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Investigates Investigates Money Diaries The Journal TV Climate Crisis Cost of Living Road Safety Newsletters Temperature Check Inside the Newsroom The Journal Investigates Daft.ie Property Allianz Home The 42 Sport TG4 Entertainment The Explainer A deep dive into one big news story Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Advertisement More Stories Heather HumphreysAlamy Stock Photo Heather Humphreys concedes presidential election and congratulates Catherine Connolly ‘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.’ 2.01pm, 25 Oct 2025 Share options LAST UPDATE HEATHER HUMPHREYS HAS conceded the presidential election and has congratulated Catherine Connolly on her election win. Although the results have yet to be verified, tallies from around the country indicate that Connolly is on course for a significant victory and will become Ireland’s tenth president. In some areas, tallies indicate that there could be more spoiled ballots than votes for Humphreys. Speaking from the Cavan-Monaghan count centre this afternoon, Humphreys remarked that she “got great support” from her home constituency. According to tallies, she gained the largest percentage of votes in her home constituency. She told RTÉ that she extended her congratulations to Connolly on “becoming the next President of Ireland”. “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,” she added. Meanwhile, the former Fine Gael minister said that she and her family received some “awful sectarian” abuse during the campaign. “I would say that I found the piece about sectarianism very difficult,” she said. Advertisement “My family and I, but especially my family, were subject to some absolutely awful sectarian abuse and I was disappointed because as a country I thought we had moved on from that.” She called for a “greater understanding of other traditions in this country” and added that this is ”something that maybe I can contribute towards”. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there and if we’re ever to have a united Ireland we have to respect all traditions.” Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has also sent on his congratulations to Connolly. “She will be President for all this country and for all of us. I wish her every success.” He added that “her success will be Ireland’s success” and thanked Humphreys “for all her effort” and said that he is “proud of her”. Former Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar also sent his commiserations to Humphreys. In a post on X, he wrote: “You stepped into the breach, late in the day, when our candidate withdrew.” This was in reference to the fact that Mairead McGuinness had been due to be the party’s candidate but pulled out of the race on health grounds. “You’ve carried your home constituency where people know you best,” added Varadkar. “You’ve held the Fine Gael vote and some. Hold your head high girl.” Hard luck @HeatherH You stepped into the breach, late in the day, when our candidate withdrew. You've carried your home constituency where people know you best. You've held the FG vote and some. Hold your head high girl.— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) October 25, 2025 Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. 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Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Catherine Connolly Cavan-Monaghan Heather Humphreys Presidential Election News in 60 seconds Catherine Connolly set to cruise to Áras victory as Heather Humphreys concedes 13 mins ago Why the man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl near Citywest can't be named Govt parties 'need to be humble' after FF mess and FG misfire, says Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O’Sullivan 11 mins ago UK Labour Party A month after being sacked from Starmer’s cabinet, Lucy Powell elected deputy Labour leader 41 mins ago PodcastThe Candidate A landslide for Connolly - but the story of this election is protest 46 mins ago Ballot paper smeared with suspected excrement found in Cork count centre Presidential Election From 'symbol of change' to 'nutter': How media outlets abroad are covering Catherine Connolly Catherine Connolly set to cruise to Áras victory as Heather Humphreys concedes 13 mins ago As it happened Áras election turnout quite low as polls near close Dublin city centre Gardaí called as Mary Lou McDonald and canvassers threatened on Dublin street The Morning Lead Ireland's next president: The votes have been cast, but when will we know the offical result? more from us Investigates Money Diaries The Journal TV Journal Media Advertise With Us About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2025 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The Journal supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. 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