Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin pulled off a coup thanks to a stoke of luck on Dublin City Council tonight with the election of Independent Vincent Jackson to the position of Lord Mayor.
Fine Gael, Labour and the Greens entered into a pact after the local elections in 2004 to rotate the position, but tonight were shocked to be outvoted by an alliance of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin getting behind Cllr Jackson from Ballyfermot.
Fine Gael group leader Gerry Breen said the pact demonstrates that Fianna Fáil "cannot be trusted when it comes to coalition with Sinn Féin".
Mr Jackson was elected after he was tied on 26 votes with Paddy Bourke of Labour, who was expected succeed Fine Gael's Catherine Byrne. Mr Jackson secured the mayoralty after his name was drawn from a hat.
Labour secured, as expected, the position on Cork City Council this evening. Under the terms of pact involving Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, Michael Ahern was elected this evening.
Another independent took up a mayoralty this evening as Coucillor Laurence "Cha" O'Neill was elected in Waterford.
In Limerick, the Fine Gael / Labour pact held up with the election of Labour's Joe Leddin as 810th Mayor of Limerick unopposed.
Mr Leddin was returned despite internal feuding within the party which threatened to disrupt the pact.
His late uncles Frank and Tim also served as mayors of Limerick.
In Sligo, Fianna Fáil's Tom MacSharry, nephew of former EU Commissioner Ray MacSharry was elected Mayor.
The 32-year-old solicitor was elected thanks to a Fianna Fáil / Labour pact on the Borough Council which saw him comfortably beat Sinn Féin's Chris MacManus and Fine Gael's David Cawley.