Limerick West's outgoing Fine Gael TD and chairman of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, Mr Michael Finucane, yesterday conceded defeat in the election when he requested that a recount be stopped.
He had asked for the recount on Saturday after finishing one vote behind his Fine Gael running mate, Mr Dan Neville, in the contest for the last seat.
The returning officer, Mr Pat Meghen, said he had to consider whether there had been any significant error before stopping the recount.
"We went through the whole thing again. There was nothing there to affect the results. Both sides accepted that."
The decision means that Saturday's result, which gave the third and final seat to Mr Neville, stands. After the fourth count, Mr Neville had 8,564 votes to Mr Finucane's 8,563.
Mr Finucane, who has been a TD since 1989, had reversed the traditional Fianna Fáil dominance in the constituency in 1997 when he was elected alongside Mr Neville.
The count centre at Greenmount Race Course had been deserted by Fianna Fáil supporters since Saturday evening after their TD, Mr Michael Collins, was returned following the poll-topping performance of their new TD, Senator John Cregan.
Yesterday's conclusion to the count was a low-key affair. At the announcement at 2 p.m. that the original result stood, there was applause. Mr Neville's supporters had agreed to his request that there be no cheering. He said he did not want any display of triumphalism. A quarter of an hour earlier, the two outgoing TDs had shook hands on the decision.
Mr Finucane, who was geographically straddled between the two Fianna Fáil candidates in the constituency, said he had lost a good share of votes in key areas, including the family home of Foynes and at his constituency base of Newcastle West. "It is a big town, it is an expanding town. In a way, if more of them voted, I would have been the beneficiary."
The atmosphere yesterday was in marked contrast to Saturday evening when, by 4 p.m., it was clear that Senator Cregan would top the poll. At the announcement, he was carried shoulder high and supporters sang, "There's only one street in Dromcollogher" before travelling back with him to the south Limerick village for celebrations.
Later, Mr Collins's result was confirmed. "This is the seat we had since the three-seater was formed in 1948 and unfortunately we lost it in 1997. I said I would do my utmost to bring back that seat," he said.