Six sure bets and a battle for seventh seat as Limerick goes to the polls for General Election?

AS LIMERICK voters head to the polls this Friday, the talk on the ground - and at the bookies - is that six of the seven local seats are virtually guaranteed to remain unchanged, with any deviation considered a seismic political shock.

A dogfight is expected for the fourth seat in Limerick City, with at least three candidates battling it out for the spot.

If bookmakers BoyleSports are to be believed, it will be a three-way contest between Independent councillor Frankie Daly, Fianna Fail's Dee Ryan and Labour councillor Conor Sheehan.

Paddy Power has Cllr Daly - who missed out on election in 2020 by a whisker - as second favourite to take a seat.

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Veteran Fianna Fail TD, Willie O'Dea, is said to be hellbent on pushing past Maurice Quinlivan of Sinn Fein to regain his crown as Limerick City's polltopper.

And his cause may be boosted by the fact that the Sinn Fein TD has a running mate this time around in the shape of Senator Paul Gavan.

Fine Gael Minister of State Kieran O'Donnell is also tipped to take a seat by the bookmakers, with the Green Party’s Brian Leddin at 14/1 and 16/1 depending on the bookmaker you pick.

Political expert Prof Maura Adshead of University of Limerick said that she thinks the winner of the final City seat may come down to “eighth, ninth and tenth preferences”, with one city candidate predicting the count could go on ‘til Christmas!

It’s against this backdrop that the final days of canvassing look set to be all-important in the city.

In Limerick County meanwhile, Boyle Sports has put Fine Gael's Minister Patrick O'Donovan as hot favourite to the top the poll, with odds of 1/50. Fianna Fail's Niall Collins and Richard O'Donoghue of Independent Ireland are both hotly fancied to retain their seats at 1/10.

While both of the Civil War parties will hope for a second seat in both Limerick constituencies, the position of both parties in the latest opinion polls - 19% for Fine Gael and 21% for Fianna Fail respectively - could mean both face an uphill struggle.

There are plenty of votes up for grabs - 77,725 people are eligible to have their say in Limerick City, with 75,018 allowed to vote in Limerick County.

Polling booths open at 7am on Friday and close at 10pm. Rain is forecast all day locally, with temperatures around 13 degrees Celsius.

Following the closing of polls, ballot boxes will be transferred from across the county to Limerick Racecourse in Patrickswell.

Counting will get under way on Saturday morning, and results are expected to filter in through the afternoon and potentially into Sunday.

With 32 candidates - 17 in the City and 15 in the County - and only seven seats up for grabs, second and further preferences will play a massive role as the counts are completed.

The Limerick Leader/Limerick Live team will be on the ground at Limerick Racecourse across the weekend bringing you the very latest tallies and results via our website www.limericklive.ie and our social media platforms.