BREAKING: Over half of County Kildare's voters have gone to the polling stations so far

More than half of those  entitled to vote have done so at polling statins across both constituencies - Kildare North and Kildare South - by 8.30pm today.

At one polling station in Naas the figure was 59.%% and at another it was 58%.

Other stations within Kildare North also returned turnout figures - Leixlip had 52% at one and 54% at another, Kill 54%, Maynooth 55% and 51%, Clane 53%, Confey 53%, Kilcock 53%, Celbridge 50%.

In Kildare South, some 57% of voters in Kilcullen had voted by 8.30pm and the figure for Rathangan was 53.3%. Two stations in Athy returned figures of 52% and 52.3% while figures for 52%, 53% and 49% emerged from three stations in Newbridge. The Monasterevin figure was 52%.

Some 95,055 people are entitled to vote in Kildare North and there are 74,243 voters in Kildare South.

The counting of votes gets underway at Punchestown Racecourse tomorrow morning.