Ireland braced for weeks of political uncertainty Monday after an earth-shaking election that saw the Irish Republican Army-linked party Sinn Fein long shunned by its bigger rivals take the largest share of votes.
In a surge that upended Ireland's traditional two-party system, the left-wing nationalist party beat both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, the centrist parties that have governed Ireland since it won independence from Britain a century ago.
The vote in Saturday's election essentially split three ways, complicating the negotiations on forming a government that lie ahead.
