Herald Opinion: A President for all the people
It was a thumbs up for Catherine Connolly from MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan and his daughter Isabelle at the count centre in Roscommon. Pic: Gerard O'Loughlin
The people of Roscommon Galway, like the rest of the nation, have put their trust in Catherine Connolly.
Across the constituency 17,258 people, from a total valid poll of 27,147, put their faith in her.
The sheer scale of the Independent left-wing candidate’s victory was evident from once the first boxes were opened and the tally figures began to emerge.
By the biggest margin of any Irish presidential candidate in history Catherine Connolly is on her way to the Áras.
The reasons why she did so well are being analysed by the experts. Thousands of column inches have already been written. Some will put it down to the low turnout. Others will analyse the record number of spoiled votes. But whatever the reasons behind her landslide victory the people have spoken, well at least those who voted have spoken.
There is no doubt but that she ran an effective campaign. There is an argument that because there were only two candidates in the race and such was the level of apathy among the public that the election was hers to lose. But this should not detract from the scale of her achievement.
Up and down the country she seemed to have reached young voters and her message resonated with them.
Her vision for her presidency seemed to be clear and voters, many fed up with traditional politics decided what had they to lose by voting for her. A fresh voice. A voice of change.
Even those who do not subscribe to her ideology obviously gave her their vote, perhaps as a way of sending a message to the political process that had robbed them of choice on the ballot paper.
The campaign to spoil your vote also resonated with people, and with 3,715 spoiled votes in this constituency alone they chose not to listen to those who warned that spoiling a ballot was a wasted vote; that what they were doing was a meaningless gesture; and even a kick in the teeth to democracy itself.
Over the next few weeks and months the political parties will have to take note of the message the electorate sent, but for now the country looks forward to a new landlady at the Áras who has promised to be a President for all the people.
