The battle for a third seat in Tipperary South will be a close call
Left-leaning candidates see the Carrick-on-Suir area as vital to their chances
As predicted the battle for the third seat in Tipperary South should be an almighty contest between a number of candidates.
Among them are a sitting TD Martin Browne of Sinn Féin and former TD Seamus Healy who both have the Fianna Fail candidate Imelda Goldsboro to overtake.
With 41% of the tally completed,65 boxes out of 160 opened, Goldsboro (FF) is just out ahead with 13.9%,Seamus Healy is on 13.6% and Martin Browne is on 11.3%.
In advance of the General Election the two left-leaning candidates in this race for third saw it as crucial to finish ahead of one another in first preferences to give them the best chance of a seat. Both Browne and Healy targeted Carrick-on-Suir as a key area and both expected to do well there given their opposition to the closure of St Brigid’s Hospital.
At the moment, with 41% of the boxes tallied, Healy is showing stronger in Carrick with 789 compared to Browne at 569.
The teams of both those candidates are watching the Carrick-on-Suir results very closely as they unfold.
“Carrick is very important for us. We hope to get out ahead of Healy in Carrick. We have a strong councillor there in David Dunne. The urban vote in Carrick will be crucial at the end of the day when everything is so close,” said Kevin Brunnick of Sinn Féin.
Follow the count as it happens on Tipperary Live Live Blog