Independent TD Catherine Connolly has been elected Ireland’s 10th president in a landslide victory, winning 63 per cent of the vote.
The Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys won less than half that figure, with 29 per cent of the first-preference vote.
Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin, who ended his campaign in early October but whose name remained on the ballot paper, took 7 per cent of the vote, the party’s worst-ever performance.
Turnout was higher than expected at 46 per cent, exceeding the 2018 presidential election, though this seems to have been driven in part by a campaign to encourage people to turn out and spoil their votes.
Pat Leahy takes us through his top three points on the presidential election and the outcome of the vote. Video: Dan Dennison. Photograph: Niall Carson
Spoiled votes came in at almost 13 per cent, multiples of the usual level, as a larger-than-typical number of voters expressed dissatisfaction at the limited choice of candidates on the ballot and the nature of the campaign.
Just 1 per cent of votes were spoiled in the 2018 presidential election.
Catherine Connolly and her husband Brian McEnry embrace fellow candidate Heather Humphreys on stage at Dublin Castle. Photograph: Alan Betson
Catherine Connolly is congratulated by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris on stage at Dublin Castle. Photograph: Alan Betson 
Catherine Connolly arriving at Dublin Castle on Saturday evening. Photograph: Alan Betson
Speaking after her election was formally declared at Dublin Castle last night, Ms Connolly said she would be a president for all, including those who voted for her and those who didn’t.
She said she would “speak out when necessary”, specifically mentioning Ireland’s neutrality, and said she would “raise my voice”, citing her campaign promises to “shape a new republic together”.
“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, that values and champions diversity, and that takes confidence in our own identity, our Irish language, our English language and the new people who have come to our country,” she said.
“I will be an inclusive president for all of you and I regard it as an absolute honour the vote I have been given and I will represent you nationally and internationally to the best of my ability and as professionally and humanely as possible.”
Catherine Connolly wins the presidency on a disastrous day for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil
Ms Connolly (68) is the third woman to be elected president after Mary Robinson in 1990 and Mary McAleese in 1997.
A clinical psychologist and barrister, the Galway politician entered politics in the late 1990s and was elected to Galway City Council for the Labour Party in 1999.
She served as mayor of Galway in 2004.
[ The winners and losers of the presidential electionOpens in new window ]
Ms Connolly left Labour in 2006 after being blocked by the party in her bid to join Michael D Higgins, then a Galway TD and the man she is succeeding as president, as his running mate in a bid for a Dáil seat in 2007.
She was elected to the Dáil as an Independent TD in 2016.
In 2020 she became the first woman elected the Dáil’s leas cheann comhairle or deputy speaker, bringing her a higher profile in recent years.
The final result in Friday’s presidential election never appeared to be in doubt from shortly after the ballot boxes were opened.
Ms Humphreys conceded early, telling reporters at the Cavan-Monaghan count centre: “I want to congratulate Catherine on becoming the next president of Ireland.
“And can I just say that Catherine will be a president for all of us, and she will be my president, and I really would like to wish her all the very, very best.”
Heather Humphreys speaks after the result was called on Saturday night. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Asked about her decision to stand, she said: “I have no regrets. I stepped up to the plate, and that’s what democracy is about. It’s about people putting their name on the ballot paper, about people going forward. So I have absolutely not one regret.”
Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said Ms Connolly would be“president for all this country and for all of us”.
“I wish her every success. Her success will be Ireland’s success,” he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin congratulated Ms Connolly on “a very comprehensive election victory”.
He said Ms Connolly “ran a successful and impactful campaign”.
“The people have made their choice, and I have no doubt Catherine Connolly will serve the country well,” he said.
In a sign of potential fallout in the party over its performance in the election, one Fianna Fáil TD criticised the leadership, saying the campaign has inflicted damage on the party.
Erin McGreehan, who represents Louth, said thousands of the party members were disenfranchised by Mr Gavin ending his campaign.
“The morale is low and grassroots’ support is very worrying,” she said.
She also criticised the party leadership for stating in public that they would back Ms Humphreys, following Mr Gavin’s departure.
Ms Connolly scored a spectacular victory, winning in all constituencies, except Cavan-Monaghan, the home constituency of Ms Humphreys. The Independent TD won many constituencies by large margins.
The Independent TD’s 34-point winning margin is the largest in the history of the presidency, eclipsing the first count victory by her predecessor Michael D Higgins in 2018.
Supporters hailed the result as a game-changer for the left, which united behind her candidacy after she declared as an Independent in mid-July.
As the result unfolded during Saturday, leaders of left-wing parties said her victory was a repudiation of the current Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Coalition Government and a message that a left-led government, without either Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, was possible after the next general election.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald speaking to media at Dublin Castle on Saturday. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald congratulated Ms Connolly and said “the next job is to get Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil out of Government”.
Ms McDonald said she looked forward to further co-operation between the parties of the left.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said: “Change doesn’t stop here.”
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy called for “a major conference of the left to discuss the next steps of continuing and deepening left co-operation”.
President Michael D Higgins spoke to Ms Connolly after her election by telephone.
He congratulated the president-elect on her election “on what is a momentous day for her and her family”.
“The president-elect will have the full support of this office as she prepares for her inauguration next month,” he said.