FP News Desk
Oct 25, 2025
Irish voters handed a major rebuke to the ruling establishment, electing left-wing independent Catherine Connolly as president in a landslide. Connolly, 68, campaigned on economic justice, criticism of Israel’s Gaza war, and defending Ireland’s neutrality against Western “militarism.”
Irish voters looked set to have elected left-winger Catherine Connolly to be the country’s new president, after her only rival conceded defeat Saturday in a contest marred by unprecedented spoilt voting and low turnout.
After hours of counting following Friday’s ballot, Connolly, an independent, was on course for a landslide victory, prompting the centrist Fine Gael party’s candidate Heather Humphreys to congratulate her on “becoming the next president of Ireland”.
But the apparent win by 68-year-old Connolly was marred by a record number of spoilt ballots and other voters failing to turn up, amid frustration at the lack of right-wing options and issues including immigration and crime.
A lawyer and outspoken critic of both the United States and European Union, Connolly’s election to a role with limited political power could nonetheless herald an era of increased friction between Ireland’s largely ceremonial presidency and government.
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