IT WAS CLOSER than expected and it went against what all the earlier opinion polls had indicated so the Seanad Referendum count created quite a bubble of political excitement today.

The government were slow to concede defeat until the last count was in due to how narrow the margin was.

However, a 12/12 loss in Dublin’s constituencies signaled that those who wanted to retain the second house would be celebrating tonight.

Eventually, the declaration was made that the amendment was defeated on a margin of 51.7 per cent to 48.3 per cent.

Of the total 1,240,729 votes, there were 14,355 invalid ballot papers. Of the remainder, the amendment proposal was greeted with a Yes vote 591,937 times but a No 634,437 times.

That left a winning margin of 42,500 for the No side.

The biggest Yes vote came from the Taoiseach’s home of Mayo with 57.46 per cent of voters in favour or scrapping the Seanad.

The largest No vote was a significant 61.33 per cent in Dublin South-East.

In Wexford, where the winning margin for the No side was just 69 votes, there was 579 spoiled votes.

Turnout, at 39.2 per cent nationally, was higher than expected. Dublin North-Central had the highest turnout rate of 48.23 per cent.

Here’s how each constituency voted:

Carlow-Kilkenny: NO 50.53 per cent

Cavan-Monaghan: YES 54.87 per cent

Clare: YES 51.33 per cent

Cork East: NO 51.4 per cent

Cork North-Central: YES 51.8 4 per cent

Cork North-West: NO 50.05 per cent

Cork South-Central: NO 51.27 per cent

Cork South-West: YES 50.94 per cent

Donegal North-East: NO 51.69 per cent

Donegal South-West: NO 50.42 per cent

Dublin Central: No 57.88 per cent

Dublin Mid-West: NO 54.7 per cent

Dublin North: NO 54.67 per cent

Dublin North-Central: NO 54.77 per cent

Dublin North-East: NO 54.57 per cent

Dublin North-West: NO 54.69 per cent

Dublin South: NO 53.21 per cent

Dublin South-Central: NO 56.56 per cent

Dublin South-East: NO 61.33 per cent

Dublin South-West: NO 52.32 per cent

Dublin West: NO 57.58 per cent

Dun Laoghaire: NO 57.1 per cent

Galway East: YES 51.37 per cent

Galway West: NO 50.66 per cent

Kerry North-West Limerick: YES 53.84 per cent

Kerry South: YES 54.48 per cent

Kildare North: NO 54.61 per cent

Kildare South: NO 55.51 per cent

Laois-Offaly: NO 53.89 per cent

Limerick: YES 50.45 per cent

Limerick City: YES 52.72 per cent

Longford-Westmeath: YES 51.02 per cent

Louth: NO 52.33 per cent

Mayo: YES: 57.46 per cent

Meath East: NO 52.58 per cent

Meath West: NO 53.61 per cent

Roscommon-South Leitrim: YES 51.67 per cent

Sligo-North Leitrim: YES 50.76 per cent

Tipperary North: YES 50.38 per cent

Tipperary South: YES 50.41 per cent

Waterford: NO 53.46 per cent

Wexford: NO 50.09 per cent

Wicklow: NO 57.82 per cent

LIVEBLOG: The Seanad is here to stay as referendum defeated

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