Just 1 percent separates Calleary and Duffy in Battle for Ballina

Just 1 percent could separate sitting Fianna Fáil TD, Dara Calleary and Fine Gael candidate Mark Duffy in the battle between the Ballina-based candidates.

With all of the 40 boxes in the Ballina Electoral Area now tallied, Dara Calleary came out on top with 34 percent of the vote followed closely by Duffy on 33 percent.

Sinn Féín TD Rose Conway-Walsh was further behind in third place with 16 percent of the vote while Independent Stephen Kerr was fourth on 7 percent.

The battle between Calleary and Duffy was always going to be tight and so it proved with just 138 votes separating them after 100 percent of the Ballina tally now completed.

Duffy increased the Fine Gael vote in north Mayo by nearly 10 percent when compared to the 2020 General Election when the then party candidate Michelle Mulherin received 24 percent.

The vote for Dara Calleary in Ballina fell by 6 percent when compared with the 2020 General Election while Rose Conway-Walsh's vote fell by 4 percent compared to 2020.

The turnout for the Ballina Electoral Area was recorded at 61 percent.

The count continues with boxes in the Castlebar Electoral Area currently being tallied in the TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar.