Irish President Michael D Higgins has congratulated his successor Catherine Connolly after her landslide election win. The independent TD (member of Irish parliament) secured 914,143 first preference votes (63%) - a record in Irish presidential election history.

Catherine Connolly, Ireland's next president, comes from a large family in Galway and has been married for over 30 years.

The Independent candidate from Galway was the number one choice on 61.4% (17,351) of valid ballots tallied with Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys coming in at 30.99% (8,758) followed by the withdrawn Fianna Fáil contender Jim Gavin on 7.6% (2,149).

Connolly is an outspoken critic of Israel's actions in Gaza and has vowed to use her presidency to be a "voice for peace" in an increasingly uncertain world. She opposes the increasing militarisation of Europe and has warned against a "building consensus" to weaken Ireland's policy of military neutrality.

A third candidate, Jim Gavin, 54, dropped out of the race in early October over an unpaid debt to a former tenant. Though he remains on the ballot, it is almost certain that Ireland’s next president will be a woman.

THE candidates to become Ireland’s next president have been casting their votes after polling stations opened across the country. The race has boiled down to a head-to-head between Catherine

Ireland’s voters are electing a new president, with polls indicating a win for left-wing independent Catherine Connolly, whose campaign was rocked by a last-minute deepfake video purporting to show her retreating from the race.