Close attention will be paid in Roscommon to the performance of former Fianna Fail councillor Mr Tom Crosby when the votes are being counted at the weekend.
Mr Crosby, who made the headlines when he was convicted of assaulting Mr Sean Doherty TD, is being tipped to hold onto his seat, despite being excluded from the Fianna Fail ticket.
The party adopted an unusual selection procedure in the Strokestown area by holding interviews and few were surprised when Mr Crosby, a Tarmonbarry-based publican, was not chosen.
It seems the move may have backfired for Fianna Fail as Mr Crosby is benefiting from a "sympathy factor" and some observers expect him to top the poll in the Strokestown area.
With the cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Mr Brian Mullooly, also a sitting councillor in this area, precluded from contesting the election, Fianna Fail is not expected to repeat its 1991 performance when it took three of the four seats in Strokestown.
In Roscommon also the party has had its difficulties. A decision by Fianna Fail headquarters to add former junior minister Mr Terry Leyden to the ticket over the heads of locally selected candidates proved very unpopular. The three other Fianna Fail candidates all threatened to pull out at one stage.
Former deputy Mr Tom Foxe, a Hospital Action Committee candidate, will also be hoping to hold on to his seat. Roscommon County Council has been controlled by an alliance between Fine Gael and Independents. On the outgoing council, Fine Gael held 11 seats, Fianna Fail 10 seats, and there were five Independents.
This time 49 candidates are battling for the 26 seats, but the level of competition varies greatly across the six electoral areas. In Boyle, 14 candidates are running for five seats, whereas in Castlerea only five hopefuls are in the running for three. Ten of those running across the county are Independents, while there is one Labour candidate and one Green Party candidate, both in Boyle.
The Progressive Democrats are running two, Fine Gael 16 and Fianna Fail 19.
Joining the Fianna Fail ticket in Ballaghaderreen is Mr Paddy McGarry, who has a high profile in the area as a member of the board of the Western Development Commission.
In Boyle, Fine Gael's Mr Frank Feighan, a recent president of Boyle Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Lough Key Forest Park Action Group, is expected to win the first seat for Fine Gael in the town since the early 1980s. Among those bowing out is Independent Mr Paddy Moylan in the Castlerea area, the longest-serving member of Roscommon County Council, who was first elected in 1960.