Renowned election analyst and pollster Seán Donnelly has died.
He was a regular contributor to RTÉ's election coverage for several decades, where he offered illuminating and often memorable political insights.
Broadcaster Seán O'Rourke recalled his amazing depth of knowledge of each constituency along with every local electoral area.
"His ability to predict the allocation of seats based on first counts was legendary.
"He and Trinity professor Michael Gallagher ensured that RTÉ Radio 1's results programmes were unrivalled for accuracy and entertainment," Mr O'Rourke said.
Mr Donnelly compiled some of the most comprehensive data on national and local elections dating back to the early 1990s.
His tireless attention to detail was evident in the major contribution he made to the 2011 RTÉ Week in Politics general election results book.
Originally from Donegal, Mr Donnelly worked as a civil engineer in the water services section of Dublin City Council for many years before establishing his own polling company.
He first became involved in politics after the founding of the Progressive Democrats in the mid-1980s, when he became a party volunteer.
At the time, he was living in the future Tánaiste Mary Harney's Dublin South West constituency, and he soon became a key part of the new party's operation on the ground there.
His ability to poll constituencies and to figure out the lie of the land politically was later deployed by the Progressive Democrats nationally.
"He went from having zero political interest or experience to becoming one of the outstanding political strategists of the last thirty years," Ms Harney said.
"He turned traditional political theory on its head by persuading parties, especially Fianna Fáil, to run fewer candidates in order to concentrate their vote.
"Until then it was always assumed that the large parties should run as many candidates as possible in order to hoover up votes and worry about transfers later," she added.
Fianna Fáil General Secretary Seán Dorgan described him as a wise and astute man who had a finely attuned understanding of elections.
Mr Dorgan said that Mr Donnelly's great gift was his ability to demystify the process around both candidate selection and election counts.
Central to this were his famed 'Donnelly Rules', which have had a consistent accuracy rate of more than 90%.
They state that a candidate must be in the frame after the first count if they are to have a decent chance of getting elected.
They must also have at least half a quota on the first count if they are to win a seat.
His professional work in this area was particularly influential in how Fianna Fáil approached the 1997 general election.
Back then, the party ran far fewer candidates but won more seats than they had in 1992.
Mr Donnelly's funeral will take place tomorrow at St Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny.
