Battle for west Mayo seats is going down to the wire

The battle for the four seats in the Westport electoral area is set to go down to the wire.

Louisburgh Independent Ireland candidate Chris Maxwell is set to top the poll with an estimated first preference of 1,766.

In second place behind the former Fianna Fáil man is outgoing Fine Gael Councillor Peter Flynn.

With Maxwell and Flynn in such strong positions, that leaves just two seats for four closely-bunched contenders.

They are Johnny O'Malley, Ind. (1,327), Brendan Mulroy, FF (1,300), Christy Hyland, Ind. (1,195) and Kiera Keogh, FG (1,165).

It's extremely difficult to predict but outgoing Councillor Christy Hyland is battling for his political life.

The count takes place on Sunday.