File pic.
Polling has been brisk in the first few hours of the Local and European Elections, across Kilkenny.
From one rural polling station in the south of the county where there was a queue to get in when the doors opened at 7am, to the Kilkenny City where a buoyant 15% turnout was reported before noon.
At the polling station in Shanbough, on the Kilkenny Wexford border, a turnout of almost 10% was reported by 10am. The polling station in Glenmore village was also described as "really busy" this morning, with nearby Listerlin/ Tullogher at 12%.
Meanwhile, in the city, a turnout of 11% was reported at the Scouts Den polling station at 11am and by lunchtime a turnout of 15% was reported at the Lake School polling station.
This is a marked increase on the turnout in the recent referendum poll, which saw a low turnout. A local election will attract much more interest, with election issues of a more local nature. This was highlighted by one observer who credits the busy turnout on the high number of local candidates alongside the wide variety of candidates who are running in this election, from the main parties to independents.
Polling stations opened at 7am and will remain open until 10pm. Stay up-to-date with all the news from today's voting and the election count this weekend on our live blog:
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.