Two candidates rely on SF candidate's elimination

Five candidates for four seats in Cavan-Belturbet.

With the results of Count 4 just announced in the Cavan-Belturbet MD, it all now comes down to which direction the now eliminated Michael 'Bricker' Wall's 984 votes will be distributed.

The two most concerned by that outcome are Fine Gael's Peter McVitty from Ballyconnell and Cavan Town's Patricia Walsh.

There are just 192 between between five candidates still looking to claim one of the four remaining seats left after Independent Brendan Fay (1627) and poll topper, Fianna Fáil's Áine Smith (1,763), daughter of the late sitting councillor Séan Smith, and niece to Brendan Smith TD, were elected in Count 1. The quota was 1,431.

The reason for the intense interest comes after the division of 793 votes compiled from the elimination of Liam van der Spek's (365), Aontú's Tinko Tinev (244), the Green Party's Kevin Murphy (109) and Independent Susuana Komolafe (75) in Count 3.

McVitty (1,166) needs Wall's vote will be enough to get Sinn Féin's Brady over the quota with a decent margin, hoping that the outcome will swing back towards him as both he and Brady are from Ballyconnell Town.

Walsh though always had to look over her shoulder at Wall with both canvassing the same area, and she needs her home town to back her instead with a large number of No 2's.

Fine Gael's Niamh Brady, who overtook McVitty in Count 4 now sits on 1,203, and Fianna Fáil's John Paul Feeley is on 1,293.