Fianna Fail gained a seat as counting continued in the Seanad elections last night and eight members were declared elected - seven of them outgoing senators. As the threat of a legal challenge hung over the outcome of the election, Mr David Norris secured a spectacular first count victory in the Dublin University panel. Also re-elected on subsequent counts were his fellow independents, Dr Mary Henry and Mr Shane Ross.
Ms Ann Ormonde, a Fianna Fail stalwart in the Dublin South constituency who was defeated in the general election, topped the poll in the cultural and educational panel and was elected on the 12th count.
Her party gained a seat at the expense of the Labour Party in the same panel when Mr Labhras O Murchu, the long-serving director general of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, was elected on the 15th count. Although nominated by Comhaltas, he said he would take the Fianna Fail whip.
Three other outgoing senators, Fianna Fail's Paschal Mooney and Fine Gael's Maurice Manning and Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, retained their seats in the panel.
Outgoing senator, Mr Joe O'Toole, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), topped the poll in the National University of Ireland (NUI) panel with 7,492 votes.
Mr Feargal Quinn was second with 6,964 votes, while Prof William Binchy was a close third with 6,736 votes. Former senator, Mr Brendan Ryan, was in fourth place with 5,885 votes. The quota is 8,520.
Early indications are that Prof Binchy, professor of law at Trinity College and legal adviser to the Pro-Life Campaign, may take the third seat, vacated by Prof Joe Lee who is not seeking re-election.
Prof Binchy said last night he was "very happy to have come up by nearly 2,500 votes on the last time. Tomorrow will be a nail biter".
As the votes were counted, the spectre of legal action remained after it emerged that the postal votes of five Labour and two Fine Gael councillors in the Fingal County Council area were not returned with the required authenticated documentation and were rejected by the returning officer.
The Labour Party's general secretary, Mr Ray Kavanagh, confirmed that they may go to the High Court when counting is completed tomorrow.
Because each voter receives five ballot papers - one for each of the vocational panels - the net loss to Labour is 25 first preference votes. The reduction in voting power could prove critical in the final struggle for places in the 60-seat Upper House.
Mr Kavanagh said his party reserved the right to ask the High Court to rule that the excluded ballots be reinstated even if this effectively involved a recount.
Meanwhile, Mr Norris, a Joycean scholar and a campaigner for homosexual reform, who was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, said his high vote was a recognition of his work rate.
He polled 4,866 first preference votes, comfortably over the quota of 3,344 votes. He was followed by Mr Ross, who had 2,475 votes and Dr Henry with 2,410 votes.