General election 2019: Northern Ireland's election in pictures

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) suffered a bruising night of general election results, losing two MPs including its Westminster leader Nigel Dodds.

It was a glum night for the DUP contingent at the Belfast count, including party leader Arlene Foster (centre) and Emma Little-Pengelly (right)

Nigel Dodds lost his North Belfast seat to Sinn Féin's John Finucane while Emma Little-Pengelly was defeated by Claire Hanna of the SDLP in South Belfast.

SDLP party leader Colum Eastwood won Foyle with a thumping majority, while the Alliance Party took North Down and increased its vote share from the 2017 general election by 8.8%.

Here's how the night unfolded, in pictures.

Counting began after the polls closed at 22:00 GMT on Thursday night - the Meadowbank Sports Arena in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, was one of the main count centres

Ballot boxes arrive at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, which hosted counts for the four Belfast constituencies

An electoral officer keeps a keen eye on the votes as they are being counted in Belfast

One of the most anticipated races was between DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds and Sinn Féin challenger John Finucane in Belfast North

In Bangor, the North Down seat was up for grabs after Lady Sylvia Hermon decided not to run for re-election after 18 years as an MP

Early indications were that Alliance's Stephen Farry had polled well in the constituency and was in a dogfight with the DUP's Alex Easton, the favourite for the seat

Alex Easton, centre, was thought to be the most likely beneficiary of Lady Sylvia's decision, but it soon became apparent he would not take the seat

In the end, Stephen Farry won out by about 3,000 votes, having increased his parties vote share by 36%

In Foyle, it was expected to be close - SDLP leader Colum Eastwood (centre right) was aiming to regain the seat for the party after Sinn Féin won it for the first time in 2017

But he cantered home with a huge majority of 17,000 votes over Sinn Féin's Elisha McCallion

The SDLP's good night was completed when Claire Hanna won in Belfast South, taking the seat from the DUP's Emma Little Pengelly - the party now has two Westminster seats after being wiped out in the 2017 general election

Nigel Dodds (centre) came into this election as Belfast North's MP for 18 years - the seat had never been held by a non-unionist

But in arguably the surprise of the night, Sinn Féin's John Finucane won by just under 2,000 votes

The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson was re-elected as MP for Lagan Valley but his huge majority from two years ago was slashed from 19,000 votes to under 7,000

It wasn't all bad news for the DUP who did return eight MPs, including Sammy Wilson in East Antrim

Meanwhile Carla Lockhart took the congratulations from her family after being elected to Westminster at the first attempt - she replaces DUP colleague David Simpson in Upper Bann after he decided against running for re-election

Sinn Féin's overall vote share suffered, with the party losing 6.7% of the share compared to 2017, but it still retained seven MPs, including Órfhlaith Begley in West Tyrone

The final, and closest-run seat, was in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, where Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew waited he hear if she had retained her seat

The UUP's Tom Elliott hoped to regain the seat he lost in 2017 and win his party a seat at Westminster

But, after a recount, the UUP's empty-handed election was confirmed - Michelle Gildernew retained her seat by just 57 votes

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