Counting has begun in the Irish general election, as exit polls suggest a close contest between the three major parties.

As of 1am this morning (Sunday) all but two of the 43 constituencies in the Republic of Ireland had tallied first preference votes, after which the main parties had as follows: Fi

Ireland's main opposition Sinn Fein looked on course to win the most votes at a general election by the narrowest of margins on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,