How it started ...
After two days of sorting and counting votes in Waterford, the four seats were filled.
It was no surprise that the first three seats were taken by Sinn Féin's David Cullinane, Fine Gael's John Cummins and Fianna Fáil's Mary Butler.
However, there have been some changes to the political landscape with the loss of an Independent and Green Party seat.
The popularity of Mr Cullinane, the poll topper in the last election, saw him retain the top spot after the first count.
Sinn Féin opted for a two-candidate strategy this time.
They planned to make inroads across the county between Mr Cullinane's pull in the city and surrounding areas while his running mate in west Waterford Conor D McGuinness focused on netting as many votes here.
That plan has paid off.
While it was a tight contest for the fourth seat, between Mr McGuinness and Independent Matt Shanahan, the transfers went in the Sinn Féin candidate's favour giving him a total of 9,519 votes.
For Fine Gael, there was a sigh of relief after winning back the seat they lost in the 2020 election.
There was a decision to focus on a one-candidate strategy for a successful outcome and not risk a divide of votes between two candidates as happened in the 2020 general election.
Fianna Fáil planned a similar strategy.
For those who lost out in this election, it will be a time to reflect, while there will be celebrations for the four who have been elected.
How it ended ...
