Counting is under way for nominees to Seanad Éireann (the upper house of the Irish parliament) on Thursday. One of the hopefuls is Sinn Féin Minister Conor Murphy, who made the announcement of his intention to run and quit Stormont if elected last month.

Ballina-based Fine Gael councillor Mark Duffy is the only Mayo-based candidate running in this year's Seanad Elections and is standing for a seat on the Labour vocational panel. The Returning Officer, Martin Groves, Clerk of Seanad Éireann, announced at 6.30pm the commencement of the Labour vocational panel count.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL HAS become the first candidate to be elected to new Seanad. The Independent Senator was re-elected to the National University of Ireland (NUI) panel on the first count just before midnight.

Counting will continue throughout Thursday. One of the hopefuls is Sinn Féin Minister Conor Murphy, who made the announcement of his intention to run and quit Stormont if elected last month. The Seanad sits Leinster House in Dublin,