The Sligo count concluded shortly after 3am this morning when the five outstanding seats were filled – by four Fianna Fáil candidates and one Fine Gael representative.

The Fianna Fáil successes include former TD Eamon Scanlon and former county footballer Paul Taylor and bring the party’s membership on the 18 strong Sligo County Council to eight, well ahead of expectations.

Also elected on the final and ninth count this morning were Martin Baker and Jerry Lundy for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s Dara Mulvey.

Tom MacSharry, nephew of former Minister Ray MacSharry and cousin of Senator Marc MacSharry was elected earlier.

There were a number of surprises in this constituency including the election of some unfamiliar faces — Independent Marie Casserly, People Before Profit representative Seamie O’Boyle and Sinéad Maguire of Fine Gael who bucked the trend, as many of her experienced party colleagues lost their seats.

Sinn Féin returned two candidates including veteran councillor Sean MacManus and newcomer Thomas Healy.

It was a bad election for Labour in Sligo as elsewhere, as the party's only sitting councillor Jim McGarry failed to get re-elected. He announced later that after 29 years he was bowing out of politics.

A former Labour party TD, Independent councillor Declan Bree topped the poll in the Sligo area while the outstanding performance in the constituency was fellow Independent Margaret Gormley's massive 2,701 first preferences in Ballymote/Tubbercurry, 1018 above the quota.

The state of the parties in Sligo at the close of the count was Fianna Fáil 8, Independents 4, Fine Gael 3 Sinn Féin 2 People Before Profit 1.