LIVE UPDATES: Longford/Westmeath general election count

15.31

Boxer Moran has told RTÉ that he is "ecstatic" with gettting 13.1% (7,994 votes) of the first preference vote in Longford Westmeath.

FINAL TALLIES: Fianna Fáil's first preference vote has fallen from 30.2% in 2020 to 22.46% this time around. Fine Gael's first preference vote has increased from 25.4% to 29.8%, and Sinn Féin's vote has fallen from 21% to 15.1%.

15.05

A very happy Kevin Boxer Moran has arrived to the count centre where he is in third place with 7,994 votes and looks set to make a return to the Dáil. He received a warm welcome from well wishers as he entered.

Boxer Moran made a swinging return to politics earlier this year when he claimed one of the largest votes in the local elections nationally to secure a seat on the county council.

15.00

After the final tally of the first preference votes, here is where the candidates stand:

Burke (FG) 10, 860 (17.7%)

Troy (FF) 8,101 (13.2%)

Boxer Moran (IND) 7,994

Clarke (SF) 6,902 (11.3%)

Carrigy (FG) 6,868 (11.2%)

Flaherty (FF) 5,069 (8.3%)

Hogan (II) 2,911 (4.8%)

Campion (SF) 2,304 (3.8%)

Warnock (IND) 2,204 (3.6%)

O'Neill (AO) 1,888 (3.1%)

Bennet (LAB) 1,592 (2.6%)

Smyth (SPBP) 984 (1.6%)

Heavin (IND) 898 (1.5%)

Maguire (IF) 834 (1.4%)

Cunnife (FF) 566 (0.9%)

Cannon (FG) 522 (0.9%)

Okeke (GP) 472 (0.8%)

Bradley (IND) 119 (0.2%)

Keenan (IND) 76 (0.1%)

Jackson (IND) 58 (0.1%)

14.46

A lot of interest in Meath West - the constituency of which North Westmeath was formerly a part.

The final tally shows Johnny Guirke (SF) on 23 per cent, Peadar Toibin (Aontu) on 20 per cent, Aisling Dempsey (FF) 18 per cent, Linda Nelson Murray (FG) 16 per cent, Noel French (Ind) ten per cent, Ronan Moore (Soc Dem) seven per cent, Seamus McMenamin (Green Party) two per cent, Sandy Gallagher (Lab) one per cent, Ben, Gilroy (Liberty Republic) one per cent, Finbar Lynch (PBP) one per cent, Ian MCGauley (Irish People) one per cent, and Damien Reilly (Ind) one per cent.

At this point it looks as if nobody will make the quota to be elected on the first count. Tallies put the quota at 9,081. Guirke is the closest at 8,219. Bear in mind these are tally figures and not official figures.

14.45

The final tally is in after all the boxes have been added to the tally system.

14.05

150 of the 177 boxes have now been added to the tally. All the Longford boxes have been added and Joe Flaherty (FF) looks as if he will have an uphill battle if he is to retain his seat. He is currently 687 votes shy of securing the final seat based on the current tally.

13.45

The state of play after 147 of 177 boxes have been tabulated: Burke (17%), Carrigy (13%), Troy (12.6%), Clarke (11.4%), Boxer (11.2%) and Flaherty (9.6%).

13.30

The latest tallies as of 1.30pm show a much brighter picture for Robert Troy as he leaps into second place after Westmeath boxes were added to the tally system.

13.20

Strangely, if no one is elected on the first count the entire counting process may be shorter. If Peter Burke is elected on the first count it will mean that his entire vote will have to be re-counted to determine where his transfers will go. If he was elected on the basis of transfers only his surplus would have to be counted for distribution. That's proportional representation for you guys!

How long the count will go on for is anyone's guess at this stage.

13.10

There are now 127 out of 177 uploaded to the tally syste. In percentage order it is Burke (FG) on 17.7%, Troy (FF) 12.8%, Moran (IND) 12.2%, Carrigy (FG) 12.1%, Clarke (SF) 11.1%, Flaherty (FF) 9%, Warnock (IND) 4.4%, Campion (SF) 3.9% and O'Neill (AO) 3.1%.

13.05

TURNOUT - A low turnout of 51% has been predicted after 122 of 177 of the tallied boxes uploaded to the system. The turnout is a decrease of 9% compared to the 2020 election where there was a turnout of 59.98%.

12.50

All the boxes have now been opened at the count centre in Athlone, however, they have not been all uploaded to the magnificent tally system operated by whizz Séamus Kincaid.

All bar 12 of the Longford boxes have been in-putted, however, there are 58 Westmeath boxes still to be added. That means that at present the picture is somewhat distored because of the amount of Longford votes in the mix. When the Westemeath boxes are added a truer picture will emerge of what is likely to happen. With all this in mind, Peter Burke looks certain to the poll.

12.30

Counting has now halted as the count staff take their lunch break. Current tallies are showing the Fine Gael team of Peter Burke (4,365) and Míchael Carrigy (4,611) polling very well with 97 of the 177 boxes tallied. Troy (FF), Flaherty (FF), Boxer Moran (IND) and Clarke (SF) are all polling above 3,000 votes each with a long way still to go yet before the final picture becomes clearer.

12.25

Aontú's Laura O'Neill has just arrived at the count centre and is delighted with her 3.1% of the vote, pointing out that it is a not insignificant achievement for a fledgling party running in a Longford-Westmeath general election for the first time.

12.16

Word just in from our colleagues in County Meath: the final tallies for Meath West are in and SF's Johnny Quirke looks set to top the poll, with 23 per cent

12.09

A tale of one box...

The second St Joseph's box in Rochfortbridge gives us a sample of the emerging picture in Longford-Westmeath. Both Peter Burke and Robert Troy have increased their vote - Burke from 63 to 80, and Troy from 110 to 125. However, Sinn Féin's Sorca Clarke has picked up just 92 votes in this box, according to tallies, compared to 167 in 2020. Labour's vote hasn't changed, while FG's Micheál Carrigy, surprisingly, picked up an extra 12 votes in this 'Bridge box.

11.58

Now almost half way through overall tally - it shows FG's Peter Burke looking like the potential poll topper. Currently has 16.5 per cent on the running tally, with second place on the table being occupied by FG's Micheal Carrigy on14 per cent.

In third position is Boxer Moran (Ind) on 11.8 percent followed by SF's Sorca Clarke on 11.4

per cent

FF's Robert Troy, on 10 per cent and Joe Flaherty on 10.6 per cent are neck and neck; S

11.45

‘It will be a dogfight for the last two seats.’ Says former Athlone (Fianna Fáil) town council member John Butler.

11.36

Peter Burke outpolling Robert Troy 2 to 1 in many urban Mullingar boxes, according to the tallymen. Fianna Fail are almost (20%) on 2020 with nearly a third of the boxes opened. Sinn Féin down (6%). FG confident of winning two seats.

11.02

Tidbits from the floor: great uncertainty still about the final line-up. Micheál Carrigy polling better than Joe Flaherty in Longford, and Sorca Clarke not polling as well as expected in Mullingar, an area on which she will be greatly reliant. Clarke had a strong vote in Athlone in 2020, but Kevin 'Boxer' Moran is making big inroads into that. Paul Hogan is picking up votes from across the board but probably not enough to put him in the running for a seat.

Fine Gael are very pleased with Micheál Carrigy's performance in Longford, says former TD James Bannon.

10.45

WATCH: Ballot boxes are opened here in Athlone as counting is well underway.

10.34

Senator Micheál Carrigy and Deputy Joe Flaherty, who are expected to be in a two way fight for a seat for Longford have both arrived at the count.

10.31

Peter Burke and Robert Troy both polling in Multyfarnham, however Burke had a clear lead.

10.25

Ex TD and veteran political insider Donie Cassidy says that because the election happened so close to the local elections people have tended to vote local.

He said FF and FG are very transfer friendly and by 12 o'clock we will know a lot.

10.23

According to the tallies, with 14 boxes counted, seven in Westmeath, Peter Burke is polling well (15.1%), as is his party colleague Micheál Carrigy (14%), Joe Flaherty (13.4%) and 'Boxer' Moran (11.6%).

9:30

The boxes have been opened and counting is now in full swing. Tallies are currently being taken but it is far too early to have any clarity on who the front runners are yet.

9:10

The counting of votes has just got underway here in Athlone in this hotly contested constituency. The subplots are many: will Athlone secure a TD; how will Sinn Féin fare; where will the extra fifth seat go; and will the immigration issue have a significant impact in Athlone? Over the next few hours, the answers to these questions will become clearer but for now, you can read the analysis ahead of voters hitting the polls by following the link below.

Analysis: Race for Dáil gets interesting in Longford Westmeath

9:00

Good morning from the Longford/Westmeath count centre in the John McCormack hall at TUS Athlone. The votes have been cast across the constituency, and the first ballot boxes are currently being opened. We will provide live updates as they happen here on the Westmeath Examiner blog and will also have extensive digital coverage across our website and social media pages throughout the day. Stay tuned as we find out who the five TDs will be for the Longford/Westmeath constituency for the next five years.