Catherine Connolly, known for her strong leftist stance and previous criticism of Israel as acting like a “terrorist state,” is on the verge of becoming the new President of Ireland. This development follows her opponent in the race to succeed Michael D. Higgins conceding defeat.

The 68-year-old Connolly was in a close contest with Heather Humphreys, a former cabinet minister aged 62, after a third contender, ex-Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, ceased active campaigning three weeks ago, even though his name remained on the ballot.

Upon realizing her impending victory, Connolly addressed reporters in Galway on Saturday, expressing her excitement: “I am absolutely delighted with the result and I want to thank all my supporters.”

She extended her gratitude further, saying, “I actually want to thank everybody—even those who did not vote for me. I understand their concerns about who will best represent them.”

Connolly, who identifies as a “voice for peace” and “unity,” is set to succeed current President Michael D. Higgins, marking a significant moment for those advocating for a united Ireland.

The politician, who speaks Irish and had the backing of Sinn Fein despite being an independent, has been a TD – equivalent to an MP in the UK – for Galway West since 2016. She was previously a member of Irish Labour for 17 years.

A former clinical psychologist and barrister, she has also sparked controversy with her views on NATO and calls for a referendum for a united Ireland, as well as her outspoken comments on Gaza.

Speaking last month on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she ‘utterly condemned’ Hamas and the October 7 attacks but added Israel was behaving like a ‘terrorist state’.

Hard left Irish independent Catherine Connolly, who previously accused Israel of behaving like a ‘terrorist state’, is set to become the new president after her rival in the election to replace Michael D Higgins accepted defeat

A former clinical psychologist and barrister, she has also sparked controversy with her views on NATO and calls for a referendum for a united Ireland, as well as her outspoken comments on Gaza

Ms Connolly, who is set to become the new Irish President, addresses a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside Leinster House, Dublin, last month – she has previously accused Israel of genocide

She continued: ‘[Hamas] were elected by the people the last time there was an election. Overwhelming support for them back in 2006 or 2007. They are part of the civil society of Palestine. We’re reliant on them for figures in relation to the deaths.’ 

‘Both sides have committed war crimes,’ she said. 

Ms Connolly, who has attended Palestine protests in Ireland, also criticised UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer after he stipulated that Hamas could have no role in a new government as he officially recognised Palestinian statehood.

She said: ‘I come from Ireland which has a history of colonisation. I would be very wary of telling a sovereign people how to run their country.

‘The Palestinians must decide, in a democratic way, who they want to lead their country.’

In a post on Instagram this week, she added: ‘Israel have committed genocide in Gaza. The normalisation of genocide is catastrophic for the Palestinian people, and it is catastrophic for humanity.

‘History didn’t begin on October 7.’ 

Her views have earned her support from the notorious Irish-language rap duo Kneecap, whose member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh recently had a terror charge against him dropped on a technicality.

Irish independant Ms Connolly said she is ‘absolutely delighted’ after she emerged victorious in the election to become the nation’s next president (Pictured: Ms Connolly leaving a local school in Galway after casting her vote on Friday)

Catherine Connolly visited Belfast during her Presidential campaign and met with local Palestine and other community groups

Ms Connolly (right) was seen in the company of Syrian militia leader Saed Abdel Al-Aal, who has been linked to war crimes, when she and other parliamentarians visited in 2018 (pictured)

He had been accused of displaying a flag linked to terrorist group Hezbollah at a gig in November 2024. 

In a post on Instagram this week, Ms Connolly called for a ‘border poll’ on Northern Ireland’s separation from the Republic of Ireland, writing: ‘The Good Friday Agreement makes clear that the people alone will decide our future.

‘We cannot delay, deny or obstruct that right. The Irish and British governments should agree a date for a border poll, and begin preparing now to ensure it is inclusive, fair, and respectful of all traditions.’ 

The new ‘pacifist’ President has also been a fierce critic of the EU and frequently opposed referendums aimed at greater integration for Ireland in the bloc. 

And she’s hit out at NATO amid a trend towards rearming in response to the threat posed by Russia and event appeared to compare Germany’s plans to boost defense spending with Nazi militarization in the 1930s.

Long before her presidential campaign she again caused controversy with a trip to Syria in 2018 alongside several other Irish parliamentarians.

Pictures from the trip, which occurred in the midst of the country’s civil war, emerged showing her in the presence of militia leader Saed Abdel Al-Aal, who has been linked to war crimes.

At the time Saed Abdel Al-Aal headed up a group that was supportive of Syrian dictator Assad and advocated for a free Palestine. 

Ms Connolly said at the time the trip was a ‘fact-finding mission’ and she had no control over who approached the group.

Current Irish President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina cast their votes in the election on Friday

Ms Connolly, who speaks Irish and had the backing of Sinn Fein despite being an independent, has been a TD – equivalent to an MP in the UK – for Galway West since 2016

Ms Connolly has attracted criticism for her hard left views on Gaza and previously accused Israel of acting like a ‘terrorist state’

The new President was all but declared the winner after Ms Humphreys conceded defeat on Saturday afternoon, telling Irish broadcaster RTE: ‘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. I have absolutely not one regret.’

But she added that sectarian comments about her and her family throughout the campaign had been ‘very difficult’, adding: ‘My family and I, but especially my family, were subjected to some absolutely awful sectarian abuse and I was disappointed because as a country I thought we had moved on from that.

‘I think there needs to be a greater understanding of other traditions in this country and perhaps that’s something that maybe I can contribute towards because there is a lot of misunderstanding out there and if we are ever to have a united Ireland we have to respect all traditions.’

On Saturday Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns congratulated Catherine Connolly, saying the expected victory is a ‘seismic moment in our history’.

The Social Democrats were one of a number of parties backing Independent Ms Connolly in the election.

She said: ‘The momentum behind Catherine’s presidential bid was incredible, growing from a small campaign run by dedicated volunteers to the grassroots movement it became.

‘From day one, her message of inclusion, equality and social justice resonated with voters in every corner of Ireland.

‘Catherine had a clear vision for the presidency and was determined to speak out on issues that mattered to people – housing, cost of living, disability services, climate action, the Irish language and neutrality.

Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys casts her vote with the help of her one-year-old granddaughter Charlotte at Killeevan Central National School in Newbliss, Co Monaghan, on Friday

‘Catherine’s considered, focused and compassionate approach to this campaign was hugely impressive.’

Tallies at Adamstown count centre in the Dublin Mid-West constituency gave Ms Connolly 73 percent of the valid poll, with a turnout of 43 percent.

But there also appeared to be a significant number of spoiled votes as the first ballot boxes were opened.

The number of spoiled votes in Adamstown, where Mr Gavin is from, appeared on par with the combined vote for Ms Humphreys and the local candidate.

Mr Gavin withdrew from campaigning for the presidency after newspaper reports emerged of a dispute with a tenant some 16 years ago. 

Some of the spoiled votes had messages on them, including ‘no democracy’, ‘EU puppets’ and ‘no from me’.

Among the messages on spoiled votes were ‘Maria Steen’, who failed to get enough nominations to become a candidate, and references to an alleged sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl that sparked anti-immigration demonstrations in west Dublin this week.

Elsewhere, Aontu leader Peadar Toibin revealed he spoiled his vote for the presidential election.

Ex-Dublin football manager Jim Gavin withdrew from campaigning three weeks ago – although remained on the ballot paper

A mural in support of of Catherine Connolly by artist Emmalene Blake on South Dock Road in Dublin

Speaking to reporters at the RDS Simmonscourt count centre, Mr Toibin said: ‘I’m going to be brutally honest with you, and I feel weird even saying this, I spoiled my vote yesterday.’

Mr Toibin said he drew three Xs beside the candidates and wrote in the name of Maria Steen instead.

He said: ‘I felt really strange doing it, I felt in some way that it was nearly wrong doing it, but I had no choice in that ballot yesterday at all.

‘I had no way to exercise a political choice and I wanted to protest that.’

Local Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin in Adamstown said the scale of the vote for Ms Connolly was ‘very, very significant’.

‘A huge Catherine Connolly vote here, an absolute collapse not just of the Fianna Fail vote – and that was to be expected – but of the Fine Gael vote as well, (which is) really remarkable in a constituency where Fine Gael used to have two TDs and currently have a sitting junior minister.

‘And then of course there is a significant number of spoils, you can’t deny that. And what it tells us is there are people out there who are very angry, who are very unhappy.

‘Our job in the time ahead is to try and convince more of those people that there is an alternative, there is a message of hope, and we hear the fact that they are not happy. So there is a job of work to do afterwards.’

The winner of the election will replace Michael D Higgins, a popular poet and former arts minister who has served the maximum two terms in office.

Voting slips are being counted by hand at more than 30 count centres, representing 43 electoral constituencies, across the country.

Ireland uses a system of transferable votes in elections but, with only three candidates on the ballot, there can only be a maximum of two counts.

The final result will be officially declared by presidential returning officer Barry Ryan once all 43 constituencies have completed counting.

The leader of the Irish Labour Party said Ms Connolly has united parties ‘with an alternative vision’.

A ballot box is emptied as counting begins at Adamstown count centre in Dublin

A first preference vote for Independent Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly is pictured during a count in Dublin

Ivana Bacik said left-wing parties could now look at how they can ‘combine together’ and ‘offer a real alternative’ in the next general election.

Speaking at the RDS Simmonscourt count centre in Dublin, she said: ‘It’s incredible to see this result for Catherine. I want to pay tribute to Catherine and her own team who’ve just led from the front right from the start.

‘I’m delighted how enthusiastic the movement has been for Catherine and we’ve really seen that she’s galvanised energy, she’s got a momentum and that was becoming evident over the campaign.’

Asked about the high number of spoiled votes, Ms Bacik said: ‘We do have to take it seriously. We have to look and see what are people’s concerns and why they felt they were not represented by the candidates in this election.’

She added: ‘The level of vitriol directed at people of all political persuasions on some of those spoiled ballots is really alarming to see and I think it means we need to take that anti-democratic threat really seriously.’

In the weeks before polling day, several opinion polls put Ms Connolly ahead of Ms Humphreys by some margin.

Ms Connolly cast her vote at a primary school in Claddagh, Co Galway, on Friday after going for a swim that morning.

She took time after voting to examine students’ essays about the presidency that were pinned to the wall, and to take her elderly aunt, who was in a wheelchair, into the polling station, before cycling home.

Ms Humphreys cast her vote in Newbliss, Co Monaghan, with daughter Eva and one-year-old granddaughter Charlotte.

Mr Gavin withdrew from campaigning after the emergence of a 16-year-old dispute with a former tenant.

The ex-army pilot, 54, who was best known for his role as the manager of Dublin’s record-breaking Gaelic football team, which won five successive All-Ireland Championships, withdrew from the race three weeks before polling day.

It came after a former tenant, deputy editor of the Sunday World Niall Donald, claimed he tried to recover 3,300 euro in overpaid rent from Mr Gavin.

Mr Gavin said he had made a mistake ‘not in keeping with my character’ and repaid the money after his withdrawal.

The move has had serious implications for the Fianna Fail party, which selected him as their candidate, and for its leader, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who championed Mr Gavin.

It also had an effect on the election count as his late withdrawal meant there was not enough time to legally remove his name from the ballot paper.

If he were to win the most votes, he would still be elected as president.

It is a largely ceremonial role which involves hosting heads of state at the president’s official residence, Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park, and other diplomatic and civic engagements.

The president must also consider whether legislation passed by the parliament complies with the constitution, and if they believe it does not, in consultation with the Council of State, they can refer it to the Supreme Court.

In recent years, the Irish presidency has become a more political role.

During his tenure, Mr Higgins said Ireland’s housing crisis was ‘our great, great failure’, that the UN was ‘losing credibility’, and that the Irish state must ‘urgently meet the needs of’, and address the concerns of, the survivors of mother and baby homes.