Michelle O’Neill ‘delighted’ with Sinn Féin performance

Sinn Féin northern leader Michelle O’Neill has said she is “delighted” with the performance of her party in the election so far.

Sinn Féin topped the poll in a number of constituencies, with Ms O'Neill topping the poll in Mid Ulster.

“Obviously I am delighted. We did not set out to top the poll - we wanted to return the strongest possible Sinn Féin team. That’s what we set out to do in this election,” she said.

“It’s a good day for democracy when you see that, right across the north, the vote has increased by 10%. Here in Mid Ulster, it actually went up by 14% - it shows that people are motivated by what we fought this election on."

Mrs O'Neill added: “Martin McGuinness acted - we had to have this election, it was a necessary election. I think that people were angry and they voiced their opinion and made sure that they placed their vote, so I think that’s testament to the turnout we’ve had here.”