Sinn Féin has topped the poll in Northern Ireland’s European elections after a collapse in support for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
It is the first time a republican or nationalist party has secured the largest share of the vote in a Northern Ireland election.
Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún polled 126,184 votes and was elected on the first count. But the DUP candidate Diane Dodds saw support for her party fall from 175,761 votes at the last European election to 88,346 votes.
Just 42.81 per cent of the electorate turned out in the North compared to 51.72 per cent five years ago. Only three of the 18 Westminster constituencies recorded a turnout figure of 50 per cent or better.
The highest turnout totals were seen in nationalist areas, particularly those west of the Bann.
Diane Dodds of the DUP and Jim Nicholson of the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists were elected on the third count.