Independent Presidential Election candidate Catherine Connolly has said she is "absolutely delighted" with results coming in from count centres so far.
Within minutes of the ballot papers tumbling out of the boxes, the trend became very clear as Ms Connolly was set to be the victor.
Speaking at a count centre in Galway this morning, Ms Connolly thanked her supporters.
"I went to the Presentation school, so I'm absolutely delighted with the result and I want to thank all of my supporters," she said.
"Actually, I want to thank everybody, even those that didn't vote for me.
"I understand their concerns in relation to who will represent them best."
Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys congratulated Ms Connolly earlier as she conceded defeat, adding that Ms Connolly would be "a president for all of us".
"She will be my president and I really would like to wish her all the very, very best," she said, adding that she had "absolutely not one regret".
Follow live: Latest updates from count centres across Ireland
With more than half of count centres returning results from their first counts, Ms Connolly held more than 63% of the vote.
Over 110,000 spoiled votes were recorded by the halfway stage, representing about 13.5% of votes cast in the election.
Galwegians speak of great pride at the election of "friend and public representative" as the next President of Ireland @rtenews @catherinegalway #election pic.twitter.com/7cqx8WpVxr
— Teresa Mannion (@TeresaMannion) October 25, 2025
Connolly supporters celebrating in Galway and beyond
Ms Connolly's supporters have been celebrating her win in her home constituency of Galway West.
She received 90% of first preference votes in her local area of Shantall
After being greeted by Ms Connolly at the count centre this morning, many of her supporters then got ready to board buses to Dublin Castle to be part of the momentous occasion, including her elderly cousin, John Bhabha Jeaic Ó Conghaile from Leitir Mealláin.
"I can't believe my cousin with her roots in Conamara is to become the President of Ireland. Her grandfather is from Inis Bearachain off Leitir Mealláin. One of our own," he said.
His eyes filled up as he said today was a dream come true and he gave a gentle smile as he got ready to head away.
"It's rare I'd be in Dublin but I have to go to and see Catherine's official declaration".
Opposition parties hail Connolly win
A host of senior opposition party figures – whose parties backed Ms Connolly - have hailed her win, with Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty saying he'll be proud to call her the president of Ireland.
He said that her campaign built momentum over and over again and was very much grassroots-led.
He added that his party's decision to back her was vindicated, but he witnessed activists involved with Sinn Féin out working alongside activists from other parties as well as those never involved in politics before.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said that it's hard to find the words to capture how "special this moment is".
She said that ever since she got to know Ms Connolly, she stood out as someone quite special, who is softly spoken and has a presence about her, but when she stands up to speak people listen.
"This campaign is a credit to her," she said adding that congratulated her campaign team and everyone who joined the movement and got involved.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik predicted a "landslide resounding win" for Ms Connolly.
"Today could represent a seismic shift in Irish politics in advance of the next general election," she said.
She said Ms Connolly's leadership and her campaign team have done such an amazing job to get such strong support.
Ms Bacik said there has been support for her vision of an alternative Ireland based on a politics of equality and solidarity.
Fine Gael General Secretary John Carroll also congratulated Ms Connolly saying it is "very clear cut now that she'll be elected".
Aoife McGowan, the National Coordinator of the Youth for the Connolly campaign, said many students were "excited" to get out and talk about her candidacy.
Ms McGowan, who is a UCD student, said Ms Connolly had a vision for a "new and more progressive Ireland".
Speaking to RTÉ's Colm Ó Mongáin, she said the situation in Gaza "played a massive role in youth support".
"Catherine has been one of the most outspoken supporters of the Palestinian people in the Dáil and more generally, and I think a lot of people were very excited to get out and canvass for someone who was a champion of the Palestinian people," she said.
"Even people who weren't involved that were just getting leaflets or just speaking to on the street were very interested in her position on Palestine and her being such a strong, outspoken supporter."
