The general election takes place this Friday in the Republic of Ireland, and while it might not seem quite as vital as last May's Marriage Equality referendum, in the context of the country's future it's hugely important that each voter has their say.

You've no doubt gotten up close and personal with some of the candidates in your area – by being bombarded with 2ft high images of their faces as you make your way home from work – but who exactly should you be giving your votes to?

With Ireland's proportional representation system, you not only pick your preferred candidate, but your second, third, fourth and even fifth most preferred candidates, if you feel like it. And when it comes to number crunching during the count, your number two vote could carry just as much weight as your number one

So it's very important to educate yourself before you head to the ballot box. But unless you're going to meet each candidate in your consituency in person, it's almost impossible to figure out who you match up with best, right?

Well, not quite. Thanks to the joys of the internet, there are actually some seriously simple ways to get informed…

1. Check out SmartVote
SmartVote.ie has done the hard work for you by polling countless candidates and their parties on issues like employment, health, public services and abortion. You're asked 30 questions on different issues, with the option to choose anything from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree' on each one. At the end, you can see which candidates' views most closely match with yours, as well as what you both agree on and what you differ on. So, so handy.

2. Try WhichCandidate
Kind of like a dating app for voters, WhichCandidate.ie asks you to select which issues are important to you (eg. budget, crime, health, housing) before asking your views on each selected issue. Again, you're told which candidates you have a 'good match' with, with a percentage from 1 – 100 per cent showing how closely your views align. Simple.

3. Follow the hashtags
Most candidates have personal Twitter accounts which they've been posting like mad from all month long. But you can also get a more objective view of the general landscape by following hashtags like #GE16, #vote2016, #CountUsIn and #MakeASmartVote. Plus, you're bound to come across a few gems, like this fan of Labour TD John Lyons who knitted him his very own mini-John…

The lovely lady who knitted a mini John Lyons for me #GE16 pic.twitter.com/23hKzn67vp

— John Lyons TD (@JohnLyonsTD) February 24, 2016