FORMER SDLP leader Mark Durkan was last night eliminated from the count in the Dublin constituency where he was standing as a Fine Gael candidate.
He has conceded early in the day that he was unlikely to win a seat in the European Parliament, after polling just 16,473 votes.
That was in a constituency where Green Party candidate Ciaran Cuffe topped the poll with 63,849 votes, Fine Gael's Frances Fitzgerald polling 59,067 votes and Fianna Fail's Andrew Barry attracting 51,420 first preferences.
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Independent Clare Daly gained 42,305 votes, ahead of Sinn Féin's Lynn Boylan on 39,387.
"I’m not in here believing I am going to defy the gravity of the exit poll," he told the Press Association.
"But I don't regret running, I've enjoyed the conversations with people across Dublin, I’ve enjoyed it as an experience.
"I've enjoyed listening to the arguments and the ideas of other candidates as well, I have huge respect for a range of other candidates."
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Mr Durkan added that voters cared less about Brexit than domestic issues.
And he said he did not regret standing for the Fine Gael, despite the SDLP having agreed a partnership with the its rival Fianna Fail.
He had previously been talked of as an SDLP candidate for his old constituency of Foyle in any future British general election.
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