More than 700 voters living on the islands off the coast of Donegal will cast their ballots today in the local and European Parliament elections and in the citizenship referendum.
The island citizens traditionally vote earlier than the rest of the State because because of the logistics of transporting ballot boxes to and from the islands. The boxes will remain sealed and guarded until the counting of ballot papers begins on Saturday, according to the Department of the Environment.
Some 554 people living on the island of Arannmore are entitled to vote. Just 20 people are on the electoral register for the island of Gola, with a further 61 on Inisboffin, 142 on Tory Island and six on Inisfree.
The Mayo and west Galway islands will go to the polls tomorrow and those registered to vote on the islands off west Cork will vote on Friday.
Around 860 members of the Defence Forces serving overseas and several hundred diplomatic staff are entitled to a postal vote. The process of distributing ballot papers is already under way.