Government parties appear set to face defeat in all mayoral elections in Dublin and the regional cities this evening.
In Dublin the Democratic Alliance grouping which saw the city mayoralty go to Cllr Catherine Byrne of Fine Gael last year is set to hold sway, electing Artane- based Paddy Bourke of Labour. The deputy mayoralty is likely to go to Ballybough Labour councillor Aodhán O'Riordan.
The Democratic Alliance which includes Labour, Fine Gael and the Greens can already count on 26 of the 52 councillors and is likely to have the support of the PWendy Hederman.
In Waterford city the honours will likely go to Independents under a voting pact which seems unlikely to change. Independent Laurence "Cha" O'Neill is set to be elected mayor while David Daniels is set to be his deputy.
In Cork city the positions of mayor and deputy mayor look certain to go to Michael Ahern and Michael O'Connell respectively. Under a pact, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour have 26 of the 31 seats between them, and this time it is the turn of the Labour Party to take both positions.
In Limerick, however, a split in the Labour Party was the cause of last-minute meetings at the weekend. Sources in Limerick indicated yesterday that Cllr Joe Leddin's chances of securing the mayoralty could be scuppered for the second year in a row following the split.
Mr Leddin (36), who is the official Labour Party candidate, needs nine of the 17 votes on Limerick City Council to secure victory. A rainbow pact agreed last Christmas between Fine Gael, Labour and Independent councillor Jim Long should have guaranteed him 10 votes and the chains of office. It's understood that two of the four Labour councillors have refused to endorse the party's candidate following an ongoing row over Mr Leddin's appointment to the position of Deputy Jan O'Sullivan's parliamentary advisor.
The mayoral poll has taken place on Galway City Council, where Green Party Councillor Niall Ó Brolacháin was elected.