A partial recount of individual candidates’ votes means that the first count will not take place until close to 7pm.
An all-party tally shows that Fianna Fáil are virtually certain to lose their two seats in the constituency.
Final tallies put Labour’s Dominic Hannigan – who ran unsuccessfully in 2007 but was subsequently elected to the Senate – at 21 per cent, with Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty and Shane McEntee each holding 20 per cent of first preference votes.
Fianna Fáil’s Thomas Byrne has 13 per cent of first preference votes, with running-mate Nick Killian at 6.5 per cent. Fianna Fáil's Mary Wallace topped the poll in 2007, but is not contesting this election.
Tallies suggest that none of the nine candidates may reach the quota on the first count.
