Ireland elects Catherine Connolly as president in historic coalition victory

By Marina Chauffaille

WASHINGTON— Ireland held its presidential elections on Oct. 24 and Catherine Martina Ann Connolly, a longtime independent legislator from Galway, was elected as the new president, ending Michael D. Higgins’ 14-year tenure.

The presidential election was administered by Ireland’s independent electoral commission under the supervision of the Oireachtas, the nation’s bicameral Parliament. Votes were counted using a single transferable vote system, which allows voters to rank the candidates they like in order, choosing a first choice, second choice, and so forth. If a voter’s first choice does not have enough support to win, the vote moves to their next preferred candidate.

The single transferable vote system is used in several countries that aim for fair and balanced elections. It is the main voting method in Ireland, Malta, and sections within the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland and Scotland. Variations of the system are also used in Australia, New Zealand, and India.

Backed by the coalition of People Before Profit–Solidarity, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, the Green Party, and Sinn Féin, founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith which aided in Ireland’s early independence movement promoting national self-governance, Connolly’s campaign promoted progressive and environmental parties and sought broader representation for working families and stronger public investment in social programs. Her platform also centered on social inclusion, housing reform, and climate resilience. Her administration emphasized stronger tenant protections, expanded renewable energy initiatives, and greater gender representation in politics. She also advocated for Ireland to play a more active diplomatic role within the European Union. She will be sworn in as president next month at Áras an Uachtaráin, which translates to “House of the President,” in Phoenix Park, one of the largest enclosed public parks in Europe.

The historical ties Ireland had with Britain shaped the nation’s modern political traditions, as reflected in Connolly’s presidential inauguration, which included traditional military honors, a formal address to the nation, and the raising of the Irish tricolor over the grounds. Music from the Army Band and the performance of Amhrán na bhFiann, the national anthem, followed the ceremony. Outgoing president Michael D. Higgins transferred the insignia of office before departing Áras an Uachtaráin, marking the presidency’s peaceful transition.

Ireland’s presidency began in 1937 as part of the nation’s first post-independence constitution, drafted to formalize Ireland’s separation from Britain. The country’s first president, Douglas Hyde, a scholar and founder of the Gaelic League, helped preserve the Irish language and cultural identity after centuries of British rule. Later presidents, including Mary Robinson in 1990, Ireland’s first female head of state, and Mary McAleese in 1997, who succeeded her, shaped Ireland’s international image through diplomacy, human rights advocacy, and reconciliation with Northern Ireland.

Ireland’s culture runs parallel to its political process, which developed from centuries of hardship, migration, and renewal. The Irish language, once forbidden under British rule, survived through rural families, poets, and teachers who passed it down by word of mouth. It remains a defining feature of the presidential inauguration ceremony. The Irish language was restored after Ireland’s 1922 independence and teaching it in schools and preserving it in the regions of the west became standard. In these communities, Irish remains dominant in daily life, spoken in markets, classrooms, and public gatherings. Ancestral music such as ballads and instruments central to cultural identity, including the fiddle, tin whistle, and uilleann pipes, were reintroduced into the national voice. Traditional music continues to fill village halls and local pubs, while modern Irish bands blend those rhythms with contemporary instruments to create unique but historically grounded musical expressions.

Literature in Ireland has touched people throughout the world, painting a picture of the country through the decades. In the early twentieth century, James Joyce captured Dublin, the Irish capital, through his characters and dialogue, creating a vivid image of life and its hardships during the period. W. B. Yeats drew on ancient myth and the fight for self-determination to define Irish identity during the struggle for independence. Samuel Beckett explored silence and the limits of expression, while Seamus Heaney grounded his poetry in the land, memory, and the lives of working people. These traditions of speech, song, and storytelling remain visible across the country and directly shape its political structure.