The final Irish seats for the European Parliament have been filled, with the conclusion of the count in the Midlands-North-West constituency.
Five candidates were elected following a five-day count, which concluded at 3.10am in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
The election of Independent Luke 'Ming' Flanagan on the 20th count last night was followed by that of Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen, just after 1.30am.
Mr Cowen said his party entered the race with no MEP in the constituency, but this has now been "corrected".
He added that the win was a "team effort" despite the controversy that unfolded around his party's three-candidate election strategy.
"We got on with our business, sought votes in our respective areas, sought transfers, and you saw that transfer system in action tonight and ensured my election."
Mr Cowen said he was "forever grateful" to his colleagues for the work they put into ensuring he had sufficient votes to arrive at a quota and secure his party a seat.
Fine Gael's Nina Carberry and Maria Walsh, along with Independent Ireland’s Ciaran Mullooly, were subsequently all deemed elected, without reaching the quota, after the distribution of Mr Flanagan’s surplus failed to change the standings of the final four candidates in the race for the last three seats.
Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gildernew missed out by almost 5,500 votes, as her party lost the seat it had held in the constituency since 2014.
Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin both travelled to Co Mayo, as the final stages of the count played out.
Mr Harris said he was ecstatic at his party’s success, while Mr Martin played down suggestions that Fianna Fáil’s three-candidate strategy had hampered its chances of taking a second seat in the constituency.
Mr Mullooly said he was "elated" by the result, which marked the end of an "extraordinary eight weeks".
The Independent Ireland MEP said he would travel to Brussels on Sunday for talks with "up to four or five different groupings".
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
He stressed that he was a centrist and not "anti-green" or a "climate change denier".
However, he said he took issue with the pace at which the green agenda in Europe was being pushed through without a "proper transition".
"From our perspective, it is all about giving people the opportunity to change, to be good environmentalists, to be green, but at the end of the day, to put the infrastructure in place, give them an opportunity to come with you along the journey to do that," he said.
Voting system 'transparent' and 'valued' - Harris
Final seats filled in Ireland South constituency
Independent Michael McNamara, Sinn Féin's Kathleen Funchion and Fianna Fáil's Cynthia Ní Mhurchú took the final three seats in the Ireland South constituency.
They will join Fine Gael's Seán Kelly and Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher as MEPs for Ireland South.
Independents4Change MEP Mick Wallace lost his seat as he was the sixth and lowest-placed candidate after the 20th count in the five-seat constituency.
Ms Ní Mhurchú said that she is honoured to have won a seat in Ireland South.
"I'm humbled by the voters of Ireland South who put their confidence in me," she said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"I won't let them down. I'm truly grateful to Micheál Martin, Fianna Fáil, the organisation of the councillors, the party members, to give me the opportunity to run and to support me from the first minute of the nomination."
Meanwhile, Ms Funchion said she is delighted to take a seat for Ireland South.
She said she is looking forward to working with her party colleague Lynn Boylan in Europe.
In relation to how Sinn Féin did in the elections, she said that there are good days and bad days and that it "definitely wasn't the election that we thought it was going to be".
Ms Funchion said the party was accused in 2020 of not running enough candidates.
"I do think that it was important, given the results, that we were ambitious and we do have to look at that 100% and we have to look at that very quickly and see where the messaging maybe was potentially wrong," she said.
The final count was the distribution of the Green Party MEP Grace O'Sullivan’s votes.
In a statement, she said serving as an MEP was "the honour of my life" and that losing her seat was "just the latest chapter in a long story".
Speaking on the same programme, Mr Wallace said he was very grateful for all the people who did vote for him, but said that he and party colleague Clare Daly were "demonised" in the Irish media in recent years and that did not help matters.
"We were the two highest speakers in terms of the number of speeches," he said.
"I was 705 and we became probably the two best known MPs in Europe and I'm very grateful for the people of Ireland South who have given me the opportunity and I'm unsuccessful this time, but I'm so grateful to all the people who did vote for me."
When asked whether he will run again, Mr Wallace said said "that's a big question. We'll see".
Dee Ryan likely to replace Doherty in Seanad
Two Seanad vacancies have arisen as Regina Doherty and Lynn Boylan are both due to begin their roles as MEPs next month.
The departure of Senator Boylan will prompt a Seanad by-election, which only members of the Dáil and Seanad can vote in.
Given that the Government has the majority of seats, the candidate chosen by the coalition parties will likely win the seat.
Under the coalition arrangement, it is the turn of Fianna Fáil to choose the candidate.
There is strong speculation in the party that Dee Ryan, who contested the Limerick Mayoral race, is likely to be selected.
Ms Ryan came third in the mayoral election and indicated after her elimination that she would like to continue in politics.
The departure of Senator Doherty, a Taoiseach's nominee, will allow Simon Harris to select her replacement.
It is understood that Simon Harris does not intend on making a decision anytime soon but that a number of people have expressed an interest in the role.
Additional reporting: Paschal Sheehy, Tommy Meskill
