In Tipperary, the home of the O'Donovan family is being used as a polling station.
Around 250 people are eligible to vote at the house in Coolmoyne, and after they cast their ballot, they will be treated to a cup of tea, a slice of apple or rhubarb tart, or a scone.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Returning Officer for Co Tipperary James Seymour explained that when Coolmoyne National School shuttered in 1967, the new owners allowed the house to be used as a polling station.
However, when the house was sold in 2007, the community was once again stuck for a polling station, until local man Seán O'Donovan stepped in.
"From 2007 onwards, we were stuck for... there was no public building available in that area for the nearly 250 voters, so a local man, Seán O'Donovan, kindly offered us the use of his house, and we’ve been using his house for the last 18 years."
The public enters the front door of the house where the sitting room is cleared of furniture and replaced with a polling station, Mr Seymour explained.
Mr O'Donovan’s daughter Aisling and his neighbour Monica, act as polling staff.
"The polling booth is in one corner of the room, and they’re in the other corner with the ballot box."
"It’s a unique situation, we think it is probably the only private house in the country being used as a polling station."
Once voters have finished, they can exit the house or go to the kitchen for fresh apple tart, rhubarb tart or a cup of tea or coffee.
"Unusually for some reason, it is a very high turnout every time!"
He added that there are unsubstantiated rumours that once the ballot box is collected and taken to the count centre, "that a group of musicians enter the house and there is a bit of a hooley for the neighbourhood".
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
