IT’S all over. Kerry has its five representatives for the 33rd Dáil with two of them from Tralee.

Norma Foley took the fifth and final seat after the eighth count at the expense of her Fianna Fáil party colleague and outgoing TD, John Brassil, at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre this evening.

The count distributed Green Party candidate, Cleo Murphy’s 6,229 votes with 1,861 going to the Tralee woman and 973 transferred to John Brassil. This left Foley with a 3,334 lead over her party colleague and she was elected without reaching the quota. There were 3,395 non-transferable papers.

Earlier this afternoon, Danny Healy Rae (Ind) and Brendan Griffin were reelected to the Nail, joining Michael Healy Rae (Ind) and Sinn Féin’s Pa Daly who were elected last night. Here’s the result of the eighth count…

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — ELECTED 16,818 

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — ELECTED 15,733 

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — ELECTED 14,703 

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — ELECTED 13,000 

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 11,989 (1,861) ELECTED

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 8,655 (973)

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 6,229  ELIMINATED

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 4,419 ELIMINATED

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 4,217  ELIMINATED

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 1,404 ELIMINATED

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 640 ELIMINATED

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 544 ELIMINATED

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 60 ELIMINATED

Electorate: 116,885

Total Valid Poll: 78,209

Invalid Poll:  543

Quota: 12,945

SITTING TDs, Independent Danny Healy Rae and Fine Gael’s Brendan Griffin have been reelected to the Dáil after the sixth count at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre this afternoon.

The seventh count is underway now which will distribute Brendan Griffin’s surplus of 1,758. The sixth count saw the distribution of 4,419 votes from Fine Gael’s Mike Kennelly who was eliminated after the fifth count.

As expected, his party colleague received a large proportion of these transfers (2,448) and was the third TD elected.  Danny Healy Rae also received enough transfers (336) to put him over the quota of 12,945 and the fourth TD elected for the constituency.

Continued below…

Norma Foley has a lead of 2,363 over John Brassil. She received 482 extra votes, with John Brassil gaining exactly the same. Cleo Murphy of the Green Party received 207 transfers. Here’s the result of the sixth count…

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — ELECTED 16,818 

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — ELECTED 15,733 

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — ELECTED 14,703  (2,448)

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — ELECTED 13,000 (336 )

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 9,593 ( 482)

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 7,230 ( 482)

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 5,811 ( 207) 

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 4,419  ELIMINATED

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 4,217   ELIMINATED

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 1,404  ELIMINATED

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 640 ELIMINATED

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 544  ELIMINATED

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 60 ELIMINATED

Electorate: 116,885

Total Valid Poll: 78,209

Invalid Poll:  543

Quota: 12,945

THE fifth count has taken place at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre and Danny Healy Rae is just 281 votes from retaining his seat.

It saw the distribution of  4,217 votes from Fianna Fáil’s Norma Moriarty who was eliminated after the fourth count.

Danny Healy Rae received 574 votes to put leave him 281 votes short of the quota of 12,945 and still ahead of Fine Gael’s Brendan Griffin who received 994 transfers and is still 690 short.

Norma Foley has a huge lead over John Brassil now for the fifth seat. She received 1,177 extra votes, with John Brassil gaining just 659. She has a lead now of 2,363 over her party colleague.

Continued below…

Count six will see the distribution of Mike Kennelly’s 4,419 votes to the remaining candidates. This will see his Fine Gael colleague Brendan Griffin elected and is likely to get Danny Healy Rae over the line. Here’s the result of the fifth count…

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — ELECTED 16,818 

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — ELECTED 15,733 

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — 12,664 (574 )

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — 12,255  (994)

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 9,111 (1,177)

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 6,748 (659)

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 5,604 (341)

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 4,419 (40) ELIMINATED

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 4,217  ELIMINATED

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 1,404 ELIMINATED

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 640  ELIMINATED

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 544 ELIMINATED

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 60  ELIMINATED

Electorate: 116,885

Total Valid Poll: 78,209

Invalid Poll:  543

Quota: 12,945

THE fourth count at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre this afternoon saw Danny Healy Rae move closer to retaining his seat after gaining a number of transfers.

The count saw the distribution of  2,135 votes from Sonny Foran (Aontú), John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party), Ted Cronin (Ind) and Sean O’Leary (Ind).

Danny Healy Rae received 757 votes to put leave him 855 votes short of the quota and ahead of Brendan Griffin who is still 1,684 short. Norma Foley is still in fifth place, receiving 287 extra votes, with John Brassil gaining 245 to leave him in sixth place. There were 543 non-transferable votes.

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Count five will see the distribution of Fianna Fáil’s Norma Moriarty’s 4,217 votes which will benefit both her Fianna Fáil colleagues.

It’s unlikely to see anyone elected, although because of Norma Moriarty’s south Kerry base, Danny Healy Rae might move very close to the quota this time. Here’s the result of the fourth count …

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — ELECTED 16,818 

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — ELECTED 15,733 

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — 12,090 (757)

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — 11,261 (188)

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 7,934 ( 287)

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 6,089 (245)

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 5,263 (455)

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 4,379 (101)

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 4,217 (72) ELIMINATED

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 1,404 ELIMINATED

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 640  ELIMINATED

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 544  ELIMINATED

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 60 ELIMINATED

Electorate: 116,885

Total Valid Poll: 78,209

Invalid Poll:  543

Quota: 12,945

PA Daly’s surplus of 2,788 didn’t see anyone elected after the Kerry constituency third count at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre this afternoon, but it moved a few candidates closer to the finish line.

Danny Healy Rae received 729 of the Sinn Féin candidate’s votes to put leave him 1,612 votes short of the quota of 12,945. He’s ahead of Brendan Griffin who is still 1,872 short of quota.

Norma Foley received 376 transfers, more than her party colleague John Brassil (179) to put her 1,803 ahead of him in the race for the fifth seat.

Continued below…

Count four sees Sonny Foran (Aontú), John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party), Ted Cronin (Ind) and Sean O’Leary (Ind) eliminated and the redistribution of 2,135 votes.

This should benefit Danny Healy Rae more than Griffin but is still unlikely to see anyone elected. The fifth count should see either Mike Kennelly or Norma Moriarty eliminated.

While it’s likely to be Moriarty, if it’s Kennelly then that should push his Fine Gael party colleague Brendan Griffin close to that quota, if not over it. Here’s the result of the third count…

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — ELECTED 16,818 

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — ELECTED 15,733 

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — 11,333 (729)

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — 11,073 (235)

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 7,647 (376)

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 5,844 (179)

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 4,808 (535)

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 4,278 (125)

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 4,145 (96)

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 1,404 (224) ELIMINATED

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 640 (139) ELIMINATED

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 544 (127) ELIMINATED

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 60 (23) ELIMINATED

Electorate: 116,885

Total Valid Poll: 78,209

Invalid Poll:  543

Quota: 12,945

THE first count result from the Kerry Constituency is in from Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre and it’s no surprise that it reflects the tally results from earlier today.

Independent Michael Healy Rae and Sinn Féin’s Pa Daly, were elected on the first count tonight with the Kilgarvan man topping the poll. The next step will see Michael Healy Rae’s surplus distributed to the other candidates.

Continued below…

It’s still looking obvious that Michael Healy Rae, his brother Danny, Sinn Féin’s Pa Daly, Fine Gael’s Brendan Griffin and (probably) Norma Foley of Fianna Fáil will be elected.

The count will continue tomorrow morning and John Brassil of Fianna Fáil could still be in with a slight chance for that last seat. Here’s the result of the first count…

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — 16,818 

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — 15,733 

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — 10,296

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — 8,663

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 6,856

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 5,431

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 4,122 

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 3,974

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 3,767 

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 1,109 

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 473 

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 391

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 33 

Electorate: 116,885

Total Valid Poll: 78,209

Invalid Poll:  543

Quota: 12,945

THE final tallies are in from the count centre in Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre and it’s clear that it will be as you were in terms of which parties/independents take the seats in the Kerry constituency.

Michael Healy Rae and his brother Danny Healy Rae will be back in the Dáil, they’ll be joined by Sinn Féin’s Pa Daly, Fine Gael’s Brendan Griffin and either Norma Foley or John Brassil of Fianna Fáil, with the Tralee woman favourite to take the last seat.

Continued below…

So it’s two independents, one Sinn Féin, one Fine Gael and one Fianna Fáil, same as 2016. Michael Healy Rae and Pa Daly will be elected on the first count, but it could be a while before the five seats are filled. The 261 boxes have now been tallied and here’s what it looks like;

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — 16,695 (21.59%)

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — 15,640 (20.23%)

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — 10,431 (13.49%)

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — 8,638 (11.17%)

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 6,842 (8.85%)

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 5,421 (7.01%)

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 4,009 (5.19%)

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 4,006 (5.18%)

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 3,737 (4.83%)

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 1,051 (1.36%)

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 436 (0.56%)

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 373 (0.48%)

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 33 (0.04%)

Electorate: 118,431

Total Votes: 77,312

Turnout 66%

Estimated Quota: 12,886

Percentages: Independents 33.28% (of which Healy Raes 32.76%); Fianna Fail 20.69%; Sinn Féin 20.23%; Fine Gael 18.68%; Green Party 5.18%; Aontú 1.36%; Irish Freedom Party 0.04%

Tally compilation courtesy of Eoin Quilter

DESPITE the terrible weather, the turnout in Kerry for the General Election is estimated at around 66%, down on 70.73% in 2016.

Now it’s time for the candidates to find out how the public voted and the boxes are currently being opened at the count centre in Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.

As of 11am, with 106 boxes (of 261) open, the tallies show the following;

• Micheal Healy Rae (Independent) — 6,477

• Pa Daly (Sinn Féin) — 6,030

• Danny Healy Rae (Independent) — 4,669

• Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael) — 3,835

• Norma Foley (Fianna Fáil) — 2,685

• John Brassil (Fianna Fáil) — 2,155

• Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael) — 1,629

• Cleo Murphy (Green Party) — 1,576

• Norma Moriarty (Fianna Fáil) — 1,318

• Sonny Foran (Aontú) — 373

• John Bowler (Irish Freedom Party) — 166

• Ted Cronin (Independent) — 150

• Sean O’Leary (Independent) — 14

Tally compilation courtesy of Eoin Quilter

• KERRY Aontú General Election Candidate Sonny Foran has called on Kerry County Council to provide increased lighting for graveyards to enable people to visit their loved ones in the evening time.

“I have spoken to many people who live in rural areas, many of whom are elderly, and who attend Evening Mass and would like to visit their loved ones thereafter,” said Mr Foran.

“These people may not have a mode of transport during the day and are reliant on neighbours or friends to get to and from Mass. This may be the only opportunity that they get during the week to visit the graveyard and it is distressing that they cannot avail of it due to insufficient lighting.”

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• SINN Féin general election candidate for County Kerry, Cllr Pa Daly has said that in government, Sinn Féin would invest in childcare to improve the pay and conditions of childcare workers and slash fees for parents.

Cllr Daly also expressed his support and solidarity with striking childcare workers yesterday in Dublin.

“We in Sinn Féin want to improve the pay and conditions for childcare workers and if in Government, a Sinn Féin minister would do this.

“We also want to make Childcare and Early Childhood Education a public service. We are committed to investing to ensure workers in the sector are properly paid. We will work to reduce the cost of childcare by an average of €500 per month per child.

“Many parents are being priced out of work due to the high costs of childcare. This simply isn’t good enough and we would invest in childcare to improve the pay and conditions of childcare workers and slash fees for parents.

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• JOHN Brassil has committed to the building of a standalone cancer unit in the grounds of University Hospital Kerry if he is elected and Fianna Fail are in power after this election.

According to Brassil the Oncology unit in University Hospital Kerry is currently not fit for purpose.

“While the staff are incredible, the current cancer unit in University Hospital Kerry is just not fit for purpose,” he said.

“There is no fixed line oxygen and the unit is cramped. Along with Cllr Mikey Sheehy, I have been fighting for a new standalone cancer unit on the grounds of the hospital. I have made no secret of my ambitions for a ministry in the department of health and if elected and Fianna Fail are in Government, I am committing myself to getting a standalone cancer unit built at the hospital.

“Given the risks Brexit will present to us getting chemo drugs from the UK, I also think this new standalone unit must include a pharmacy compounding unit to allow chemo drugs to be mixed in Kerry. We need top class Cancer Care in Kerry and I will work to ensure we have it.”