Sinn Féin tops poll in Irish general election
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has described the Irish general election as "something of a revolution in the ballot box".
Counting is continuing and the first results attended in, with Sinn Féin winning the most first preference votes.
With all first preferences counted, it has 24.5% compared to 22.2% for Fianna Fáil and 20.9% for Fine Gael.
No-one party will win enough seats for an outright majority.
Polling in the election closed at 22:00 local time on Saturday.
Ballot boxes from across the 39 constituencies were opened at 09:00 on Sunday.
Many counts have finished for the night time and can resume at 10:00 on Monday, but some are continuing.
Sinn Féin ran 42 prospects over the 39 multi-seat constituencies, about 50 % that of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, that will have a knock-on influence on the quantity of seats it could secure in the 160-seat Dáil (Irish parliament) where 80 seats are needed for a majority.
What kind of government could possibly be formed?
After the final number of seats for each and every party is known, leaders will try to form a coalition government in order to avoid another general election.
Prior to the election both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil said they would not enter coalition with Sinn Féin.
Coming to the RDS count centre in Dublin on Sunday afternoon, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she was exploring options to see if it would be possible to form a government without either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil.
On Sunday evening taoiseach (Irish PM) and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said it could be "challenging" to form a government.
He said his party has constantly ruled out forming a coalition with Sinn Féin "in large part because of their policies with regards to crime, tax and what sort of economy and society should be run and in addition our deep concerns about their democratic structures.
"We don't believe a coalition between Sinn Féin and Fine Gael is a practicable option," he said.
He said a "forced marriage wouldn't normally result in an excellent government."
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin did not rule out dealing with Sinn Féin, but said "significant incompatibilities" still existed.
He said reports suggested that his party "will be the largest". He added that he was a "democrat" and respected the vote of the people.
What could Sinn Féin's surge mean for the entire result?
Following the last election in 2016 Sinn Féin had 23 seats in the Dáil (Irish parliament).
There are 160 seats up for election these times, and Sinn Féin is defined to dramatically increase how many it holds after it won the most first preference votes.
Ms McDonald said this election was about "change".
She topped the poll in her four-seat Dublin Central constituency.
"The frustration persons have felt for a long period with the two-party system, whereby Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil handed the baton of power between the other person - that's now over," she said.
"We now have a very substantial mandate."
She said she was exploring options to see to see if it had been possible to form a government without Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
