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(Foireann Gaeltachta The Journal a chuir an scéal seo ar fáil. Tá leagan as Gaeilge anseo.)
AS IN THE rest of the country, and more so in some places, Gaeltacht voters have shown their support for independent candidate Catherine Connolly, and it is almost certain that the Galway West TD will be elected President before the end of today’s day of counting
According to reports coming in from counting centres around the country, around 60% of votes in Gaeltacht boxes are going towards Connolly and less than half of that has been cast for Heather Humphreys.
It was difficult to get a full tally in any constituency because Fianna Fáil activists – who were left without a candidate when Jim Gavin withdrew his name earlier this month – were not present at the counting centres as they have been in other elections. This left the other parties short of people to monitor all the boxes as the votes were being poured out and counted.
As an offiicial first count was being awaited in Connolly’s own constituency, Galway West, tallies showed that Connolly had about 70% – or 31,433 votes - according to the tally 99% of the ballot boxes. Humphreys received 16.5% (7393) and Gavin was on 4.4% (1965). 8.9% (3965) of the votes were spoiled.
In other constituencies with Gaeltacht communities the picture was much the same. In Mayo, after the majority of votes were counted, Connolly had 28,039 and Humphreys 11,957. It looked as if the Fianna Fáil candidate – on 2,596 – would not reach the 12% needed to recover his party’s expenses.
In Meath West which contains the Gaeltacht community of Rath Chairn, the Independent TD received 15,477 according to the count, Gavin 1684 and Humphreys 7,015. 4,560 (16%) votes were spoiled
Connolly received a higher share in Rath Chairn itself, where she gained 64%, Humphreys gained 22% and Gavin was left with 4%. A tenth of the votes were spoiled
In the southern Gaeltacht communities, Connolly won the majority of the votes, with the exception of a few areas here and there.
In Kerry, Connolly received 28,807 votes while Humphreys was preferred by 13,568 voters with Gavin getting 3,364 number 1w. 13.4% of the votes were spoiled. Strong votes for Connolly were noted in Ceann Trá and other areas of Cork a week after she was there to launch her Irish language policy for the Presidency.
According to a report by Nuacht TG4 journalist Marian O’Flaherty from the county centre in Killarney, Connolly received more votes than Humphreys in Kilgarvan, the heartland of the Healy Rae political dynasty. Michael Healy Rae was at the forefront of the Ministers of State who pledged support for Humphreys and this vote against his preferred candidate will be noted far beyond the boundaries of that parish.
While there were strong votes for Connolly in Cork North West (which includes Múscraí) and Cork South West (Oileán Cléire), there were some exceptional results. In Muskerry, for example, 38% voted for her in Cill na Martra and 34% for Humphreys. She received 15,610 votes in Cork North West and 10,120 preferencesin Cork South South West Cork.
In Waterford, home of Gaeltacht na nDéise, the majority of voters were for Connolly, where she received almost 70% of the votes, according to the tallies. The outcome was similar in Donegal with Connolly attracting 33,286 votes against 9,316 for Humphreys.
Speaking this morning before travelling from Galway to Dublin, Connolly stressed that the vote she received was a vote for a movement when speaking to Nuacht TG4.
What I’ve heard is that people are looking to me for hope – I’ll put the emphasis back on the people saying – you have the power, I’m just a symbol of a new movement.
Before travelling to Dublin for the official declaration of results, An Taoiseach Mícheál Martin posted a congratulatory message on social media.
Statement by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Presidential Election. pic.twitter.com/wRmtV5W8jG
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) October 25, 2025
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Tá tacaíocht á fháil ag Beartas Gaeltachta The Journal ón Scéim Tuairiscithe ar Dhaonláthas Áitiúil
Written by Concubhar Ó Liatháin and posted on TheJournal.ie
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