— UPDATE — October 25th, 2025, 19:30
Catherine Connolly has officially won the Presidential race after an evening announcement at Dublin Castle.
In an announcement on Instagram, Connolly said the following: “My message is use your voice in every way you can, because a republic and a democracy needs constructive questioning, and together we can shape a new republic that values everybody.”
— Original article below —
Catherine Connolly is projected to become the tenth president of Ireland after early tallies project an easy victory.
Connolly is projected to become the third female president of Ireland and the first to hail from County Galway. Connolly has been active in politics for many years as a city councillor, TD, and was elected as the first female Leas-Cheann Comhairle in 2020. She ran her presidential campaign as a strong advocate for the Irish language and Ireland’s neutrality.
Humphreys congratulated Connolly on the election victory at 1:57 p.m., and conceded the race.
The Independent candidate, supported and backed by several left-wing parties including Sinn Féin, expressed her glee early in the morning at her local polling station as it became clear she was the frontrunner, saying she was “Absolutely delighted with the result”.
The count began at 9 a.m. this morning with volunteers working at polling stations across the country to sort out the votes as quickly as possible. Pollsters began by sorting out the spoiled votes, which were at an unprecedented amount this year, as some voters intentionally spoiled their ballots to express their dissatisfaction with the limited selection of candidates. In constituencies such as Donegal, 6100 votes (12%) were spoiled.
Early tallies suggested a landslide victory for Connolly.
In Galway East, Laois, and Kerry, Connolly received 63% of votes after a majority of boxes were opened, while Humphreys, trailing behind, had figures lower than 30% across the board.
However, Humphreys received a majority of votes from her home county, Monaghan, where early tallies placed her at 59% of the vote, Connolly at 38% and Jim Gavin at a meagre 3%.
As Connolly’s victory became indisputable, politicians and pundits alike began to spin narratives to explain Connolly’s resounding success. People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy claimed the landslide victory as a victory for the country’s left, indicating that that was “the main story”. He went on to suggest that people had been turned off by “Fine Gael’s negative campaigning” and favoured Connolly’s positive vision for the future of the country.
The official count will come later, and will be shared here via a live update.
