Catherine Connolly swept to victory in Ireland’s presidential election, defeating center-right rival Heather Humphreys after early tallies put Connolly at roughly two-thirds of first-preference votes. Humphreys conceded as the gap proved insurmountable.

Turnout was around 40% and spoiled ballots surged to a historic level of roughly 13% — a sharp signal of public frustration over housing, the cost of living, and what many voters saw as a thin field of mainstream options that helped fuel Connolly’s surge.

A former clinical psychologist and barrister supported by an unusual left-wing coalition, the 68-year-old Connolly campaigned on social justice and Irish neutrality, emerging as the campaign’s most visible voice on Gaza.

She has said plainly: “Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. The normalization of genocide is catastrophic for the Palestinian people, and it is catastrophic for humanity. I will stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people as long as I have breath in my body.”

About Hamas, she told The Irish Times that it is “not up to” Britain’s prime minister to decide the group’s role, arguing that Palestinians must choose their leaders. She has also accused the UK and the U.S. of enabling what she describes as genocide in Gaza.

Those blunt positions — together with her criticism of the EU’s move toward greater military spending and stark historical comparisons about rearmament — won her fierce support at home and prompted warnings abroad.

Analysts say the largely ceremonial presidency gives Connolly a moral platform to spotlight humanitarian crises, but her rhetoric could also create diplomatic tensions with European capitals and Washington at a time when Ireland’s economy remains closely tied to transatlantic partners.