Drama revolved around former Sinn Féin TD’s bitter split from party
Brian Stanley. Photo: PA
Brian Stanley had the third seat in the Laois constituency squared off from early morning. In the bustling Fine Gael corner of the count centre in Portlaoise, the party’s number crunchers — led by a maths teacher — posted their tallies on a computer screen.
By 10.30am, Fine Gael was at 24pc, Fianna Fáil at 21pc and Brian Stanley at 20pc. As the morning wore on, he dropped back to around 19pc.
