Dublin Central election 2024 results: Latest with Gerry Hutch in contention; Mary Lou McDonald elected

There are four seats up for grabs in Dublin Central in what has turned into an intriguing race. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has been re-elected, and Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon and Fine Gael Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe look set to retain their seats. The contest for the fourth and final seat is a competitive one, with Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch looking like he could take it, based off tallies and the first six counts, if he can see off Labour’s Marie Sherlock in the final counts. The count continues on Sunday morning.
Social Democrat Gary Gannon has been re-elected as a TD for Dublin Central.
Gannon, who was first elected in 2020, took the second seat on the eighth count at the RDS on Sunday.
Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch still very much in contention for the final seat alongside Labour’s Marie Sherlock.
Count number seven in Dublin Central and over half of Malachy Steenson’s transfers have gone to Gerry Hutch.
Gary Gannon is set to be elected at the next count and stands just shy of the quota at 6,532 votes.
Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe is now at 5,856 votes, followed by Independent Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch on 4,995 votes, Labour’s Marie Sherlock on 2,990 votes and Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick on 2,646 votes.
The Green Party’s Neasa Hourigan’s 2,352 votes will now be distributed. Cork South Central.
All eyes on Dublin Central today, where Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch is in contention to become a TD. The sixth count was completed at around 11pm last night, which had Social Democrats Gary Gannon on 6,363 votes, just shy of meeting the quota.
He was followed by Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe on 5,730 votes, Hutch on 3,733 votes, Labour’s Marie Sherlock on 2,917 votes and Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick on 2,553 votes. Independent Malachy Steenson was eliminated and his 2,195 votes will be distributed when counting resumes this morning at 10am.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald topped the poll in the four-seat constituency and was elected on the third count yesterday evening.
Sarah Burns reports: Count 6 in Dublin Central has been completed.
Malachy Steenson has be eliminated. Gary Gannon is at 6,363 votes, Paschal Donohoe at 5,730, Gerard Hutch is at 3,733, Marie Sherlock is at 2,917, Mary Fitzpatrick is at 2,553 and Nease Hourigan is at 2,315. Counting adjourned for the night for Dublin Central and will resume at 10am.
Hutch is currently almost 800 votes ahead of Sherlock and Steenson’s transfers will widen that gap.
The only pathway for Sherlock is for transfers from Neasa Hourigan and Mary Fitzpatrick to tilt heavily in her direction. A thousand votes plus is still a big gap to make up in Dublin Central, especially with Gannon and Donohoe still in the race, and attracting transfers.
After Count 6 in Dublin Central, Malachy Steenson has been eliminated. Gary Gannon is at 6,363 votes, Paschal Donohoe is at 5,730, Gerry Hutch is at 3,733, Marie Sherlock’s at 2,917, Mary Fitzpatrick’s at 2,553 and Neasa Hourigan has 2,315.
Counting has been adjourned for the night for Dublin Central – and will resume at 10am.
Count five is now complete in Dublin Central, leaving Gerard Hutch at 3,650 votes, Marie Sherlock at 2,665 and Mary Fitzpatrick at 2,538. Votes from People Before Profit’s Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin are to be distributed next. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is still the only TD to have been elected in the four-seat constituency.
The fourth count has also been completed in Dublin Central: Mary Lou McDonald’s transfers leave Gerard Hutch at 3,513 votes, Labour’s Marie Sherlock at 2,547 and Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick at 2,468. Independent Clare Daly’s votes will be distributed next.
Here is an observation from my colleague, Cormac McQuinn who asks, is there a route for Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch to get elected to Dáil Éireann? In theory yes.
After the second count in Dublin Central – a four seat constituency – the veteran criminal was in fourth place on 3,187 votes. That put him 682 votes ahead of Labour’s Marie Sherlock and 760 votes ahead of Mary Fitzpatrick of Fianna Fáil, his next nearest competitors.
The quota is 6,551 and Hutch is not yet half way to reaching it, though he does not necessarily have to in order to get elected. Sherlock has said there is a “real path” for her to get elected and “it will all depend of course on the process of elimination and who goes out when”.
Hutch’s chances also depend on this and he has an advantage in being ahead and his lead grew marginally in the second count.
Much will depend on how many votes he gets from the elimination of Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan, and later Independent candidate Malachy Steenson. Labour and Fianna Fáil cannot expect too many transfers from these candidates’ supporters.
Left-wingers – Independent Clare Daly and Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin are both vulnerable to elimination next. Again Labour and Fianna Fáil probably cannot expect too many votes from them.
Steenson’s vote stood at 1,955 after the second count. Hutch can expect a chunk of votes from his elimination given they were both seeking support in the same parts of the constituency.
Sherlock’s best chance of narrowing the gap with Hutch will come when the Green Party’s Neasa Hourigan is eliminated. Labour will hope subsequent transfers from Fitzpatrick will also benefit her but will it be enough to overtake Hutch?
It will be a nail-biting count in Dublin Central.
In Dublin Central, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has just been elected on the third count, writes Sarah Burns.
A week before the election, Irish Times columnist Justine McCarthy spent a day in the Dublin Central constituency, where Gerry Hutch’s candidacy was a recurring topic of conversation. What happens here could tell us a lot about the country’s direction, she wrote.
Second count completed in Dublin Central and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is less than 50 votes short of the quota required and looks set to be elected on the third count.
Following the distribution of Aontú’s Ian Noel Smyth and the Centre Party’s Andrew Kelly votes, Gerard Hutch is at 3,187 votes, Labour’s Marie Sherlock at 2,505 and Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick at 2,427. The votes of Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan will be distributed next.
First count completed in Dublin Central, and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has topped the poll with 6,389 votes.
However, McDonald has just fallen short of the quota and did not get elected on the first count. She was followed by Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe with 5,493 votes, the Social Democrat’s Gary Gannon (4,353 votes), Independent Gerard Hutch (3,098 votes), Labour’s Marie Sherlock (2,465 votes), Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick (2,344 votes) and the Green Party’s Neasa Hourigan (1,952 votes).
Independent Malachy Steenson received 1,602 first preferences, followed by People Before Profit’s Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin at 1,471, Independent Clare Daly with 1,317 and Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan with 1,257.
Social Democrats outgoing TD Gary Gannon, who is looking good for the third seat in Dublin Central, has said the vote for Gerry Hutch is a reflection of how poorly working class communities have been treated for many years.
Speaking on RTE Radio he said that “when people are in a dark place they’ll search for very strange options and that’s what happened here. That’s a plague on all of our houses, it’s a reflection of politics as a whole.
“For those of us who actually went into the communities and did the work there’s a little bit of a vindication but I think we’ve all got a job to do.
Gannon pointed to the “huge level of media” Gerry Hutch received which he said was “disproportionate”.
“He had access to one of the most popular podcasts in the country over the course of three episodes, that makes a huge difference.”