CORK: By evening rush hour last night, polling stations across Cork city and county reported a brisk turnout, as high as 40 per cent in one booth at Passage West, and all the indications were that by close of poll more than 65 per cent of the electorate would have voted, a trend which was seen as more favourable to Fianna Fáil than to the other parties.
Many people availed of the earlier opening time at polling booths, according to returning officers, and just before the expected evening rush to vote the average turnout was between 30 and 35 per cent, suggesting that before the polls closed the figure would have more than doubled.
At individual polling stations, such as Mayfield in Cork North Central, the lowest turnout was recorded at 18 per cent in one booth with a high point before tea time of 32 per cent in another booth in the same area.
Throughout North Central, however, the consensus among the part observers was that the final figure would be well over 60 per cent.
One of the Fianna Fáil tallymen in the constituency said there seemed little doubt that Cork would record a higher percentage vote in this election than before, when the turnout was below 65 per cent.
In Cork South Central a high turnout was also predicted, based on the fact that an average of 35 per cent of the electorate had been to the polling booths before 6 p.m.
In Cork South West and Cork East voting was reported as brisk throughout the day, and again tallymen were forecasting a higher turnout than at the last election.
Cork North West, one of the tightest marginal constituencies, was on target to record one of the highest turnouts ever, according to the tallymen, possibly more than 70 per cent.