Socialist Coppinger and SF’s Donnelly battle for Dublin West
A final tally in the first of two by-elections today is putting two candidates virtually neck and neck in Dublin West.
Ruth Coppinger of the Socialist Party and Sinn Fein's Paul Donnelly are leading the field.
It means Independent David Hall, who came to prominence as a campaigner for concerned mortgage holders, is unlikely to get into the Dáil this time out.
More than 2,000 candidates are contesting 949 local authority seats. Forty-one candidates are contesting 11 MEP seats in the three European constituencies in the Republic.
By-elections are being held in Longford-Westmeath and Dublin West.
