Donegal count resumes with a recheck of three candidates

The counting of votes cast in the Donegal constituency has resumed this morning with a recheck of the votes of Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty and Gary Doherty, as well as Independent Dessie Shiels.
Charlie Mc Conalogue remains the only deputy elected to the 32nd Dail in Donegal so far. Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty and Fianna Fail’s Pat The Cope Gallagher are sure to follow him, with Joe Mc Hugh aset to take the fourth seat.
The battle for the fifth seat is between two outgoing deputies, Sinn Fein’s Padraig Mac Lochlainn and Thomas Pringle.
After the sixth count in ther early hours, Fine Gael’s Paddy Harte was eliminated, and his 3,244 votes distributed.
That count saw Sinn Fein’s Gary Doherty eliminated, and the seventh count began.
However, just seven votes had seperated Gary Doherty from Dessie Shiels, and Sinn Fein sought a recheck.
That is now underway, and the results of that process will determine what happens next.
 
Pic – Greg Hughes, Tim Jackson and Harry Walshe (Donegal News) review the papers in a very quiet Aura Leisure Centre.