A full recount of European Election ballot papers in the Ireland South constituency is to get underway on Tuesday morning.
Sinn Féin requested the recount, after only 326 votes separated Liadh Ní Riada and The Green Party's Grace O'Sullivan.
The some 756,000 ballot papers from the 12 county constituency have been stored at Nemo Rangers GAA Club in Cork.
It is expected that the recount will take 28 days to complete, at a cost of some €1m.
Senator O'Sullivan said last week she understood why Sinn Féin requested the re-count, but she was hopeful she could hang on to her lead.
"This is going to draw it out. It will be torturous now; the waiting", she said.
"I would have loved to go home here this evening knowing that I have that fifth seat and no contention - but that is not the case."
"You can understand that when it comes down to a few hundred, an error could have been made".
"At this point in time, I am the holder of the fifth seat. It is my gift at this moment.
"I hope to hold it but we won't know that for some time to come."
All eight seats in Ireland's two other European constituencies have been filled.
