Catherine Connolly, a pro-Palestinian left-wing candidate, gets 63 percent of the vote to defeat her center-right rival.
Published on October 25, 2025
Left-wing independent candidate Catherine Connolly won Ireland’s presidential election, securing 63 percent of the vote to defeat her center-right rival.
Connolly, 68, was officially declared the winner of Friday’s vote after all 43 constituencies finished counting ballots on Saturday evening, hours after Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys conceded defeat.
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“Catherine will be a president for all of us, and she will be my president, and I really want to wish her the best,” Humphreys, who won 29.5 percent of the vote, said earlier in the day.
Polls had suggested consistent and strong voter support for Connolly compared to Humphreys, 64.
Deputy Prime Minister and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris was quick to wish Connolly “all the best”, adding: “She will be president of this whole country.”
“His success will be Ireland’s success,” he posted on X.
Connolly, a former lawyer and independent lawmaker since 2016, has openly criticized Israel for its war in Gaza and has won the support of a number of left-wing parties, including Sinn Fein, Labor and the Social Democrats.
His campaign was particularly popular with young people, who endorsed, among other things, his decidedly pro-Palestinian stance and his commitment to social justice.
Connolly and Humphreys were the only contenders after Jim Gavin, the candidate for Prime Minister Michael Martin’s Fianna Fail party, left the race three weeks before the election due to a long-running financial dispute. Martin had supported Gavin in the race.
Although Irish presidents represent the country on the world stage, host visiting heads of state and play an important constitutional role, they do not have the power to make laws or policies.
Connolly will succeed Michael D Higgins, president since 2011, after serving a maximum of two seven-year terms.
She will be the 10th Irish president and the third woman to hold the position.
