Irish presidency: Catherine Connolly wins the election decisively, as Heather Humphreys concedes defeat - saying she found sectarian remarks against her 'difficult'

The election of Ms Connolly, which looked unstoppable from the last opinion polls of the campaign and was effectively confirmed as soon as counting began on Saturday morning, has not been formally announced.

But the independent candidate is set to end up with about twice as many votes as Ms Humphreys.

Ms Humphreys told RTE: “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.”

Ms Connolly had the strong backing of Sinn Fein and left-wing parties in the Republic.

Ms Humphreys said she found sectarian comments about her and her family during the campaign “very difficult” and “disappointing”.

“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.”

Ms Connolly said earlier on Saturday that she was “absolutely delighted” with tallies indicating she is the clear victor.

The electorate had the choice between left-wing independent Ms Connolly, former cabinet minister Heather Humphreys and ex-Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, until he withdrew from campaigning three weeks ago.

From early on Saturday, Ms Connolly was ahead in count centres nationwide.

There also appeared to be a significant number of spoiled votes.

Speaking to reporters in Galway earlier on Saturday, 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.”

As ballot boxes opened and votes are sorted ahead of the official count, activists and volunteers observe the process to form unofficial tallies. hese calculations put Ms Connolly on path for victory, with different regions putting that candidate on between 50-75% of the vote.

There were also a significant number of spoiled votes with anti-government messages on them, including “no democracy”, “EU puppets” and “no from me”.

Among the messages on spoiled votes were “Maria Steen”, who failed to get enough nominations to become a candidate, and references to an alleged sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl that sparked anti-immigration demonstrations in west Dublin this week.

Ireland’s deputy premier “sincerely” congratulated Catherine Connolly on “becoming our next president of Ireland”.

Simon Harris, who leads the Fine Gael party that nominated her rival Heather Humphreys, said in a statement that Ms Connolly will be a president “for all this country and for all of us”.

He added: “I wish her every success. Her success will be Ireland’s success.

“Thank you so much to Heather for all her effort. Proud of her.”

DLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has congratulated Catherine Connolly on her election as President of Ireland.

The SDLP MP for South Belfast and Mid Down Claire Hanna warmly congratulated Ms Connolly.

She said: “On behalf of the SDLP, I offer our sincere congratulations to Catherine Connolly on her election as president of Ireland. We also extend best wishes to Heather Humphreys and commend her commitment to reconciliation and to focused dialogue about the future of this island.

“The president of Ireland is far more than a symbolic figure. As well as representing this island on the world stage, past presidents have played a powerful healing role, reaching out to communities across the North and acting as a force for reconciliation and progress.

“The SDLP believes President Connolly can use her term to provide a platform for honest discussion about a New Ireland. This conversation is not going away, and the president has a unique convening role in helping to shape it.”

Ms Hanna added: “We welcome President Connolly’s remarks about her relationship with the North and would urge her to do everything possible to ensure this is the final time Irish citizens here are unable to vote in a presidential election.

“I look forward to meeting President Connolly in the weeks ahead and working with her throughout her term to build a better future for everyone on this island.”

Thanking those who voted for her, Ms Humphreys said: “The campaign was busy and I enjoyed it, I really did. I went to every part of this country, to every county, and I got a wonderful welcome from many, many people.

“And what it did teach me was this is a wonderful country, and we should be very proud of it.

“I’m glad that I took the opportunity in August to go forward. This is democracy and as I said, I really want to wish Catherine all the very, very best.”

She added: “I have no regrets. I stepped up to the plate, and that’s what democracy is about. It’s about people putting their name on the ballot paper, about people going forward. So I have absolutely not one regret, and I’m glad I did it.”

Ireland’s leader of the Social Democrats Holly Cairns congratulated Catherine Connolly.

Ms Cairns said the expected victory is a “seismic moment in our history”.

The Social Democrats were one of a number of parties backing Independent Ms Connolly in the election.

She said: “The momentum behind Catherine’s presidential bid was incredible, growing from a small campaign run by dedicated volunteers to the grassroots movement it became.

“From day one, her message of inclusion, equality and social justice resonated with voters in every corner of Ireland.

“Catherine had a clear vision for the presidency and was determined to speak out on issues that mattered to people – housing, cost of living, disability services, climate action, the Irish language and neutrality.

“Catherine’s considered, focused and compassionate approach to this campaign was hugely impressive.”

Asked about the level of spoiled votes, Ms Humphreys said it was “unfortunate”, adding that the number of candidates in presidential elections may be looked at by the Government.

“What’s next for me? Well I can tell you I intend to go back and enjoy some quality time with family.

“I have a seven-week-old grandson that I really haven’t seen much of and I am very fond of my garden, and I can assure you I have a lot of work to do because I haven’t been there for well over two months.”