West Belfast:Sinn Féin's vote-management strategy paid huge dividends as it became the first party to have five candidates elected in the same constituency.
Party president Gerry Adams, also MP for the staunchly nationalist area, topped the poll at the first count with his 6,029 first preferences, easily exceeding the quota of 4,828.
All other Sinn Féin candidates polled well into the 4,000s, with the system of vote transfers meaning Sue Ramsey was elected on the second count.
Paul Maskey, Jennifer McCann and Fra McCann of the party followed on the sixth count, with Alex Attwood of the SDLP being made to sweat before joining them.
One Sinn Féin insider told The Irish Timesthat "hundreds" of nationalist voters in the constituency voted Mr Adams "1" on their ballot papers, then Mr Attwood "2", before shifting back to Sinn Féin for their other preferences.
This method ensured that the Sinn Féin gain (it had four MLAs elected in 2003) was made from Diane Dodds of the DUP, who had won a shock seat here in the previous election.
This is despite Ms Dodds actually increasing her vote by over 1,000 this time around. It was also the only incumbent DUP loss of the election.
The strong Sinn Féin result is seen as an answer to critics who had said the party had lost support from its grassroots in a constituency that is considered to be a republican heartland.
Although she did not wish to comment, one DUP source told The Irish Times that Ms Dodds was "devastated, especially considering the work she had put into the area and her campaign".
It will increase the outcry from the lower Shankill, the only unionist area in the constituency, where people have complained about a lack of political representation for many years.
However, Mr Adams was not surprised by the outcome.
"The indications from the doorsteps were good, and that is what we have seen translated into the results. People have voted overwhelmingly for the institutions to be put in place, and now we have the mandate to carry that forward.
"The Sinn Féin vote has once again eaten solidly into the SDLP. We have also picked up votes from the Shankill, which is very important. It has been a very good day for West Belfast and Sinn Féin."
The SDLP's share of the vote fell almost 7 per cent, with Sinn Féin increasing its share almost 5 per cent.
Seán Mitchell (19), standing on an anti-water charges ticket for the People Before Profit Alliance, polled a respectable 774 first preferences. He said: " What I have shown is that when you are talking about water charges, poor housing and poverty, there are no lines on the map that cannot be crossed. There are no 'no-go' areas for these issues."