Nolan to top poll in Offaly and win first seat

Independent candidate Carol Nolan will top the poll and retain her seat in the Offaly constituency according to the tally figures.

The first count will not be officially declared until later today but the tally people's calculations give a good indication of where the battle for the three seats will be fought.

Cadamstown woman Nolan, already a two-time winner in Dail elections, looks set to get her highest first preference on this occasion in a decisive shift by the Offaly electorate to a non-party candidate.

First elected as a Sinn Fein TD in 2016, when Offaly was also a three-seat constituency (but with part of north Tipperary tacked on), Nolan ran as an Independent in 2020 and was re-elected with an even higher first preference.

With a near 22% share, and over 8,000 votes on the first count, Nolan will be short of the projected quota of about 9,100 but is assured of election.

The tally has Fine Gael's John Clendennen in second place with 6,704 votes and pinning his hopes on transfers as the count progresses.

Though Fianna Fail's Tony McCormack is on 6,305 votes, he will be looking to boost that figure once his party colleague Claire Murray exits the race. The tally has her on 2,439 number ones.

The election has gone very well so far for first time Sinn Fein candidate Aoife Masterson, who has picked up one vote in every six, according to the tally.

That puts her firmly in the frame for a seat and her supporters will be examining the transfers of the north Offaly candidates closely throughout the day.

Eddie Fitzpatrick, the Independent candidate who left Fianna Fail after the party did not select him for this election, has seen his vote drop to 2,616.

The tally has Independent Ireland's Fergus McDonnell behind Edenderry woman Claire Murray while the Green Party vote has collapsed, with Pippa Hackett on 931, just 2.5%.

The destination of the seats after Carol Nolan is very difficult to call, but Fianna Fail members are confident Tullamore man McCormack will be elected.

If that is the case, the last seat will be a fight between Cllr Masterson and Kinnitty-based Clendennen, with geography in the Sinn Fein candidate's favour because there will be more transfers coming her way as eliminations from the north Offaly area take place.