LIVE UPDATES: Longford Westmeath general election count

* This was our live blog from day one (Saturday, November 30) of the 2024 general election count in Longford Westmeath. Our live coverage from day two of the count can be found here.

11pm: And that's a wrap for tonight, folks! The counting has ended for today, and will resume at 9am.

We'll be back tomorrow morning for continuing live updates here on westmeathindependent.ie, with four of the five seats still to be filled.

10.48pm: The official turnout for Longford Westmeath is 58.4%, which is down from 60% in 2020

10.40pm: Here are the results of the first count in Longford Westmeath:

Electorate 106,814

Total Poll 62,353

Invalid 469

Valid Poll 61,884

Seats 5

Quota 10,315

Bennett (Labour): 1,574 (2.54%)

Bradley (Independent): 115 (0.19%)

Burke (Fine Gael): 10,864 (17.55%)

Campion (Sinn Féin): 2,344 (3.79%)

Cannon (Fine Gael): 507 (0.82%)

Carrigy (Fine Gael): 7,090 (11.46%)

Clarke (Sinn Féin): 6,998 (11.31%)

Cunniffe (Fianna Fáil): 528 (0.85%)

Flaherty (Fianna Fáil): 5,231 (8.45%)

Heavin (Independent): 915 (1.48%)

Hogan (Independent Ireland): 2,956 (4.78%)

Jackson (Independent): 48 (0.08%)

Keenan (Independent): 66 (0.1%)

Maguire (Ireland First): 864 (1.4%)

Moran (Independent): 8,056 (13.02%)

Okeke (Green Party): 464 (0.75%)

O'Neill (Aontú): 1,926 (3.11%)

Smyth (People Before Profit - Solidarity): 960 (1.55%)

Troy (Fianna Fáil): 8,116 (13.11%)

Warnock (Independent): 2,262 (3.66%)

Spoiled votes: 469

As a result, Burke was deemed elected, with a surplus of 549. He celebrated with his family and supporters, but there was no hoisting on the shoulders for the Enterprise Minister!

10.35pm: The first count is in, and Peter Burke has been elected, topping the poll. Full figures to come...

10.10pm: We have white smoke... almost! There has just been an announcement over the loudspeaker here in TUS that the first count in Longford Westmeath will be coming in ten minutes' time. Stay with us for all the details....

9.40pm: Sinn Féin TD Sorca Clarke, with Conor Dowling-Linehan, the party's former local election candidate in Athlone. Photo by Paulina Kusa.

9.20pm: While this will be a memorable weekend for Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, it's set to be a disappointing one for the other five Athlone candidates.

The tallies showed that, of the other Athlonians, Paul Hogan of Independent Ireland was closest to 'Boxer', but with his final tally of 2,911 he has too much ground to make up to be in with a chance of taking a seat.

In 2020, when she ran as a Green Party candidate, Louise Heavin took 2,325 first preferences. The Mount Temple native and Athlone resident, who is now an Independent, will be disappointed to see a decrease in her vote, with tallies showing her taking approximately 900 first preferences this time around.

Dympna Cunniffe and Tanya Cannon, first-time candidates for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael respectively, joined the contest at a relatively late stage and failed to make any real impact at the polls, taking a little over 1,000 first preferences combined according to the tallies.

Independent Donal Jackson, meanwhile, also saw a drop in his expected vote, from 71 first preferences last time to a tallied figure of 58 on this occasion.

9pm: So it's almost twelve hours since the boxes were opened here at TUS in Athlone and we still haven't had a first count. We're hoping that will be coming fairly soon, but in the meantime here is a quick recap on the state of play.

Fine Gael Minister Peter Burke will top the poll in Longford Westmeath and will be elected tonight. Robert Troy is set to be re-elected, while tallies show Kevin 'Boxer' Moran taking just under 8,000 votes, which will be sufficient to get him over the line and ensure that Athlone again has a representative in Dáil Eireann.

The battle of Longford, between Fine Gael Senator Micheal Carrigy and sitting Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty is set to be won by Senator Carrigy, who is on track to become a TD for the first time, with Flaherty likely to miss out. And Sinn Féin TD Sorca Clarke is on course to retain the Dáil seat she first won in 2020.

However, the expected elections of Troy, Moran, Carrigy and Clarke won't be finalised tonight. The expectation is that counting will finish no later than midnight, before resuming again at around 9am tomorrow.

8.50pm: Candidates, supporters, (and journalists!) are still waiting for the first count here in TUS. It should be soon...

8.35pm: This is the first general election since the passing of Athlone political titan Mary O'Rourke early last month. Her son, Aengus, spoke about her great love for days like these.

"If she wasn't here but was at home, the phone would be hopping here in my hand. 'How does it look? Who is around you? And what are they wearing....particularly the female candidates!'

"These were always the questions Mum asked me. So there's a void. There's definitely a void around this election for me," he said.

8.30pm: Despite Fianna Fáil's strong performance nationally, Cllr Aengus O'Rourke acknowledged the party was likely to lose a seat in Longford-Westmeath, with Longford's Joe Flaherty expected to miss out.

"I'm very sorry for Joe. He worked hard on the ground. That urban area in Longford, where he is, is very competitive... we're hoping for a mini-miracle, but I don't see it coming really."

8.25pm: We asked Athlone Fianna Fáil councillor Aengus O'Rourke for his thoughts on the likely make up of the next Government. He said the result projections, as they stand currently, put Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael at around 80 or so seats.

"So you'd need another ten, or so, to make up the numbers. While that sounds like an easy task, the formation of a Government when you're relying on a three-party arrangement, as we saw on the last occasion, can take a number of months. It looks like we're headed for that again," said Cllr O'Rourke.

8.10pm: Here is Minster Peter Burke chatting to our colleagues in the Westmeath Examiner a short time ago:

7.30pm: The talk here at the moment is that it could be 9pm before we have a first count. Peter Burke is likely to be the only candidate elected tonight, so it's expected to be tomorrow before 'Boxer' Moran and others are hoisted aloft in celebration.

7.25pm: As he awaits the first count that will see him elected as the poll-topper in Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael's Enterprise Minister Peter Burke told us he was "thrilled, and very grateful for the support that the people of Longford-Westmeath have given me".

When asked about the controversy over Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's comments about teachers at this election launch, and whether or not he feared it would hurt his campaign, he replied: "I'd prefer if it didn't happen, but I didn't have any concern because people know that it was my name on the ballot paper, and also I have a very strong track record in education.

"I'd say there's not a principal in Westmeath that I haven't been speaking to or working with at some point in time since 2016.

"I did think it was a bubble issue, and that the media should have been more focused on looking at the issues and policies in relation to mental health, education and housing, rather than looking at bubble issues. I think we need to fight elections on substance and not on what other people say, or are perceived to have said."

7.10pm: Westmeath Fine Gael councillor John Dolan in conversation at the count centre in TUS this evening. Photo by Thomas Gibbons:

6.30pm: Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy is positive as counting begins as it looks like he will comfortably retain his seat. This would be his fourth time elected to Dáil Eireann, after he first became a TD in 2011.

6.20pm: Local Fine Gael Cllr Tom Farrell has said that it has been "a very positive day so far" for Fine Gael in Longford Westmeath

5.40pm: Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has said he is grateful for people's support after positive tally figures this afternoon

5.30pm: Counting underway here in TUS! We should see a first count in the next few hours, where Fine Gael's Peter Burke should comfortably exceed the quota of 10,200

5.05pm: We're wondering how long this voter had to wait by their school or community hall to cast this (spoiled) vote...

4.30pm: Fianna Fáil's Athlone-area candidate Dympna Cunniffe was here for a time this afternoon and admitted that she was "a little bit disappointed" with her performance, after tallies showed her in 15th position, on 566 votes.

She told us the election campaign, which was her first, had been a "whirlwind" of just 20 days, and that the issue of the planned asylum seeker centre for 1,000 people in Lissywollen was dominant on the doorsteps.

The Mount Temple native said she wouldn't rule out the possibility of running for a council seat at some stage in the future.

"I would love it. There's lots of work to be done," she said.

4pm: We caught up with Kevin 'Boxer' Moran and asked him for his reaction as tallies showed that he's set to regain the Dáil seat he lost last time out:

3.05pm: Boxer's comeback: A beaming Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has arrived at the count centre here:

2.50pm: Final tally: 177 of 177 boxes.

Estimated quota: 10,200.

Peter Burke (FG): 10,860

Robert Troy (FF): 8,073

Kevin 'Boxer' Moran (Ind): 7,994

Sorca Clarke (SF): 6,907

Micheal Carrigy (FG): 6,868

Joe Flaherty (FF): 5,069

Paul Hogan (Ind Ire): 2,911

Barry Campion (SF): 2,304

Gerry Warnock (Ind): 2,204

Laura O'Neill (Aontu): 1,888

Fidelma Bennett (Lab): 1,592

Dave Smyth (SPBP): 984

Louise Heavin (Ind): 898

Margaret Alacoque Maguire (IF): 834

Dympna Cunniffe (FF): 566

Tanya Cannon (FG): 522

Carol Okeke (GP): 472

Paul Bradley (Ind): 119

Charlotte Keenan (Ind): 76

Donal Jackson (Ind): 58

2.45pm: We now have a final tally in the Longford Westmeath constituency. Details to follow...

2.30pm: The big story here from an Athlone perspective is the now all-but-certain return to the Dáil of Kevin 'Boxer' Moran. There has been no Athlone-based TD in the Dáil since he lost his seat last time out, in 2020.

'Boxer' is not here at the count centre yet but his son Jamie has been here throughout the morning and acknowledged that the numbers are looking very promising.

The last Athlone boxes have now been tallied, and the tallied vote for 'Boxer' has risen to 7,919, putting him in second place, behind Peter Burke, for the time being.

To put that in context, he received 6,730 first preferences when he missed out in 2020.

2.15pm: With all of the Longford votes tallied, we're just waiting on the completion of tallies from the remaining 20 boxes: five from Athlone, six from Moate, six from Mullingar and three from Kinnegad.

There is a continuous huddle around the computers that are displaying the latest tally results, leading an onlooker to quip: "A watched kettle never boils, lads!"

"This is a slow kettle!" came one response.

1.55pm: Sinn Féin TD Sorca Clarke is "confident" about retaining her seat, but admits that right now, "it's in the hands of the Gods."

1.30pm: Lots of number-crunching going on here, with the tallies for the final boxes being collated:

1.20pm:

Tallies of 135 of the 177 boxes

Burke 17.7% (7996); Troy 13% (5857); Carrigy 12.1% (5,445); Moran 11.8%(5339); Clarke 11.3% (5092); Flaherty 8.9% (4038); Warnock 4.2% (1901); Hogan 3.9% (1,783); Campion 3.9% (1,763); O'Neill 3.2% (1,466); Bennett 2.6% (1,190); Smyth 1.6% (730); Heavin 1.5% (659); Maguire 1.3% (597); Cunniffe 0.9% (410); Cannon 0.8% (353); Okeke 0.8% (351); Bradley 0.2% (97); Keenan 0.1% (51); Jackson 0.1% (40).

This tally accounts for 72% of Athlone boxes; 63% of Moate boxes; 73% of Mullingar boxes; 86% of Kinnegad boxes.

In Longford, the figures above comprise 74% of Ballymahon boxes; 74% in Granard; and 95% in Longford.

1.10pm: Cllr Vinny McCormack, who works as a parliamentary assistant for TD Robert Troy, gives us his thoughts as the early tallies come in at TUS in Athlone. He's not ruling out the possibility of two of the five seats going to Longford candidates Flaherty and Carrigy.

1pm

The boxes have been sorted here, and tallied. Count staff will soon begin the process of arranging votes for the first count.

We are awaiting the compilation of the tallies by the hard-working team of volunteers here - a cross-party effort.

Each tally sheet is inputted into the spreadsheet - and everyone here is eagerly awaiting the 100% tally, when all 177 boxes are tallied.

That will give a clear picture of where we stand.

12.50pm: We now have tallies in from 107 of the 177 ballot boxes in Longford-Westmeath, or 60% of the total.

Here's where the candidates stand currently:

Burke (FG): 5,343. Carrigy (FG): 5,002. Moran (Ind): 4,389. Flaherty (FF): 3,731. Clarke (SF): 3,712. Troy (FF): 3,629. Warnock (Ind): 1,824. Campion (SF): 1,442. Hogan (Ind Ire): 1,295. O'Neill (Aon): 1,051. Bennett (Lab): 816. Smyth (SPBP): 571. Heavin (Ind): 507. Maguire (IF): 431. Cunniffe (FF): 309. Okeke (GP): 288. Cannon (FG): 281. Bradley (Ind): 67. Keenan (Ind): 40. Jackson (Ind): 31.

12.10pm: Here's a completed tally sheet from Rosemount, where Robert Troy received most votes (111), followed by Peter Burke (99) and then Kevin 'Boxer' Moran (83). There's a distance between the top three here and Sinn Féin's Sorca Clarke who's in fourth on 24:

12pm: For some candidates this weekend, all their Christmases will come at once.

Here in the media centre, we have a strong reminder of the festive season and it's not even December!

Opinions are split here on whether it's appropriate to have a Christmas tree up in November...

11.50am:

A box from Dean Kelly NS in Athlone:

Bennett 1, Bradley 0, Burke 6, Campion 13, Cannon 10, Carrigy 0, Clarke 46, Cunniffe 0, Flaherty 5, Heavin 3, Hogan 65, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 0, Moran 149, Okeke 1, O'Neill 6, Smyth 2, Troy 5, Warnock 1. Spoiled 6.

Box number 47 from Moyvoughley NS:

Bennett 4, Bradley 0, Burke 45, Campion 0, Cannon 1, Carrigy 0, Clarke 14, Cunniffe 8, Flaherty 1, Heavin 1, Hogan 10, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 2, Moran 42, Okeke 0, O'Neill 2, Smyth 0, Troy 42, Warnock 0. Spoiled 0.

11.45am: Here is the state of play with one third of the votes tallied, with Carrigy ahead followed closely by Boxer and Burke.

11.40am: With a third of the votes tallied, Longford Fine Gael Senator Micheál Carrigy is in front and is cautiously optimistic of taking a seat here. He told us his support is holding up well in North Longford and has also improved in some parts of South Longford. Minister Peter Burke is sweeping up the vast majority of the votes from the party's supporters in Westmeath, with first-time Athlone candidate Tanya Cannon making little impact so far.

11.35am: Athlone-Moate councillors Frankie Keena, Aengus O'Rourke and Tom Farrell are among those keeping an eye on the tallies here this morning.

11.15am: Some boxes in urban Mullingar are understood to be showing Peter Burke outpolling Robert Troy by around two to one. That's a concern for the Fianna Fáil TD. His support is holding up in his native Ballynacargy, but there's a possibility that he could still be in a battle here to retain his seat.

11.05am

Newtowncashel, Longford, Box 15:

Bennett 4, Bradley 0, Burke 21, Campion 13, Cannon 0, Carrigy 123, Clarke 14, Cunniffe 0, Flaherty 104, Heavin 1, Hogan 4, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 0, Moran 33, Okeke 1, O'Neill 7, Smyth 1, Troy 4, Warnock 12. Spoiled 7

Cornamaddy NS, Box 15:

Bennett 0, Bradley 0, Burke 14, Campion 4, Cannon 9, Carrigy 1, Clarke 21, Cunniffe 5, Flaherty 0, Heavin 2, Hogan 42, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 0, Moran 151, Okeke 5, O'Neill 2, Smyth 3, Troy 21, Warnock 0. Spoiled 1. Total 286

Tyrrellspass, Box 58:

Bennett 24, Bradley 0, Burke 130, Campion 17, Cannon 4, Carrigy 3, Clarke 55, Cunniffe 0, Flaherty 4, Heavin 7, Hogan 26, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 3, Moran 16, Okeke 7, O'Neill 13, Smyth 5, Troy 147, Warnock 1. Spoiled 7. Total: 469

11am: A few of the things that have changed since the last general election in February 2020:

* Longford-Westmeath has gone from a four-seat to a five-seat constituency. This is due to the addition of 9,484 people in an area of north-east Westmeath, which was previously part of the Meath West constituency. As a result, the constituency now comprises all of county Westmeath and all of county Longford.

* Eight of the candidates that were on the ballot paper last time ran again this time, including the four sitting TDs, Sorca Clarke (SF), Robert Troy (FF), Peter Burke (FG) and Joe Flaherty (FF), as well as Micheál Carrigy (FG), Kevin 'Boxer' Moran (Ind), Donal Jackson (Ind) and Louise Heavin, who was a Green Party candidate last time but is now an Independent.

* The venue for the counting is the same, but its name! Last time out the John Count McCormack Hall was in Athlone IT. Now it's part of the Technological University of the Shannon, or TUS.

10.45am

Some more individual box tallies:

Baylin NS. Box 30

Bennett 5, Bradley 0, Burke 44, Campion 5, Cannon 20, Carrigy 6, Clarke 30, Cunniffe 22, Flaherty 0, Heavin 24, Hogan 56, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 2, Moran 274, Okeke 2, O'Neill 6, Smyth 4, Troy 27, Warnock 0. Spoiled Votes 2. Total 529.

For comparison purposes, in 2020, in the Baylin box, Boxer received 198 votes out of 487.

Fairgreen NS. Box 4

Bennett 1, Bradley 1, Burke 12, Campion 6, Cannon 9, Carrigy 1, Clarke 22, Cunniffe 7, Flaherty 2, Heavin 4, Hogan 32, Jackson 3, Keenan 0, Maguire 1, Moran 114, Okeke 1, O'Neill 2, Smyth 1, Troy 17. Total 236

In comparison in 2020, Moran got 89 votes from 242.

10.35am: Some early indicators here at TUS with 14% of the boxes tallied. The figures at this early stage show Burke ahead followed by 'Boxer' Moran and Carrigy.

10.30am: A wedding ring has been found in a box from Gael Scoil an Choilin in Mullingar!

10.15am: Here's another snapshot at this early stage of the tallying. The box from Tang Community Centre:

Bennett (Labour): 1. Bradley (Independent): 0. Burke (Fine Gael) 29. Campion (Sinn Féin): 5. Tanya Cannon (Fine Gael): 3. Carrigy (Fine Gael): 2. Clarke (Sinn Féin): 5. Cunniffe (Fianna Fáil): 0. Flaherty (Fianna Fáil): 3. Heavin (Independent): 3. Hogan (Independent Ireland) 13. Jackson (Independent): 0. Keenan (Independent): 0. Maguire (Ireland First): 1. Moran (Independent): 47. Okeke (Green Party): 0. O'Neill (Aontú): 6. Smyth (People Before Profit - Solidarity): 1.Troy (Fianna Fáil): 11. Warnock (Independent): 0. Spoiled votes: 2.

So 'Boxer' comes out on top in Tang, with 47 first preferences, an increase of 20 on the number he received at the same location in 2020.

10.10am: The scene at the count centre in TUS as tallying continues.

9.45am

Box 27, Clonbonny NS.

Bennett 1, Bradley 0, Burke 10, Campion 5, Cannon 6, Carrigy 1, Clarke 13, Cunniffe 20, Flaherty 2, Heavin 5, Hogan 57, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 0, Moran 210, Okeke 1, O'Neill 4, Smyth 6, Troy 15, Warnock 0.

Boxer accounted for 60.6% of the vote in that box.

In 2020, he took 50.6% of the vote.

9.41am:

Box 22, Glasson Heritage Centre

Boxer Moran took a whopping 202 votes out of 329.

Word in the count centre is that Boxer is on track to return to the Dáil.

Full tally:

Bennett 5, Bradley 0, Burke 26, Campion 4, Cannon 13, Carrigy 2, Clarke 19, Cunniffe 19, Flaherty 5, Heavin 3, Hogan 8, Jackson 0, Keenan 0, Maguire 2, Moran 202, Okeke 0, O'Neill 0, Smyth 2, Troy 19, Warnock 0.

9.29am:

First indications -

Fairgreen NS, Box No 3- Full tally

Bennett 3, Bradley 1, Burke 6, Campion 4, Cannon 13, Carrigy 2, Clarke 18, Cunniffe 9, Flaherty 3, Heavin 17, Hogan 50, Jackson 1, Keenan 0, Maguire 4, Moran 156, Okeke 2, O'Neill 4, Smyth 6, Troy 13, Warnock 0.

In comparison in 2020, Boxer took 87 votes in this box, while Clarke took 39.

9.25am: Watch as tallying begins for these votes from Mount Temple

9.15am: The ballot boxes have been opened and tallying is underway in TUS. Paul Hogan and Robert Troy among the candidates we've spotted here so far.

8.45am: Good morning! Adrian Cusack here from the Westmeath Independent. Myself and my colleague Eve Conway will be bringing you live updates throughout the weekend on the battle for the five seats in the newly-expanded Longford Westmeath constituency.

We will be updating this blog on a continuing basis throughout the day, so keep the page refreshed for all of the latest news.

The counting, which will be taking place in the John McCormack Hall on the TUS Athone campus, is due to begin at 9am. It's likely to continue well into tomorrow, Sunday, and possibly into Monday.

The 20 candidates in contention for the five Dáil seats on offer here are (in alphabetical order): Fidelma Bennett (Labour), Paul Bradley (Independent), Peter Burke (Fine Gael), Barry Campion (Sinn Féin), Tanya Cannon (Fine Gael), Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael), Sorca Clarke (Sinn Féin), Dympna Cunniffe (Fianna Fáil), Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fáil), Louise Heavin (Independent), Paul Hogan (Independent Ireland), Donal Jackson (Independent), Charlotte Keenan (Independent), Margaret Alacoque Maguire (Ireland First), Kevin 'Boxer' Moran (Independent), Carol Okeke (Green Party), Laura O'Neill (Aontú), Dave Smyth (People Before Profit - Solidarity), Robert Troy (Fianna Fáil) and Gerry Warnock (Independent).