Live: Connolly could win presidency by largest ever margin, Humphreys concedes

James Cox and Ellen O'Donoghue

Counting started at 9am in the presidential election.

• Boxes are being opened across the country, as the counting of votes in the presidential election gets underway.
• Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys has conceded defeat.
• Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has congratulated Catherine Connolly.
• Tallies should give us an idea by mid-morning whether there is indeed a clear win for independent Catherine Connolly, but a first count result won't come until this evening.

6pm

Heather Humphreys has won her home constituency, taking 58.75 per cent of first preference votes. Catherine Connolly took 38.33 per cent, and 10,802 votes separated the two candidates.

Ms Humphreys served as a TD for the constituency from 2011 until 2024.

5.50pm

After previous reports saying Taoiseach Micheál Martin would not be in Dublin Castle for the declaration of the vote this evening, a spokesman has since told The Irish Times that he will be there.

Mr Martin's absence was put to Tánaiste Simon Harris earlier on Saturday, while Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns said she was “surprised” that the Taoiseach was not in Dublin Castle and that it wasn’t too late for him to change his mind.

A spokesman for Mr Martin said he had been due to be on RTÉ's Six One News but could not do both that and travel to Dublin Castle in time, so had pulled out of the news appearance and was now travelling up from Cork, The Irish Times reported.

5.35pm

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said Catherine Connolly needed the support of her party in the presidential election campaign.

With Ms Connolly on course for a decisive victory over Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys, Ms McDonald described the expected result as “stunning”.

Ms Connolly received the support of a number of smaller parties in Ireland.

Sinn Féin, the main opposition party in the Dáil, gave its support to Ms Connolly after deciding not to run its own candidate.

Ms McDonald had described the party’s decision at the time as a “game-changer”.

5.25pm

The electoral commission has said there “will clearly be a need for deeper and further reflection” about why there were so many spoiled ballots in the presidential election.

An Coimisiún Toghcháin said they had been focused ahead of polling day on “getting voters registered and to the polls, and also supporting those who may otherwise have accidentally spoilt their vote, by providing information, education and guidance on voting”.

It added the number of spoilt ballots “is significantly higher than normal and it is clear that some people chose to deliberately spoil their votes”.

5.20pm

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described Catherine Connolly’s expected victory in the presidential election as “stunning”.

Speaking at Dublin Castle, Ms McDonald said: “Today is a stunning victory for optimism and hope over cynicism and negativity.

“It is a victory for the combined opposition over the jaded worn-out politics of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

“I said some time ago, I spoke of a game-changer.

“I think the game changed and it is now going to be our job in active frontline politics to build on the momentum, the hope, the energy that this campaign has generated.”

5pm

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will not be in Dublin Castle on Saturday when Independent TD Catherine Connolly is announced as the winner of the presidential election.

A spokesperson said Mr Martin would be staying in Cork.

4.40pm

The Taoiseach has issued a statement congratulating Catherine Connolly on "what will be a very comprehensive election victory".

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said that "it is very clear she will be the next President of Ireland.

"Catherine ran a successful and impactful campaign.

"She has secured a clear mandate to represent the people of Ireland as Uachtarán na hÉireann over the next seven years," he said.

"The people have made their choice, and I have no doubt Catherine Connolly will serve the country well."

Mr Martin also paid tribute to the other candidates who put themselves forward, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin.

"It takes great courage to put yourself forward for the highest office in the land, and both are people with a long history of public service and community involvement."

4pm 

"The election is now over, the result is very clear, Catherine Connolly will be our next president of Ireland," Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris told RTÉ.

3.25pm

Fine Gael presidential candidate Heather Humphreys said her family was subject to “awful sectarian abuse” during the campaign.

Ms Humphreys, who conceded defeat to Catherine Connolly before the final results are announced, has insisted she has “no regrets” about running.

Ms Humphreys is a Presbyterian who was raised on a rural farm near the border.

She spoke during her campaign for the presidency about how she attended Orange Order parades as a child but stopped going when the Troubles broke out.

She told RTÉ: “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.”

3pm

Cork South Central's official first count figures show that Catherine Connolly has won 65 per cent of the vote  there, with 27,750 votes compared to 29.23 per cent for Heather Humphreys, with 12,111 votes. Jim Gavin won 7 per cent, garnering 3,044 votes. The Taoiseach's constituency was the first to complete its first count.

Dublin South West, Dublin West and Dún Laoghaire also all completed their first counts, with Catherine Connolly getting over 60 per cent of the vote in the first two and a little over 50 per cent in Dún Laoghaire.

In Cork East, Catherine Connolly received 65.18 per cent of the votes, while Heather Humphreys received 28.24 per cent.

Ms Connolly won 68.65 per cent in Louth, with Ms Humphreys receiving 26.26 per cent.

In Offaly, the independent candidate won 62.56 per cent of the vote, with the Fine Gael candidate receiving 28.96 per cent.

2.15pm

Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys has conceded defeat and congratulated Catherine Connolly, who is on course to become the next president of Ireland.

Ms Humphreys told RTÉ: “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.”

Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has also “sincerely” congratulated Catherine Connolly on “becoming our next president of Ireland”.

Mr Harris said in a statement that Ms Connolly will be a president “for all this country and for all of us”.

1pm

First counts of ballots in the presidential election are now underway.

Catherine Connolly will be Ireland's next president after a commanding win.

The Fine Gael director of elections Martin Heydon has conceded defeat as counting continues across the country.

Some first counts could be announced as early as 2pm - but a final result likely won't be known until 5 or 6pm.

Catherine Connolly may come away with the largest percentage win in presidential history, if she can surpass Eamon de Valera's 56.3 per cent of the vote.

She is well above that in many constituencies, and as high as 64 per cent in some places.

The number of spoiled votes looks to be at least 10 times what it was at the last presidential election.

Two hundred thousand or more people may have spoiled their vote.

12.25pm

Counting staff in west Dublin have called the vote for left-wing Catherine Connolly a “landslide”, while also noting the sharp increase in the number of spoiled votes in the presidential election.

In Dublin Mid-West, final tallies indicated Ms Connolly secured 56 per cent of the votes cast, on a turnout of 42 per cent.

Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys was on 15 per cent, with 21 per cent of votes cast spoiled.

Jim Gavin, who pulled out of the race three weeks ago and is from the area, was on 7 per cent.

Local Sinn Fein TD Eoin Ó Broin 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 Fáil vote – and that was to be expected – but of the Fine Gael vote as well.

“Really remarkable in a constituency where Fine Gael used to have two TDs and currently have a sitting junior minister. An absolute collapse.

“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.”

12.15pm

Catherine Connolly is “absolutely delighted” with early tallies indicating she is the clear frontrunner to become Ireland’s next president.

Speaking to reporters in Galway, Ms Connolly said: “I am absolutely delighted with the result and I want to thank all my supporters.

“Actually, I want to thank everybody – even those who did not vote for me.

“I understand their concerns in relation to who will represent them best.” - Press Association

11.50am

There is no doubt that the story of the day is the presidential election, but along with that comes the story of the sheer volume of spoiled votes.

The early picture of tallies seems to back opinion polling, with Catherine Connolly holding an early lead in most constituencies across the country.

The sheer number of spoiled presidential votes could reach unprecedented levels, early tallies have indicated.

Tallies from the Catherine Connolly campaign indicated that they believe there have been around 30,000 spoiled votes so far, and the total figure could end up at around 10 per cent of those who voted, The Irish Times reported.

11.15am

Catherine Connolly is on course to be the next president of Ireland. Votes are still being sorted across the country, but tallies indicate it's one-way traffic.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik has said it looks as though this will be a landslide win for Catherine Connolly, while Fine Gael Minister Helen McEntee has all but conceded defeat for her colleague Heather Humphreys.

Even in Fine Gael heartlands like Dún Laoghaire, Ms Connolly leads. The only constituency in which Heather Humphreys leads is her home patch of Cavan Monaghan.

However, a large number of people have chosen to spoil their vote.

In some Dublin constituencies, there are more spoiled votes than there are votes for Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin combined.

There's no unifying theme behind the spoiled votes - with dissatisfaction being expressed with the choice on the ballot, immigration and the general state of politics in Ireland.

10.22am Boxes opened at 9am and votes are being sorted across the country ahead of counting.

The early picture seems to back up the opinion polling with Catherine Connolly holding an early lead in most constituencies across the country.

But from the boxes already open this morning the story is the sheer volume of spoiled votes across the country.

Those have a series of different motivations and slogans - quite a few people have written Maria Steen's name, Enoch Burke for President has also been recurrent vote.

Some contain anti-migrant messages.

In some early boxes, the number of spoiled votes is significantly higher than the vote for Heather Humphreys.

The volume of spoiled votes will likely delay the result this evening.

Other spoiled votes were less serious - including votes for Brad Pitt and Dustin the Turkey.

While three miraculous medals have been found in a box in Limerick, in an election day staple.

10am Early tallies suggest Catherine Connolly is set for a large victory with Heather Humphreys behind by a ratio of over two-to-one in some constituencies.

Dublin, Kildare, Galway, Meath, Wexford, and Clare all show strong leads for Ms Connolly so far.

9.40am Further reports of a high number of spoiled votes.

9.30am Initial reports from Dublin suggest a strong lead for Catherine Connolly along with a high number of spoiled votes.