Voters in Dublin and Galway will go to the polls in two byelections on Friday after intense canvassing in the closing days of the campaign and efforts by candidates to ensure their supporters turn up to vote.<\/p>\n
Turnout is typically lower in byelections than in general elections.<\/p>\n
A high first-preference vote in Dublin Central<\/a> and Galway West<\/a> will be crucial if candidates are to survive long enough to reach the later stages of the counts to benefit from the transfers they will need to win. <\/p>\n Polls open at 7am and close at 10pm; vote counting will begin on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n Former Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> leader Gerry Adams joined his successor Mary Lou McDonald to campaign for the party\u2019s Dublin Central candidate Cllr Janice Boylan<\/a> in the north inner city on Wednesday. McDonald is under pressure to deliver a second D\u00e1il seat in the constituency, where she is the sitting TD.<\/p>\n While last week\u2019s Irish Times\/TG4 Ipsos B&A poll <\/a>has Boylan leading the field in the left-leaning constituency, she was not far ahead of Daniel Ennis<\/a> of the Social Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ennis took to social media on Thursday to say his party had more than 100 people delivering his leaflets as he urged people to \u201cmake your voice heard\u201d. <\/p>\n The vacancy in Dublin Central arose after Fine Gael\u2019s Paschal Donohoe resigned as a TD to take a post at the World Bank in Washington. Fourteen candidates are vying to replace him in the D\u00e1il.<\/p>\n Fine Gael<\/a> Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam<\/a> is hoping to retain the seat for his party.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Are you using AI to inform yourself on the byelection? Researchers warn of chatbot errorsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n On Thursday his team was asking voters to \u201ckeep that voice in Government\u201d in a constituency where the three sitting TDs are all members of the Opposition.<\/p>\n The most high-profile independent is veteran criminal Gerry \u201cThe Monk\u201d Hutch<\/a>, who narrowly missed out on a D\u00e1il seat in the 2024 general election and was in third place in last week\u2019s opinion poll.<\/p>\n Garda\u00ed in court have described Hutch as the figurehead of the Hutch crime gang involved in the Kinahan-Hutch feud. <\/p>\n On Thursday Hutch posted an online video advising people to bring polling cards or photo ID with them when they vote.<\/p>\n There are 17 candidates in Galway West.<\/p>\n The two perceived frontrunners \u2013 Senator and former TD Se\u00e1n Kyne<\/a> of Fine Gael, and Independent Ireland<\/a> councillor Noel Thomas campaigned on opposite ends of the constituency \u2013 the Wild Atlantic Way and Oranmore respectively. <\/p>\n Fine Gael winning the seat would buck the trend of Government parties faring poorly in byelections. Kyne faces a strong challenge from Thomas, who may benefit from anti-establishment sentiment given his involvement in the recent fuel protests<\/a>.<\/p>\n The vacant D\u00e1il seat in Galway West came about due to the election of former independent TD Catherine Connolly<\/a> as President.<\/p>\n