Catherine Connolly is on course to become the 10th President of Ireland by an overwhelming majority
Votes have been sorted and counting is underway around the country, with spoiled ballots outnumbering votes for candidates in some areas.
The number of spoiled votes looks set to be a record coming in at 20% in some constituencies
Final tallies in the city constituencies show Catherine Connolly taking 67.4% of the vote in North Central and 66.6% of first preferences in South Central
Turnout was slightly higher in North Central at 34% compared to 22% in South Central
The first count across the five Cork constituencies could be around 2pm
No counts will be announced in Cork instead the results will be recorded and announced at Dublin Castle
A brown substance was contained in a vote cast in the Cork North West constituency
Speaking to RedFM News Cork returning officer Sinead McNamara describes what was found
"The deputy returning officer for Cork North West, found a ballot paper with a brown substance on it, the word sh, blank T was written on it and the word real. So we had to assume that it was real excrement. So the vote was put into a plastic pouch and would obviously be treated separately"
