Catherine Connolly's sweeping victory is a defeat for the Coalition

A little after 7 p.m. on Saturday evening, Catherine Connolly was declared the President-elect by returning officer Barry Ryan with a record-breaking 63% first preference votes after all 43 constituencies had counted their votes. She overtakes Éamon de Valera, who previously held the record with 59% first preferences in 1959. Douglas Hyde and Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh were elected in 1938 and 1974 by political accord and no public vote was held.

Heather Humphreys, the Fine Gael candidate also backed informally by Fianna Fáil, won 29%, with Jim Gavin, who withdrew from the contest but remained in the vote, gained 7%, not enough to recoup Fianna Fáil's election expenses.

The turnout was just under 46%, an increase of 2% on the last presidential election in 2018, in spite of many news reports on voting day emphasising a low turnout.

An online campaign called Spoil the Vote, supported by some in the media, aimed to capitalise on the frustration stemming from the decision made by the two main political parties to direct their members not to endorse any independent candidates. However, while the number of spoiled votes was 12.9%, it was not significant enough to impact on Connolly's victory.  

The result is a resounding defeat for the Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil coalition, whose campaign for Heather Humphreys was largely dependant on smear tactics and the paucity of candidates.

Connolly grew up in a housing estate in Galway, worked as a clinical psychologist and a barrister, and has been a TD since 2016, running as an independent after breaking with the Labour Party. She became the first woman to be elected Leas-Cheann Comhairle, or Deputy Speaker, in 2020.

Having declared her intention to run for President in July 2025, she was endorsed by the Social Democrats, the Green Party, and People Before Profit and the Labour Party, with the exception of some TDs such as Alan Kelly. Sinn Féin's support did not come until about a month before the election, following its decision not to run a candidate. 

Connolly, who became a fluent Irish speaker as an adult, gave her address as President-elect in Irish before switching to English. She raised Ireland's neutrality as one of her enduring principles and stated that she would represent all Irish people, including those who had not voted for her.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were criticised by their members for the leaders' choice of candidates and the selection process.

Paul Murphy told Newstalk that left-wing parties should seize the momentum of the victory and agree on a platform of action on issues such as the Triple Lock, housing and the Occupies Territories Bill with an eye to the next general election.