After a sluggish turnout in the morning, reports indicated it had risen in the evening before the polls closed at 10pm.

The number of people who came out to cast their vote will be watched closely for the impact it could have on the final result and the engagement in an election which was criticised for its limited options.

The candidates to become Ireland’s next president cast their votes soon after polling stations opened across the country at 7am.

Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly, who has secured the backing of a coalition of opposition parties, voted in the Claddagh area of Galway on Friday morning after going for a swim.

She arrived at the polling station on her bicycle, accompanied by one of her sons, Stephen, and took a moment after voting to read students’ thank you mes

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