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A serious error has thrown the validity of the Limerick City ballot paper into doubt.

By law, candidates are meant to appear alphabetically by their surname on the ballot, but Sinn Féin’s Maurice Quinlivan and the Irish People Party’s Dean Quinn reportedly appeared ahead of Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea and Soc Dems councillor Elisa O’Donovan.

The error could open the result of the vote to a challenge.

The Limerick returning officer and the Electoral Commission have been contacted for comment.

One of the candidates in the constituency, Fianna Fáil’s Mr O’Dea, said that those “putting the ballot paper together clearly don’t fully understand the alphabet”.

“But at the same time, the photographs are there as well and people don’t just make up their minds from looking at the ballot paper, they make up their minds in advance,” he told the Irish Independent.

Ms O’Donovan said: “It was disappointing to see as I had done a mock-up of the ballot paper to show people how to vote for me.

“The…