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Garda Ronan McNamara and polling officer Hugh O'Donald carry the ballot box from the polling station on Innisfree Island in last year's general election. Peter Morrison/AP
Referendum
It's polling day (if you live on one of five islands in Donegal)
Around 750 voters in Arranmore, Gola, Inishboffin, Inishfree and Tory Island will kick off the Fiscal Compact vote today.
VOTERS ON FIVE islands off Donegal’s west coast will today be among the first of Ireland’s 3.2 million registered voters to cast their ballots in the Fiscal Compact referendum.
Voters on Arranmore, Gola, Inishboffin, Inishfree and Tory Island – numbering just over 750 in total – will begin voting this morning.
Around 2,000 people living on islands off Donegal, Mayo and Galway traditionally vote ahead of the mainland, in order to ensure that adverse weather conditions do not threaten the transfer of votes to the counting centres.
About 180 voters in Mayo will vote tomorrow, while the Aran Islands will vote on Wednesday. Voters on seven islands off Cork will cast their ballots on Thursday along with the general population.
Counting of votes will begin on Friday morning, with an indication of the result expected by lunchtime and a final result by the afternoon.
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