Brian Stanley for defiant Laois win as Fine Gael's Willie Aird to top General Election poll

Brian Stanley's national woes are not translating into electoral problems in Laois while Fine Gael's new candidate Wille Aird looks on course to top the poll.

A cross-section of tally returns from across the new three-seat Laois constituency also shows that Seán Fleming will keep the seat for Fianna Fáil in the constituency where he has been a TD since 1997.

If this outcome comes to pass, Sinn Féin will be the loser though the party's candidate Maria McCormack is polling respectably around the county and even leading the way in some polling stations.

Mr Stanely appears to have hoovered up a large amount of independent voters which means there's likely to be some soul-searching among the other leading non-party candidates Cllr Aisling Moran and Elaine Mullally who invested significant resources into a campaign. 

The Greens, People Before Profit, Aontú all contested but don't appear to have registered with voters. 

A tally of the first 30 boxes reveals that Cllr Willie Aird, who was first elected to Portlaoise Town Commission in 1979, has taken nearly 30% of first preference votes.

He's followed in second by the self-styled independent republican Mr Stanley. The 2020 Laois Offaly poll-topper is on nearly 25% of first preferences.

It will please Sinn Féin that Ms McCormack was polling close to Sean Fleming on first preference votes. But this gap is likely to grow as more boxes open.

The battleground for votes in Portlaoise reveals Cllr Aird leading the way as he has done around the county. One box of over 300 votes from Scoil Bhríde Knockmay revealed that Willie Aird took nearly a third of votes followed by Brian Stanley some 20 votes behind.

The pair duel for years in Portlaoise area local elections until Brian Stanley was elected to the Dáil in 2011.

There will be delight among some in Fine Gael at Mr Aird's performance. It's his first time contesting a General Election after 45 years in local politics. If elected he'll replace Charlie Flanagan in the Dáil.

Brian Stanley will also be delighted that voters have shown faith in him as an independent.