LIVE UPDATES DAY TWO: Offaly County Council

11.05pm

The Returning Officer Monica Cleary has adjourned the count here in Mucklagh until 10.30am tomorrow morning (Monday). So we can look forward to a good night's sleep.

Over and out until tomorrow folks, where the drama is set to continue to fill the four remaining seats in Birr.

Goodnight.

9.47pm

Birr Local Electoral Area (5th count result)

The distribution of Ekaterina Koneva's 153 votes and Aubrey Claffey's 199 votes went as follows:

Boylan Mike: 499 (+49)

Buckley Martin: 459 (+15)

Claffey Clare: 699 (+75)

Clendennen John: 1,707 (+30)

Daly Barbara: 916 (+11)

Deegan Michael: 426 (+23)

Egan Hugh: 1,196 (+11)

Hennessy Kennedy Audrey: 940 (+17)

Maher Sean: 982 (+25)

O'Meara Jonathan: 622 (+45)

No candidate has been elected on this count, so Michael Deegan has been eliminated and his 426 votes will now be distributed.

And the counting goes on............

9.27pm

Things have slowed down considerably here at the count centre over the past hour, and a lot of packing up is being done. We here in the press corps are (quietly) hoping that proceedings may shortly be adjourned until tomorrow.

However, we are expecting the results of the 5th count for Birr to be declared before we too pack up and leave!

8.18pm

The results are coming in here thick and fast at the Offaly Count Centre in Mucklagh and all seven seats have now been filled in the Tullamore Electoral Area, with two Fianna Fail candidates, outgoing Cllr Declan Harvey and newcomer, Ollie Bryant both being elected on the 6th count.

The 6th count was the result of the distribution of Cllr Tony McCormack's surplus of 50 votes, and the votes went as follows:

Tullamore Local Electoral Area (6th count result) FINAL COUNT

Broder Patrick: 456 (+2)

Bryant Ollie: 1,408 (+20)

Feehan Smollen Sandy: 916 (+3)

Harvey Declan: 1,466 (+25)

Returning Officer Monica Cleary declared the count for the Tullamore Electoral Area to be completed and deemed Declan Harvey to be elected, having exceeded the quota of 1,459. Ollie Bryant was elected without reaching the quota.

The result sees Cllr Sandy Feehan Smollen losing the council seat which was previously held by her husband, Ken. She was co-opted onto the council when her husband, who was a well-known food poverty campaigner, was forced to step down from local politics due to ill health.

8.10pm

Birr Local Electoral Area (4th count result)

The distribution of Garrett Kelly's 76 votes went as follows:

Boylan Mike: 499 (+6)

Buckley Martin: 444 (+1)

Claffey Aubrey: 199 (+1)

Claffey Clare: 624 (+6)

Clendennen John: 1,677 (+11)

Daly Barbara: 905 (+0)

Deegan Michael: 403 (+14)

Egan Hugh: 1,185 (+0)

Hennessy Kennedy Audrey: 923 (+7)

Koneva Ekaterina: 153 (+5)

Maher Sean: 957 (+8)

O'Meara Jonathan: 577 (+7)

No candidate has been elected on this count, so Returning Officer Monica Cleary has eliminated the two lowest candidates, Ekaterina Koneva and Aubrey Claffey, and their votes are being distributed.

7.46pm

The big story here is that Sinn Fein has taken the last seat in the Edenderry Electoral Area, with outgoing Cllr, Robert McDermott, losing out by the narrowest of margins, just 14 votes.

The results of the 6th and final count are just in from Edenderry, and both Sinn Fein's Claire Murray and Fine Gael's Noel Cribben were elected without reaching the quota of 1,251.

The results of the final count are as follows:

Edenderry Local Electoral Area (6th count result) FINAL COUNT

This was the distribution of the 692 voters of Social Democrats candidate, John McNamee, and they went as follows:

Cribbin Noel: 1,185 (+142)

McDermott Robert: 1,112 (+145)

Murray Claire (SF): 1,128 (+216)

7.04pm

Tullamore Local Electoral Area (5th count result)

This consisted of the distribution of Sean O'Brien's surplus of 79 votes and this is where they went:

Broder Patrick: 454 (+1)

Bryant Ollie: 1,388 (+15)

Feehan Smollen Sandy: 913 (+18)

Harvey Declan: 1,441 (+26)

No candidate reached the quota on this count, so Tony McCormack's surplus of 50 votes is now being distributed.

6.52pm

Former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, has just arrived at the Count Centre in Mucklagh and is being swamped by wellwishers.

6.40pm

Birr Local Electoral Area (3rd count result)

The distribution of John Leahy's surplus of 103 votes, and this is where those votes went:

Boylan Mike: 493 (+7)

Buckley Martin: 443 (+12)

Claffey Aubrey: 198 (+4)

Claffey Clare: 618 (+9)

Clendennen John: 1,666 (+22)

Daly Barbara: 905 (+10)

Deegan Michael: 389 (+4)

Egan Hugh: 1,185 (+9)

Hennessy Kennedy Audrey: 916 (+9)

Kelly Garrett: 76 (+1)

Koneva Ekaterina: 148 (+1)

Maher Sean: 949 (+6)

O'Meara Jonathan: 570 (+9)

After waiting three hours for the third count from Birr, no candidate has been elected on this count. Garrett Kelly has now been eliminated and his 76 votes will now be distributed, but they will make no material difference to the overall picture for the Birr area. Just two of the six seats have been filled in Birr, Peter Ormond and John Leahy, so it's going to be a long night here in Mucklagh.

6.21pm

Edenderry Local Electoral Area (5th count result)

This consisted of the the distribution of Mark Hackett's 380 votes, and this is where they went:

Cribbin Noel: 1,043 (+51)

McDermott Robert: 867 (+47)

McNamee John: 692 (+42)

Murray Claire (SF): 912 (+28)

Quinn Liam: 1,271(+92)

Outgoing Fine Gael Cllr, Liam Quinn, has been re-elected, while Social Democrats candidate, John McNamee, has been eliminated and his 692 votes will now be distributed.

Four of the six seats in the Edenderry Electoral Area have now been filled with two going to Fianna Fail (Eddie Fitzpatrick and Claire Murray); one to Independent Ireland (Fergus McDonnell) and one going to Fine Gael (Liam Quinn).

The remaining two seats will go to Fine Gael's Noel Cribbin and either Sinn Fein's Claire Murray or outgoing Fianna Fail Cllr, Robert McDermott. The margins are very tight here, and nobody is prepared to call it - yet!

5.36pm

Edenderry Local Electoral Area (4th count result)

This consisted of the the distribution of Rory Ryan's 226 votes, and this is where they went:

Cribbin Noel: 992 (+5)

Hackett Mark: 380 (+9)

McDermott Robert: 820 (+3)

McNamee John: 650 (+9)

Murray Claire (SF): 884 (+168)

Quinn Liam: 1,179 (+7)

No candidate was elected on the fourth count, so Green Party Cllr, Mark Hackett, has now been eliminated and his 380 votes will now be distributed.

Very interesting scenario unfolding in the Edenderry area, with a real dogfight shaping up for the final seat. Sinn Fein candidate, Claire Murray, is 64 votes ahead of sitting Cllr, Robert McDermott, and with Social Democrats candidate, John McNamee, next on the cards to be eliminated it will be very interesting indeed to see where his votes will go.

5pm

A beaming Sean O'Brien said all his "hard work" had paid off after he was re-elected to Offaly County Council for the Tullamore area this afternoon. "I ran a good campaign, but it was a tough campaign too" he admitted.

The Independent Cllr received the third highest first preference vote in the Tullamore Electoral Area, a very impressive 1,337 votes, ahead of the two sitting Fianna Fail Cllrs McCormack and Harvey, and was elected on the 4th count with 1,538 votes.

4.35pm

Tullamore Local Electoral Area (4th count result)

This consisted of the distribution of Liam Walsh's 435 votes, and they went as follows:

Broder Patrick: 453 (+4)

Bryant Ollie: 1,373 (+50)

Feehan Smollen Sandy: 895 (+32)

Harvey Declan: 1,415 (+58)

Masterson Aoife: 1,483 (+65)

McCormack Tony: 1,509 (+80)

O'Brien Sean: 1,538 (+93)

Three Cllrs were elected for the Tullamore Area after the 4th count, Tony McCormack (FF); Sean O'Brien (Non Party) and Aoife Masterson, who polled extremely well on her first outing as a Sinn Féin candidate. Given their disappointing showing nationally, Sinn Féin will be delighted to have had such a good campaign locally.

Sean O'Brien's surplus of 79 votes is now being distributed.

3.54pm

Edenderry Local Electoral Area (3rd count result)

This consisted of the distribution of Claire Murray (FF) surplus of 110 votes.

Cribbin Noel: 987 (+9)

Hackett Mark: 371 (+9)

McDermott Robert: 817 (+60)

McNamee John: 641 (+2)

Murray Claire: 716 (+7)

Quinn Liam: 1,172 (+16)

Ryan Rory: 226 (+7)

No candidate was elected on the third count, and Rory Ryan has now been eliminated and his votes (226) will now be distributed.

3.33pm

Birr Local Electoral Area (2nd count result)

Boylan Mike (Non-Party): 486 (+3)

Buckley Martin (Non-Party): 431 (+2)

Claffey Aubrey (Aontú): 194 (+3)

Claffey Clare (Social Democrats): 609 (+6)

Clendennen John (Fine Gael): 1,644 (+82)

Daly Barbara (Fianna Fail): 895 (+16)

Deegan Michael (Non-Party): 385 (+5)

Egan Hugh (Fine Gael): 1,176 (+5)

Hennessy Kennedy Audrey (Fianna Fail): 907 (+78)

Kelly Garrett (Non-Party): 75 (+4)

Koneva Ekaterina (Green Party): 147 (+4)

Maher Sean (Sinn Fein); 943 (+16)

O'Meara Jonathan (Non-Party); 561 (+7)

No candidate has reached the quota on the second count, so John Leahy's surplus of 103 votes is now being distributed.

3.14pm

Tullamore Electoral Area (3rd count)

This consisted of the distribution of Deirdre Dillon and Tim Farrell's votes, 173 and 204 respectively, and this is where they went:

Broder Patrick: 449 (+26)

Bryant Ollie: 1,323 (+15)

Feehan Smollen Sandy: 863 (+55)

Harvey Declan: 1,357 (+18)

Masterson Aoife:1,418 (+151)

McCormack Tony: 1,429 (+7)

Moran Frank: 1,459 (+9)

O'Brien Sean: 1,445 (+52)

Walsh Liam: 435 (+10)

Frank Moran was bang on the quota with exactly 1,459 votes, so he has been elected on the third count. Sinn Féin candidate, Aoife Masterson, received a whopping 151 votes from the elimination of Deirdre Dillon and Tim Farrell, and should be elected shortly, which would be a very strong showing locally for Sinn Féin.

Also likely to be elected on the next count are Sean O'Brien and Tony McCormack.

Meanhwhile the Green Party woes continue in Offaly as their sole candidate in the Tullamore Electoral Area, Liam Walsh, has now been eliminated and his votes, 435, are now being distributed.

Fianna Fail are on course to take four seats in the Tullamore Electoral Area, with newcomer, Ollie Bryant, just over 100 votes shy of the quota.

2.39pm

Big lull in proceedings here. We think its lunch break time for the counting staff. Plenty of candidates and their families at the count centre, including Offaly Person of the Year and Ferbane native, Seamus Dooley, who is here to support his twin sister, and Birr area Fianna Fail candidate, Barbara Daly. Seamus and Barbara are veterans of local and general election counts in this neck of the woods where their late father, Eddie Joe Dooley, was a Fianna Fail Cllr for many years. Their brother, Eamonn who also served for many years on Offaly County Council, announced his retirement from local politics earlier this year.

1.40pm

Tullamore Electoral Area (2nd count)

This consisted of the distribution of Neil Feighery's surplus of 503 votes, and they went as follows:

Broder Patrick: 423 (+5)

Bryant Ollie: 1,308 (+126)

Dillon Deirdre: 173 (+18)

Farrell Tim: 204 (+3)

Feehan Smollen Sandy: 808 (+26)

Harvey Declan: 1,339 (+70)

Masterson Aoife: 1,267 (+51)

McCormack Tony: 1,422 (+96)

Moran Frank: 1,450 (+21)

O'Brien Sean: 1,393 (+56)

Walsh Liam: 425 (+31)

As no candidate reached the quota, the two lowest candidates, Tim Farrell (Sinn Fein) and Deirdre Dillon (Non Party) have now been eliminated and their votes are now being distributed.

1.17pm

Edenderry Electoral Area (2nd count result)

The distribution of Eddie Fitzpatrick's surplus of 747 votes.

Electorate: 18,340

Total Poll: 8,885

Spoiled Votes: 133

Total Valid Poll: 8,752

Quota: 1,251

Number of seats: 6

Cribbin Noel (Fine Gael): 978 (+87)

Fitzpatrick Eddie (Fianna Fail)

Hackett Mark (Green party): 362 (+92)

McDermott Robert (Fianna Fail): 757 (+143)

McDonnell Fergus (Independent Ireland)

McNamee John (Social Democrats): 639 (+22)

Murray Claire (Sinn Fein): 709 (+61)

Murray Claire (Fianna Fail): 1,361 (+227)

Quinn Liam (Fine Gael): 1,156 (+90)

Ryan Rory (Sinn Fein): 219 (+25)

Offaly County Council has just elected it's first female Councillor in the person of Claire Murray, one of two candidates of the same name on the ballot paper in the Edenderry Electoral Area. The process of distributing Claire Murray's surplus is now underway,

Birr Local Electoral Area (1st count result)

1pm

Electorate: 22,379

Total Poll: 12,139

Spoiled Votes: 159

Total Valid Poll: 11,980

Quota: 1,712

Number of seats: 6

Boylan Mike (Non-Party): 483

Buckley Martin (Non-Party): 429

Claffey Aubrey (Aontú): 191

Claffey Clare (Social Democrats): 603

Clendennen John (Fine Gael): 1,562

Daly Barbara (Fianna Fail): 879

Deegan Michael (Non-Party): 380

Egan Hugh (Fine Gael): 1,171

Hennessy Kennedy Audrey (Fianna Fail): 829

Kelly Garrett (Non-Party): 71

Koneva Ekaterina (Green Party): 143

Leahy John (Non-Party): 1,815

Maher Sean (Sinn Fein): 927

O'Meara Jonathan (Non-Party): 554

Ormond Peter (Fianna Fail): 1,943

John Leahy and Peter Ormond have been elected on the first count and the process of distributing Peter Ormond's suplus of 231 votes is now underway.

10.35AM

Fergus McDonnell celebrates his election with family and supporters.

10.15AM

The Edenderry recheck which got underway at 9am this morning was concluded more swiftly than anticipated and we now have a first count for the Edenderry area.

Total Poll 8,885

Invalid Papers 133

Valid Poll 8752

No of Seats 6

Quota 1,251

Cribbin (Fine Gael) 891

Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fáil) 1998

Hackett (Green Party) 270

McDermott (Fianna Fail) 614

O'Donnell (Independent Ireland) 1,320

McNamee (Social Democrats) 617

Murray (Sinn Féin) 648

Murray (Fianna Fáil)1,134

Quinn (Fine Gael) 1,066

Ryan (Sinn Féin) 194

Eddie Fitzpatrick and Fergus McDonnell have been deemed elected.

The count staff will now proceed to distribute Eddie Fitzpatrick's surplus of 747

9AM

The count centre reopens in Mucklagh, with a recheck of votes in Edenderry ahead of an expected first count this morning, with counting in Birr, starting at 9.45am and resuming in Tullamore, where there was a first count shortly after 2am last night.

SEE OUR DAY ONE BLOG HERE