Catherine Connolly officially elected as Ireland’s 10th president
By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Cillian Sherlock and Bairbre Holmes, PA
Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly pledged to be a president for all after being elected as Ireland’s 10th president.
The former barrister from Galway, who secured 63 per cent of first preferences, was embraced by the leaders of the left-wing opposition parties that united to back her as a presidential candidate as she arrived at Dublin Castle for the result to be confirmed.
The election was marked by a significant number of spoiled votes, with 213,738 invalid polls nationwide, representing a tenfold increase on the last presidential election in 2018. Among the anti-government messages on them were “no democracy”, “EU puppets” and “no from me”.
Addressing the assembled crowd after being declared the winner, Ms Connolly said: “I will be a president who listens and reflects and who speaks when it’s necessary.
“I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality, a voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change, and a voice that recognises the tremendous work being done the length and breadth of the country.”
“Our whole mantra during this campaign was that we can shape a new republic together, and we can use our voices for those who haven’t the ability, or for whom the circumstances don’t allow it.
“But my message is, use your voice in every way you can, because our public and democracy needs constructive questioning and, together, we can shape a new republic that values everybody, that values and champions diversity and that takes confidence in our own identity, our Irish language, our English language, and new people who have come to our country.
“I would be an inclusive president for all of you, and I regard it as an absolute honour.”
Ms Connolly was elected on the first count, winning 914,143 first-preference votes.
When spoilt votes were excluded, Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys won 29 per cent of first preference votes, while Fianna Fáil’s Jim Gavin, who withdrew from campaigning, won 7 per cent of first preference votes.
Of the 3,612,957 people eligible to vote, 1,656,436 cast their vote in the 2025 presidential election, representing a turnout of 46 per cent.
The electorate had the choice between left-wing independent Ms Connolly, Ms Humphreys and ex-Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, until he withdrew from campaigning three weeks ago.
From early on Saturday, Ms Connolly was ahead in count centres nationwide.