Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has contacted the leaders of the Irish Labour Party and Social Democrats following the results of the general election. Fianna Fáil is set to be the largest party in the Dáil (lower house of Irish parliament) after Friday's poll.

Fianna Fáil will be the larger party on 48, while Fine Gael will have 38 seats.In a statement, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin confirmed the contact, while saying that the outcome of the election is “clear”.

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Micheál Martin and Simon Harris are in a tight race to become Ireland’s next taoiseach, leaving Sinn Fein locked out of power, according to the latest general election results.

At one level, the vote was an endorsement of continuity, but the stability in Ireland’s political center ground masked volatility on the fringes.