The leftwing independent candidate Catherine Connolly has a won landslide election victory and been declared Ireland’s next president.
She pledged to be a “president for all” after securing 63% of the first preference votes, a stunning result that shook the political establishment and will make her the republic’s 10th head of state.
“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,” she said at Dublin Castle on Saturday night after being declared the victor of Friday’s election.
The 68-year-old former barrister vowed to advocate for those who had no voice. “Our public and democracy needs constructive questioning,” she said, speaking in Irish and English. “Together, we can shape a new republic that values everybody, that values and champions diversity and that takes confidence in our own identity.”
Connolly, an independent member of parliament from Galway, captured the imagination of many younger people and was backed by an alliance of leftwing opposition parties
Of 1,442,698 valid votes cast, she won 914,143. Heather Humphreys, a former cabinet minister who ran for the ruling Fine Gael party, won 424,987 votes, or 29%, in a two-horse race. Fianna Fáil’s candidate, Jim Gavin, had dropped out of the campaign but his name remained on the ballot and he won 103,568, or 7%.
Connolly’s triumph was marred by a turnout of 46% – low by Irish standards – and 213,738 spoiled or invalid votes, an unprecedented number that reflected frustration over the lack of choice. In some Dublin constituencies up to a fifth of votes were spoiled.
The presidency is a largely ceremonial office but Connolly’s victory was a stinging rebuke to the centre-right government.
Anger over a housing crisis and the cost of living, campaign blunders by Fine Gael and its ruling partner Fianna Fáil, rare unity among leftwing parties and deft use of social media combined to make Connolly a symbol of change.
The prospect of Connolly succeeding President Michael D Higgins and serving a seven-year term at Áras an Uachtaráin, the presidential residence, thrills supporters. She wishes to ringfence Irish neutrality from what she calls western “militarism” and has accused the UK and US of enabling genocide in Gaza.
The former clinical psychologist and barrister enthused young people through podcasts and posts that went viral on social media, including videos that showed her doing keepy-uppy. Artists and musicians such as Kneecap and the Mary Wallopers endorsed her.
Critics depicted Connolly as a radical who dodged awkward questions and could damage Ireland’s relations with Washington and with its European allies.
Irish presidents traditionally played quiet, symbolic roles, but since 1990 Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese and Higgins have turned the office into a more visible platform.
Connolly said during the campaign that she would respect the limits of the office, which some interpreted as a tacit promise to rein in controversial views, but analysts predicted friction with the government.
She was a marginal political figure when she declared her candidacy in July, and only small parties – the Social Democrats and People Before Profit – backed her. Labour then endorsed her, and Sinn Féin, which had decided to not run its own candidate, threw its formidable resources and electoral organisation behind Connolly.
Celebrities such as Bob Geldof, Michael Flatley, Conor McGregor and others had expressed interest in running for president but failed to win the political backing to get on the ballot.
Fianna Fáil’s candidate, Gavin, was a political novice who withdrew after a financial scandal imploded his campaign.
Fine Gael’s original candidate, Mairead McGuinness, dropped out, citing health problems, so the party turned to Humphreys. The border -county Presbyterian was deemed to have wholesome, mainstream appeal but performed badly in debates.
Higgins, who has been president for 14 years, congratulated Connolly in a phone call. “The president-elect will have the full support of this office as she prepares for her inauguration next month,” he said in a statement.
