FG set for major gains throughout the county

Close to 134,000 Meath residents will be entitled to vote in Friday's general election which is expected to see a seismic shift in the political landscape of the county. Meath voters are preparing to cast their votes in three different constituencies, in a contest which is expected to see the balance of power swing dramatically away from Fianna Fail. The government party's dominant position in the county, where it holds four of the six seats is expected to be shattered at the weekend, as they are expected to lose at least one seat in each constituency. Fine Gael is expected to make gains while there is also potential for both Labour and Sinn Fein to win seats. There are three seats up for grabs in Meath West and another three in Meath East, while 12,000 voters in the coastal area of Meath will cast their votes in the five seater Louth constituency. In Meath West, where 13 candidates will battle for three seats, Fine Gael are hoping they will have two deputies returned, while Sinn Féín have also been tipped to take a seat. However, while some local commentators have indicated that Johnny Brady may be vulnerable, particularly with the loss of a large chunk of the Kells area to Meath East, it all depends on whether party stalwarts come out to vote the way they always have. In fact it is believed that with Damien English set to hold onto his seat, his two Fine Gael running mates, Ray Butler and Catherine Yore and Sinn Féín's Peadar Tóibín are likely to battle it our for the final two seats, while Labour's Jenny McHugh cannot entirely be ruled out. There are also three seats up for grabs in the Meath East constituency, where again Fine Gael are hoping to gain a seat. Labour's Dominic Hannigan has also been tipped to be among the new TDs, but Fianna Fail are hoping that sitting TD Thomas Byrne , who has had a high national profile in recent months, will hold onto the seat he won in 2007. Both Hannigan and Byrne have lost a sizeable chunk of their traditional base with the redrawing of the consituency boundary, which sees the Mornington, Bettystown and Laytown areas voting in the Louth constituency. There are 16 candidates for the five seater Louth constituency, where Seamus Kirk is automatically returned as Ceann Comhairle, so only four seats will be filled by the voters. Just two of the candidates have strong Meath connections, Independent, Frank Godfrey, a member of Louth County Council is a Donore resident, while fellow Independent, Robert Glynn has a business in Bettystown. The Meath West candidates are Stephen Ball (Independent), Johnny Brady TD (Fianna Fail), Cllr Ray Butler (Fine Gael), Ronan Carollan (Independent), Cllr Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail), Damien English (Fine Gael) Fiona Irwin (Green Party), Manus McMeanmain (Christian Solidarity), Seamus McDonagh (Workers Party), Cllr Jenny McHugh (Labour), Daithi Stephens (Independent), Cllr Peader Tóibín (Sinn Féin), Cllr Catherine Yore (Fine Gael). The Meath West Candidates are: Cllr Joe Bonner (Independent), Thomas Byrne TD (Fianna Fail), Cllr Regina Doherty (Fine Gael), Michael Gallagher (Sinn Féin), Senator Dominic Hannigan (Labour), Sharon Keogan (New Vision), Cllr Nick Killian (Fianna Fail), Shane McEntee (Fine Gael), Sean O'Buachalla (Green Party). Polls open at 7am on Friday morning at 117 polling stations in Meath East and 236 venues in Meath West and continues until 10pm. A total of 64,873 people are entitles to vote in Meath East while the electorate in Meath West is 56,594 and the number of Meath voters in the Louth constituency is around 12,000. Voters are asked to bring their polling card and proof of identity to their nominated polling station. A massive count operation will begin on Saturday at two centres - the new Trim GAA Centre for Meath West and the Donaghmore Ashbourne GAA Centre for Meath East. Meath returning officer Mary O'Malley will preside at the count in Trim, while the former Meath returning officer, Maire Tehan will come out of retirement to oversee the count in Ashbourne.