Ireland's main opposition Sinn Fein looked on course to win the most votes at a general election by the narrowest of margins on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,

Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein appear to be neck-and-neck in an election exit poll released on Friday night, with Sinn Fein attracting 21.1% of the popular vote, followed by Fine Gael on 21% and Fianna Fail on 19.5%. The margin of error in the poll is around 1.4%, so there appears to be nothing between the main parties.

Ireland goes to the polls November 29 in an election dominated by the implications of Sinn Fein's collapsing support and shift to the right.

Promises made by the Sinn Fein pro-Irish unity party to tackle a housing and cost-of-living crisis and stop young people leaving the country have bolstered its popularity ahead of a general election on Friday.

The exit poll put the left wing Sinn Fein on 21.1%, the centre-right Fine Gael of Prime Minister Simon Harris on 21.0% and like-minded coalition partner Fianna Fail on 19.5%. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail pledged ahead of the election to seek to form a coalition without Sinn Fein,

An exit poll in Ireland’s general election suggests the three biggest parties have won roughly equal shares and the country is headed for another coalition government

Ireland's main opposition party Sinn Fein looked on course to narrowly win the most votes at a general election on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,

Ireland is voting in a parliamentary election that will determine the country's next government; voters are selecting more than 170 lawmakers to sit in the Dail.