A glut of transfers from eliminated The Irish People candidate Jacinta Gibbons will keep Independent Ireland Cllr Noel Larkin in the City East race a little while longer.

Cllr Larkin picked up 75 transfers in count eight, leaving him on 543 votes heading into the ninth count at Westside.

Green Party candidate Joyce Mathias has now been eliminated and her 326 votes are being distributed.

Cllr Alan Cheevers has been knocked off the top spot for the time being, with Cllr Declan McDonnell now in the lead on 1,063 votes – six votes ahead.

Caption: Joyce Mathias of the Green Party who has been eliminated on eighth count in Galway City East.

Galway City East 6 seats

Electorate: 18,110

Total poll: 8,102

Spoiled votes: 101

Total valid poll: 8,001

Quota: 1,144

Eighth count

Distribution of Gibbons’ votes

*McDonnell, Declan (Ind) (+21) 1,063

*Cheevers, Alan (FF) (+4) 1,057

*O’Flaherty, Terry (Ind) (+12) 964

*Crowe, Michael (FF) (+5) 759

Burke, Aisling (SF) (+9) 702

Forde, Shane (FG) (+2) 677

Ogbu, Helen (Lab) (+3) 637

*Larkin, Noel (Ind Irl) (+72) 543

Tully, Michael (Ind) (+26) 410

Delaney Heaslip, J (SD) (+2) 374

Keogh, Aisling (FG) (+3) 352

Mathias, Joyce (GP) (+4) 326 ELIMINATED

Non-transferable: 68