Eoghan Murphy was met with hecklers as he arrived at the count centre in the RDS in Dublin this afternoon.
The outgoing Fine Gael housing minister was met with a hostile response from onlookers at the count centre in Simmonscourt.
The Dublin Bay south candidate looks likely to hold his seat, but he will need transfers from Labour and the Social Democrats.
But in failing to receive enough transfers his Fine Gael running mate Kate O’Connell could unseat him.
Sinn Fein have seen an unprecedented surge in the polls this election.
Ms McDonald said she will talk to all parties about government formation, but she added that she has already been in touch with the smaller parties.
Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar faced down questions about whether they would be open to working with Sinn Fein, with both leaders ruling out doing a deal with Ms McDonald.
But the Fianna Fail and Fine Gael leaders could face pressure to form a coalition government that involves Sinn Fein given the predicted close election result.
