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

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

Failed election candidate Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch became a pivotal character in the story of organised crime in Ireland when he masterminded three of the biggest armed robberies in the history of the State.

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

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%.

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

Veteran crime boss Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has called for more gardai to police the streets and make them “clean” again. Hutch (61), who is running for election as an independent candidate in Dublin Central, made the announcement in a lengthy and high quality campaign video released on social media.

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.

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