TALLIES Roscommon-Galway: Fitzmaurice set to top poll
Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice looks set to top the poll according to the tallies at the Roscommon-Galway count.
So far over half of the boxes have been opened across a mix of the Galway and Roscommon centres.
The tallymen have calculated that Glinsk TD has secured 9,808 votes from 79 boxes. The 2016 poll topper Denis Naughton (Ind) is on 5,647 votes followed by Sinn Féin's Claire Kirrane, who is estimated to have pulled in 6,885. The last time out she was eliminated on the seventh count after attracting 3,826 votes.
The third seat currently held by Fianna Fáil's Eugene Muphy looks up for grabs. He is currently trailing with 4,090 votes.
Fine Gael newcomer, Aisling Dolan, who is an Independent Galway County Councillor, is currently in fourth place at 3,486 and is now seen as an outsider given that she is unlikely to get transfers.
Fianna Fáil's second candidate Orla Leyden, who is a Roscommon County Councillor, is in sixth place with 2,457.
It will be at least another 90 minutes before all the votes are completely tallied with the results from the first count expected shortly after that.