John Moran, the former Department of Finance secretary general, has topped the poll in the Limerick mayoral election.
The Independent candidate polled 18,308 votes, some 5,000 more than his nearest challenger, Helen O’Donnell, another independent candidate.
However, with the quota set at 39,873 and 15 contenders in the race, Mr Moran is a long way from being elected and the count is a long way from concluding.
Fianna Fáil’s Dee Ryan (11,785) and Fine Gael’s Daniel Butler (10,190) were third and fourth respectively after the first count.
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Limerick voted in favour of having a directly-elected mayor in a 2019 plebiscite. The mayor will be paid €154,000 per year. Their most significant power will be proposing the annual budget for Limerick City and County Council, though this will need the approval of councillors.
A cross-party tally of votes on Sunday, which put Mr Moran on 24 per cent and Ms O’Donnell on 16 per cent, have proven to be relatively accurate.
Elsewhere in the field, Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan polled 8,331 votes with Independent candidate Frankie Daly receiving 4,574.
Ahead of the count, Mr Moran said he was not commenting on the tally figures. Ms O’Donnell, who was endorsed by local businessman JP McManus, said: “I would hope to get transfers, but it’s too early to say, but it will definitely go down to transfers.”
Ms O’Donnell, whose late husband Tom was a Fine Gael TD and MEP, was herself a member of the party until just before she entered the election race as an Independent.
Mr Butler retained his council seat in Limerick City West. Other mayoral candidates to keep their council seats were Independent Frankie Daly, Conor Sheehan of the Labour Party and Elisa O’Donovan of the Social Democrats.
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