Mary Hanafin has been beaten in her bid to gain Fianna Fáil’s nomination to run in the general election.

The former minister topped the poll in the convention in Dún Laoghaire - but was narrowly beaten on transfers.

Over 130 Fianna Fáil members voted in the constituency convention held in Killiney this evening - with Mary Hanafin topping the poll on the first count.

She held a nine-vote lead over Councillor Cormac Devlin - but based on transfers from Kate Feeney, her unhappy running mate in last year’s local elections, Devlin prevailed to win the nomination - by 68 votes to 64.