Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Alan Cheevers has topped the poll in Galway City East, securing 1,031 votes – just shy of the quota of 1,144.

The Fianna Fáil councillor, who was first elected to City Hall in 2019, was ahead of Cllr Declan McDonnell (Ind) by just 22 votes after the first count at Westside Community Centre.

Independent Cllr Terry O’Flaherty is in third after the first count, with 916 first preference votes.

Cllr Noel Larkin (Ind Irl) looks set to lose his seat, securing just 413 first preference votes leaving him well behind Cllr Mike Crowe (FF) who is on 736; Fine Gael’s Shane Forde on 665; and Sinn Féin candidate Aisling Burke on 624.

Labour’s Helen Ogbu is well in contention for one of the six available seats, having secured 585 votes on the first count.

Independent candidates Conor Dowd and Arkadiusz Wozniak have been eliminated and their 58 and 10 votes respectively are now being redistributed.

Caption: Poll-topper Alan Cheevers keeping a close eye on the votes.

Galway City East 6 seats

Electorate: 18,110

Total poll: 8,102

Spoiled votes: 101

Total valid poll: 8,001

Quota: 1,144

*Cheevers, Alan (FF) 1.031

*McDonnell, Declan (Ind) 1009

*O’Flaherty, Terry (Ind) 915

*Crowe, Michael (FF) 736

Forde, Shane (FG) 665

Burke, Aisling (SF) 624

Ogbu, Helen (Lab) 585

*Larkin, Noel (Ind Irl) 413

Tully, Michael (Ind) 352

Keogh, Aisling (FG) 332

Delaney Heaslip, Justine (SD) 303

Mathias, Joyce (GP) 287

Corcoráin, Cormac (Aontú) 154

Burke, Conor (Sol/PBP) 129

Gibbons, Jacinta (TIP) 127

Feeney, Susan (IFP) 113

Rooke, Denman (Sol/PBP) 87

Lynch, David (Ind) 60

Dowd, Conor (Ind) 58 ELIM

Wozniak, Arkadiusz (Ind) 10 ELIM