European Elections: Longford candidate Ciaran Mullooly eyes potential success as another day of counts takes place

Another day, another round of counting in the TF Hotel and Theatre in Castlebar, as the seemingly never-ending vote count for European elections is underway.

The fifth count was just completed for the Midlands-North-West election in Castlebar, with no candidates meeting the necessary quota of 113,325 votes needed to be elected again. 

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan continues to lead the charge to be elected, currently sitting on 79,019 votes. The popular independent candidate from Roscommon received the most votes in the first count (78,214), and that figure has slowly creeped up following three rounds of transfers.

It will be difficult for other candidates to secure a seat, as four clear frontrunners have emerged behind Ming Flanagan. Fine Gael's candidate Nina Carberry currently leads the battle for second place with an impressive 74,286. The former star jockey had been disregarded by some as a "shameless celebrity candidate", but Carberry's fame has clearly stood to her thus far.

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Incumbent Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh also looks unlikely to lose her seat, currently sitting at 71,879 votes. The Shrule, Co Mayo native was initially expected to surpass fellow Fine Gael candidate Carberry, but both are still in safe positions to be elected.

Closely trailing Carberry is Fianna Fáil TD for Laois-Offaly Barry Cowen, who is sitting on 74,204 votes after the fifth count. The clear frontrunner of the Fianna Fáil candidates, it looks ever unlikely that Cowen will lose out in this European election.

The big surprise of the election count so far has to be former RTÉ correspondent and Independent Ireland candidate Ciaran Mullooly, who sits in fifth currently with an impressive tally of 58,260.

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Mullooly, who got his start in journalism in his home county of Longford, has the potential to succeed in his career swing to politics, and is projected to perform well with transfers from independent and right-wing candidates. He is unlikely to be caught by Sinn Féin candidate Michelle Gildernew, who is over 11,000 votes behind him.

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Other Longford candidates have seen little success, with independent candidate Stephen Garland receiving just over a thousand votes, and being excluded after the first count. National Party candidate James Reynolds was excluded following the fourth count, gaining 3,479 votes before his exclusion.

A long few days awaits the count staff in Castlebar, but to many, the outcome in Castlebar seems clear.

Four MEPs elected to represent Dublin in European Parliament