The veteran criminal had opened up a seemingly unassailable lead over rival Marie Sherlock in Dublin Central by Sunday afternoon but there was to be a final twist in one of the stories of the general

The veteran gangster was recently allowed to travel back to Ireland from Spain while on bail for money laundering charges

GANG boss Gerry Hutch has failed to land a Dail seat as a nail-biting election race. The Monk, 61, was a shock contender in Dublin Central constituency and landed 3,098 first preference

Newstalk’s political correspondent Sean Defoe is expecting Gerry Hutch to take the fourth seat adding, “The Monk will be a TD before all this is over”. Further down the tally, Labour’s Marie Sherlock is at 7.4%, Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick at 7.1% and Independent Malachy Steenson is at 4.8%.

It was the most watched podcast in Ireland, a fascinating insight into the man known as The Monk who agreed to be interviewed on his favourite show Crime World.

Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch arrived at the RDS count centre where he was running as a candidate in Dublin Central. Video: Enda O'Dowd

WE’RE PAST THE halfway mark now in terms of the number of seats filled. It’s day two of counting election results to find out who will and won’t be making it in to the next Dáil. The Journal is bringing you live updates throughout the day as counting continues and more candidates are elected and eliminated.

Veteran criminal came close to winning fourth and final seat after getting almost 10 per cent of first preferences

The independent candidate, 61, was seen running away through the Royal Dublin Society car park being followed by the media.