Joe Flaherty, who is also 'Team Longford' however, he has 1,000 to make up on Boxer.
Boxer is just over a thousand ahead of Joe Flaherty, but the accepted wisdom is he needed quite a bit more to stay in the fight.
The figures are as follows:
Burke +1,019 8,325
Carrigy +274 6,981
Flaherty +237 8,236
Moran +1,483 9,229
Troy +959 10,620
Non transferable votes 1,057.
18.30
The Joe Flaherty camp analyse the transfer tallies in the media centre. Will Longford will get their TD? Looking more and more likely. There's an Athlone link too in his brother, Declan, who is a well known local solicitor.
18.20
The hum in the hall is rising as the votes are being sorted. Everyone is watching the pigeonholes to see where the votes from Mangan and Heavin are going - the talk of a minor miracle for Boxer is still being talked up by his camp but others less convinced. The PR system is some craic!
Half an hour until the next count.
18.15
Fair play to count staff, they're playing a blinder! Concentration levels need to be high for this work.
17.28
Boxer's team remain optimistic that they still have a chance, however others are less hopeful.
It's hard to see him getting a huge proportion of Labour's Alan 'Budda' Mangan's transfers, however, what is in Louise Heavin's vote will tell the story here. This next count is a big one, and we're told it may be less than an hour away. Afterwards, count staff are expected to take a break.
Count 8 in numbers (Distribution of Gab McFadden's votes)
Burke +575 7,306
Carrigy +173 6,707
Flaherty +23 7,999
Heavin +130 2,910
Mangan +40 2,119
Moran +383 7,746
Troy +83 9,661
Non transferable votes 43. The Green Party's Louise Heavin and Labour's Alan 'Budda' Mangan have been eliminated. The good news for Louise, however, is that she saved her expenses.
16.40
8th count is in! Boxer has picked up 383 of Gab McFadden's transfers leaving his camp still hopeful. He's now at 7,746. However, Fine Gael's Peter Burke picked up 575 from his party colleague leading to many observers suggesting that he is now safe. It's a lot closer than we thought.
The Green Party's Louise Heavin and Labour's Alan 'Budda' Mangan have now been eliminated. Their 5,029 transfers will make things a lot clearer.
15.47
When asked on Shannonside FM if Boxer is "pulling a Willie Penrose" Fianna Fail's Joe Flaherty said "never say never".
"It's a cruel sport but it is one that gives equality of opportunity."
"There is always a possibility," he said, adding that he feels for Boxer Moran as he gave fantastic service in government to Athlone and Longford.
15.43
Plenty of Boxer's team in the hall and the phones are out all the time. Wonder is Eugene Deering talking to the man himself?
15.30
The plot thickens here in Athlone! Boxer is proving extremely transfer friendly, and is now less than 500 behind Joe Flaherty (FF) with party colleagues Peter Burke and Micheal Carrigy neck and neck with 6,731 and 6,534 respectively
7th count is as follows!
Burke +54 6,731
Carrigy +83 6,534
Flaherty +151 7,976
Heavin +59 2,780
Mangan + 43 2,079
McFadden +11 1,450
Moran +266 7,363
Troy +102 9,578
Non-transferable votes - 361. As no candidate has reached the quota, the lowest candidate has now been excluded in Fine Gael's Gab McFadden - 1,450.
14.43
Word is reaching us that our next count is 20 minutes to half an hour, however, timing is here is not exact to say the least! I spotted Senator Aidan Davitt, Donie Cassidy and Green candidate Louise Heavin in the John McCormack Hall watching proceedings closely.
14.14
Count staff are back from lunch and hard at work. We're told a 7th count is still a bit away yet.
13.02
6th count is in and it's getting very interesting. Boxer's people are looking a lot more upbeat, although Peter Burke remains the favourite to take the final seat. The exclusion of James Reynolds and distribution of 1,000 plus votes will tell a tale.
Here are the figures:
Count 6
Elimination and distribution of Barbara Smyth (725)
Burke +15 - 6677
Carrigy +30 - 6451
Flaherty +37 - 7825
Heavin +233 - 2721
Mangan +46 - 2036
McFadden +7 - 1439
Moran +119 - 7097
Reynolds +49 - 1130
Troy +31 - 9476
Non-Transferable - 158
No candidate elected. James Reynolds eliminated.
Here's returning officer Bridin Concannon with the sixth count details:
12.05 Things are moving a little quicker now. 5th count results are in!
10.31 Monday
The third count has just been completed here and it has made no significant difference to anyone. It involved the distribution of 300 odd votes following the exclusion of Donal Jackson and Frank Kilbride.
Burke +10 6,645
Carrigy +48
Flaherty +52 7,755
Heavin +13 2,410
Kavanagh +34 397
Mangan +8 1,957
McFadden +6 1,422
Moran +39 6,866
Parker +8 322
Reynolds +19 1,020
Smyth +5 483
Troy +15 9,399
Non-transferable votes - 32. As no candidate has reached the quota and there is no surplus to distribute, the lowest candidate has now been excluded - Dom Parker. His 322 will now be distributed.Given that it has taken well over an hour to distribute 300 odd votes, it's thought it will be several hours before we get to the bigger distributions and the business end of things today.
12.02am - SECOND COUNT ANNOUNCED
Kevin 'Boxer' Moran is the main beneficiary of the distribution of Sorca Clarke's surplus of 571.
Has his political obituary been written too early?
Burke +18 - 6635
Carrigy +16 6350
Flaherty +37 7703
Heavin +72 2397
Jackson +12 83
Kavanagh +29 363
Kilbride +9 206
Mangan +45 1949
McFadden +5 1416
Moran +97 6827
Parker +93 314
Reynolds +18 1001
Smyth +67 478
Troy +53 9384
No candidate elected. Jackson and KIlbride will be eliminated. Count adjourned until 9am tomorrow, Monday.
11.15pm
We've just been told that second count will take place in 20 minutes. The count will then be adjourned until 9am tomorrow (Monday).
11pm
The party share of first preferences
10.50
The latest take on the figures from Tadhg Carey
10.37pm
Interestingly, turnout in Longford/Westmeath was over 59%, which on first glance seems high but it was over 66% in 2016.
Lots of junk food being consumed during this break. Thanks to Haribo, Cadburys et al!
9.20pm
First Count results:
Total Poll: 56,883; Invalid Ballot Papers: 500; Valid Poll: 56,383; Quota: 11,277; Required to Save Election Expenses: 2,820
Clarke Sorca 11,848
Troy Robert 9,331
Flaherty Joe 7,666
Moran Kevin Boxer 6,730
Burke Peter 6617
Carrigy Micheal 6,334
Heavin Louise 2325
Mangan, Alan Budd 1,904
McFadden Gab 1,411
Reynolds, James 963
Smyth Barbara 411
Kavanagh Anna 334
Parker Dom 221
KIlbride Frank 197
Jackson Donal 71
ELECTED: Sorca Clarke;
Returning Officer now proceeding to distribute Clarke's surplus of 571.
9.27pm Finally a first count!
7.45pm
Here's Boxer's reaction as he arrived at the count centre this evening. 'Longford/Westmeath has lost a very good politician': he told the media.
7pm
Doubtful votes being assessed here now, with a first count expected somewhere after 8pm.
6.25pm
Robert Troy tells the media that he expects that FF, FG and SF will have to talk about future Government options.
6.20
Returning Officer Bridin Concannon has just come to the podium inviting candidates and their agents to inspect the spoiled votes. Everyone is now saying the first count is about an hour away.
Unconfirmed reports of a sleeping bag in the count centre. Will we need one too???
5.47pm
Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has arrived at the count centre and has all but conceded the loss of his seat as a result of the Sinn Fein "surge".
"I'm only 52, I'll move on... I'm taking a month off and I'll take the boat out and do a bit of fishing and enjoy life"
Between 6pm to 7pm is being talked about here for the first count but it is by no means clear.
Local Fine Gael sources privately saying no TD in Athlone will be a "disaster" for the area.They believe the transfers are not there for Boxer to pull through.
4.30pm
Westmeath Independent deputy editor Deirdre Verney and RTE Midlands correspondent Ciaran Mullooly discuss the early indications from the Longford/Westmeath constituency.
3.47pm
Retired soldier Patricia Claffey from Moate has said she was denied her "constitutional right" to vote when her postal vote only arrived on Thursday. She says they are lots of other members or ex-members of the Defence Forces in the same boat.
She brought her vote to her polling station but it was not accepted nor was it accepted in the count centre today. Patricia is very angry that her vote has not been counted in this important election.
3.30pm
There is talk among the parties here that there is a live possibility of Athlone being without a TD. Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, the sole outgoing TD, has seen his vote fall from 7,585 on the last occasion to an estimated 6,529 this time around.
This 1,000-vote drop is leaving him with a precarious grip on his seat - and opens up the possibility of Athlone not having a TD.
The smart money here is on Sorca Clarke (SF) and Robert Troy (FF) are certain to be elected, with the last two seats between four candidates, Peter Burke and Micheal Carrigy of Fine Gael; Joe Flaherty of FF and Kevin 'Boxer' Moran.
All will depend on transfer and which of the Fine Gael candidates (Burke or Carrigy) is eliminated.
All the play for here, but the prospect of Athlone not having a TD is being widely discussed here.
2.52
The count centre is alive with activity again as staff put votes in the designated pigeonholes.
2.46
Love the use of the shopping trolleys to move votes around the count centre!
Labour's Alan Mangan has arrived in the media centre. He's looking fairly glum and that's understandable with a 5.3% swing downward in the party vote since 2016. It was then 8.6% (4,038), now it's just 3.4%, that's just 1,871 first preferences.
Tadhg Carey looks at the final tally figures.
2.07pm
Final, final tally...The figures have changed slightly from the last update. We're still minus one box from Ballinagore.
Here's what we know:
Burke - 6,636, Carrigy - 6,153, Clarke - 11,585, Flaherty 7,543, Heavin - 2,232, Jackson - 74, Kavanagh 336, Kilbride 181, Mangan - 1,764, McFadden - 1,392, Moran - 6,529, Parker - 226, Reynolds - 929, Smyth - 381, Troy - 9,102.
Estimated quota is 11, 013
2pm
PROVISIONAL FINAL TALLY
There are ten boxes untallied in Longford/Westmeath - although tally people believe one of the parties may have a tally for three of these boxes. For this reason, this is a provisional final tally - with a possible revision of the addition of those three boxes later.
1.20pm
The picture is beginning to get a little clearer as more and more tallies come in.
We now have 83% of the boxes tallied, with the majority remaining coming from the Granard and Ballymahon areas.
Burke 6261; Carrigy 4169; Clarke 10231; Flaherty 5406; Heavin 2023; Jackson 71; Kavanagh 272; Kilbride 102; Mangan 1680; McFadden 1332; Moran 6032; Parker 198; Reynolds 769; Smyth 312; Troy 8627;
Sorca Clarke has received 2218 votes in Longford, with 26 out of 75 remaining to count.
1.15 Sinn Fein's Sorca Clarke has passed the 10,000 mark according to latest tally figures accounting for 83% of the vote. It's the story of the day here.
1.05 Lots of great banter around the centre as people try to grab lunch before the full tally is available. The lovely lady in the Athlone IT canteen said she'd like to be TD because she has lots of great ideas! Incidentially, the weather outside is frightful! Got soaked doing the coffee run!
12.33
The tally people are doing great work! 70% of boxes are done now.
12.10
The crowd around the tally screen is getting bigger all the time! With over 62% of the tally boxes here are the numbers. Please note that 91% of Athlone boxes are done, 90% of the Moate boxes are also in there, however, there are large swathes of North Longford and North Westmeath still to be factored in.
Burke - 3,957
Carrigy - 3,481
Clarke - 6,669
Flaherty - 4,371
Heavin - 1,500
Jackson - 59
Kavanagh - 187
Kilbride - 78
Mangan - 1,114
McFadden - 1,205
Moran - 5,310
Parker - 144
Reynolds - 572
Smyth - 212
Troy - 5,550
11.55
We're over halfway on the tallies.
Here's the all important numbers!
Burke - 2,905
Carrigy - 3,365
Clarke - 5,622
Flaherty - 4,121
Heavin - 1,192
Jackson - 50
Kavanagh - 152
Kilbride - 75
Mangan - 657
McFadden - 942
Moran - 4313
Parker - 116
Reynolds - 488
Smyth - 180
Troy - 3991
11.45
Really interesting chat among Fine Gael sources who say there is definitely one seat for them on the current trends but the big question is who! It's reckoned if Longford's Micheal Carrigy (FG) goes ahead of Fianna Fail's Joe Flaherty, then outgoing TD Peter Burke is in trouble.
11.40am
We catch up with Sinn Fein's Sorca Clarke at the count centre in Athlone.
11.30am
With over 40% of tallies here's how it's shaping up! Bear in mind that's 61% of the Athlone boxes tallied but just 28% of the Moate boxes are done.
11.05am
With two hours of tallies completed, some early indications are emerging.
Sinn Fein's Sorca Clarke looks almost certain to be elected, with some pundits indicating that she may top the poll.
With almost 33% of the boxes tallied, including 55% of the Athlone boxes, Clarke has taken a significant 19.4% of the vote.
Kevin 'Boxer' Moran is next at 15.4% - although he may be a little more nervous given that his Athlone boxes are overly represented in this early tally.
His first preferences on the last occasion were 21% so, at this point, there is a possibility that will not be plain sailing.
It's anticipated that by the end of the tally, Sinn Fein may have taken well over 2,000 votes from the Athlone area, which will impact on Moran's vote.
Gabrielle McFadden's vote has collapsed and she is currently on 3.6% of the vote, after 33% of the tallies.
10.48
The tally screen is where it's as everyone tries to make sense of the numbers and more importantly take a pic of them!
10.33 Lots of candidates crowding all around the tally screen where figures are being collated in the SU area which is acting as the media centre today. Interestingly, a few already congratulating Sinn Fein's Sorca Clarke on her impressive performance so far. She laughs that she is so tired she can hardly see the screen!
With 16% of boxes tallied, here is the state of play:
Burke - 874
Carrigy - 686
Clarke - 1,622
Flaherty - 1,184
Heavin - 479
Jackson - 20
Kavanagh - 39
Kilbride - 11
Mangan- 199
McFadden - 451
Moran - 1,748
Parker - 44
Reynolds - 143
Smyth - 52
Troy - 1,440
10.15
With 10.5% of all boxes tallied here's the figures
10.10am
Tadhg Carey gives an early round up of what the figures are saying after 9% of the boxes have been tallied.
10am
A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. So here's a picture of a tally of another one of the Cornamaddy boxes.
9.46
More box tallies
Box 12 Cornamaddy NS
Burke 5, Carrigy 3, Clarke 39, Heavin 21, Mangan 6, McFadden 34, Moran 136, Parker 2, Reynolds 4, Troy 23
Box 13, Cornamaddy NS
Burke 11, Carrigy 2, Clarke 45, Flaherty 7, Heavin 18, Jackson 2, Kavanagh 1, Mangan 2, McFadden 14, Boxer 135, Parker 3, Reynolds 2, Smyth 3, Troy 26
9.30
The first concrete numbers are emerging from tallies as boxes are opened.
Box No 1 - St Mary's NS, Athlone
Burke 12, Carrigy 7, Clarke 37, Flaherty 4, Heavin 40, Jackson 1, Kavanagh 1, Mangan, McFadden 54, Boxer 120, Parker 3, Reynolds 14, Smyth 2 and Troy 28.
Box No 2 - St Mary's NS, Athlone
Burke 3, Clarke 74, Heavin 24, Flaherty 4, McFadden 21, Mangan 2, Boxer 149, Kavanagh 1, Parker 6, Reynolds 8, Troy 9, Smyth 3.
9.27
Just chatting Seamus Kincaid from Mullingar who is coordinating the tallies on screen. He expects it will be 2pm before a full tally is ready for the constituency.
9.13am
It's obviously early, early days but Sinn Fein's Sorca Clarke is polling very well in the Athlone boxes currently being tallied. In one Brawney box, she was on a par with Independent Kevin 'Boxer' Moran. Interestingly, she was also very strong in one Glasson box I watched being tallied.
Lots of nervous faces around the count centre including candidates Sorca Clarke and Joe Flaherty.
9am
Returning officer Bridin Concannon has just welcomed everyone to the count centre and announced that the opening of the boxes is set to commence.
Here's the scene at AIT now
Deirdre Verney and Tadhg Carey reporting today with live updates from the Longford/Westmeath constituency count centre in AIT, starting at 9am. #GE2020 #ldwh
Here are the nuts and bolts
THE CONSTITUENCY:
The constituency includes all of Co. Longford and all of Co. Westmeath - except for the former Devlin Rural District comprising Delvin, Castlepollard, Collinstown, Whitehall, Clonmellon and other areas which are now in the Meath West constituency.
SEATS: 4
OUTGOING TDs
Burke, Peter (Fine Gael); Moran, Kevin 'Boxer' (Independent); Penrose, Willie (Labour); Troy, Robert (Fianna Fail)
CANDIDATES:
Peter Burke (Fine Gael)
Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
Sorca Clarke (Sinn Féin)
Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fáil)
Louise Heavin (Green Party)
Donal Jackson (Independent)
Anna Kavanagh (Independent)
Frank Kilbride (Independent)
Alan 'Budda' Mangan (Labour)
Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael)
Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran (Independent)
Dom Parker (Solidarity-People Before Profit)
James Reynolds (National Party)
Barbara Smyth (Solidarity-People Before Profit)
Robert Troy (Fianna Fáil)