The first day of counting saw 41 TDs elected to the 34th Dáil, with many key moments over the several hours of counting.
Here are some of the key moments captured by the RTÉ cameras at count centres around the country.
A bad day for the Greens
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Early in the morning, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman stated that it wasn’t to be a good day for his party.
He predicted a number of his party colleagues would lose their seats throughout the weekend. By last night, that had come true as Joe O’Brien, Ossian Smyth and Francis Noel Duffy had all lost their seats.
No move on forming next government
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Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said it is much too early to consider coalition talks and the make-up of a new government.
Speaking just before he was deemed elected in Cork South-Central, Mr Martin was hopeful that the process would be faster than that in 2020.
In Wicklow, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said he was confident that his party would have a significant role to play in the years ahead.
“I’m cautiously optimistic and excited about what the weeks ahead hold.”
Just before he was deemed elected in the first count, Mr Harris thanked his constituents, saying his role as a TD is the honour of his lifetime.
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Sinn Féin, Labour leaders to talk with other parties
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Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she wanted to talk to other parties on the left of the political spectrum about the potential for forming a government.
“What we can say is that Sinn Fein, again, has a very strong mandate from the people,” she said in the RDS count centre, not long before she was deemed elected on the first count in Dublin Central.
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Labour leader Ivana Bacik also said that next week, once there is a more solid picture of the 34th Dáil, her first intention is to speak to political party leaders that share Labour’s visions and values.
She said the Green Party and the Social Democrats will be the specific parties she will approach.
She is expected to retain her seat in Dublin Bay South.
Hutch in contention
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Independent candidate Gerard Hutch is in contention for a seat in the Dublin Central constituency, placing fourth following three counts there.
Mr Hutch, also known as ‘The Monk’, has been described by the Special Criminal Court as the head of the Hutch family.
He is currently in fourth in the four-seater constituency, with 3,733 votes as of the sixth count.
Director Jim Sheridan visited the RDS count centre having spent time documenting Mr Hutch canvassing.
He said a sense of “anger” in the area has led to Mr Hutch’s popularity at the polls.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe, who is running the same constituency and is in third place currently above Hutch, said the the “vast majority” of people in the constituency did not vote for Mr Hutch.
“We’ll have to reflect in due course regarding why he did like he did,” Mr Donohoe said.
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FG bore ‘burden of incumbency’ – Varadkar
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Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Fine Gael was headed towards winning seats with new TDs and there is a strong probability that the party would return to government.
However, he also said incumbency was a “burden”, but the party would have two options in terms of potential coalition partners.
“The longer you are in office, the harder it is to win votes and the harder it is to win elections,” he said.
Fire alarm disrupts Donegal vote
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The declaration of the first count in Donegal was interrupted when the fire alarm went off.
It led to the count being delayed momentarily.
It later emerged that the fire alarm had been set off by someone vaping in the building.
All areas were checked and the building was found to be safe before the alarm was turned off and the declaration resumed.
Cairns’ father expresses count centre pride
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Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns gave birth to a baby girl on Friday.
She was represented in the Cork count centre by her father Clem, who express pride in his daughter.
He said that the Cork South-West candidate took to motherhood “like a duck to water”.
Ms Cairns significantly increased her first preference votes compared to the 2020 election, with her father saying: “I think that’s the third election now that she’s probably surprised everybody.”
From count centre to wedding dance floor
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Limerick County TD Richard O’Donoghue is off to celebrate his election with a boogie.
The Independent Ireland deputy had left a wedding to attend the count, and left the centre to rejoin the wedding reception in celebratory mood.
“I said I hope to be there to have the last dance before the evening’s down and that’s where we’re going after this,” he said.
