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LAST UPDATE | 24 Oct
VOTERS HEADED TO the polls today to cast their ballots in the presidential election.
Polling stations across the country have been open since 7am and will close at 10pm.
If the opinion polls are anything to go by, Catherine Connolly will be replacing Michael D Higgins as Uachtarán na hÉireann, with support for the Independent candidate far ahead of her Fine Gael rival Heather Humphreys.
But, as we all know, the only poll that counts is the election itself, and Humphreys is still in the race.
An unusual feature of this election is the fact that Jim Gavin, who withdrew from the contest earlier this month, is still on the ballot paper. How much support will Fianna Fáil’s zombie candidate get?
We brought you the latest throughout polling day.
With updates by Mairead Maguire, Andrew Walsh, Jane Moore and Lauren Boland.
Good morning!
Polling stations are open across the country for voters to cast their ballots in the presidential election.
We’ll be bringing you all the updates here on The Journal throughout the day.
Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys was up early to encourage voters to give her their number one.
The polls are open!
— Heather Humphreys (@HeatherH) October 24, 2025
You have until 10pm to vote. All you need is a valid photo I.D, but bring your polling card if you have it.
Vote No.1 Heather Humphreys pic.twitter.com/WHZ4vDeCSD
Meanwhile, Independent candidate (and favourite to win) Catherine Connolly released a statement calling on people to turn out and make their voices heard.
“This is your day – a day when every citizen is equal, and every vote carries the same weight. The choice is now in your hands. Use that power. Don’t leave it to others to decide the kind of Ireland we will be,” she said.
In a veiled reference to the Fine Gael campaign, Connolly said there had been ”plenty of attempts to distract from the real issues that face our people”, adding that her campaign was about the people of Ireland and she was “proud that we have built something based on hope and conviction, not fear or cynicism”.
She concluded: “Let’s show that Ireland still believes in fairness, honesty and hope – and that together, we can shape a better future for all our people.”
The polls are open.
— Connolly for President (@catherinegalway) October 24, 2025
Vote Catherine Connolly #1 pic.twitter.com/0zGpdzZtdT
You may have already cast your vote – like this gentleman, who braved the rain in Athy early this morning. If you have, then you’re all set.
But if you haven’t, we have a handy guide on everything you need to know as you go to your polling station.
The presidential election is a two-horse race. Well, sort of.
There will actually be three names on the ballot paper: Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys, and Jim Gavin.
While Fianna Fáil’s candidate did withdraw from the campaign, he did so after the cut-off point, meaning his name is still on the ballot whether he likes it or not.
So what does a number one vote for Jim Gavin mean? Will his transfers be distributed to the other two candidates? What happens if he actually wins the election?
Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys has arrived at Killeevan Central National School in Newbliss, Co Monaghan to cast her vote.
She’s joined by her daughter Eva, her one-year-old granddaughter Charlotte and an Irish Wolfhound called Peig.
Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly has told The Journal that the party’s decision not to hold an internal contest to select a candidate was “a big, big mistake”.
A lot has happened in the campaign in the last few months, so you may well have forgotten that it was Mairead McGuinness who was initially nominated to contest the election for Fine Gael.
Following her shock announcement that she was withdrawing due to illness, Kelly and former minister Heather Humphreys put their names forward to seek the nomination.
But it soon became clear that Humphreys had the party’s backing when members quickly came out publicly declaring their support for her. Kelly subsequently pulled out, saying it was clear he was not going to receive the necessary 20 votes from the parliamentary party.
Speaking to our Political Editor Christina Finn, he said that the way he was put back in his box by the party was the lowest point in his political career.
It was a calm start to polling day in Leixlip, Co Kildare this morning.
Just a few cars were parked outside the local polling station at 8am, most belonging to staff rather than voters, according to one volunteer.
“We’re expecting more later,” they said, adding that only a handful of early-bird voters had trickled in during the first hour.
A cool cloudy & damp start this morning as scattered showers drift across the country☁️☔️
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) October 24, 2025
Sunny spells will break through later this morning as a fresh northerly breeze clears away any remaining showers🌥️⛅️
Becoming cloudier later this afternoon☁️ with high temps of 9 to 12 C🌡️ pic.twitter.com/B44ChOa8Y8
There was a rainy start to polling day, but the sun has come out in Dublin – and the sunny spells are set to last for most of the country for the next few hours, according to Met Éireann.
However, cloud and rain are due to move in across the north and west during the late afternoon and evening.
So if you’re in a position to get out and cast your vote now, it might be wise.
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy has cast his vote.
I voted for the hope offered by Catherine Connolly, not the fear campaign of FG.
— Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) October 24, 2025
Get out to vote by 10pm to take an important step to real change - kicking out FF/FG and having a left government that serves the renters, not the landlords and the workers, not the corporations. pic.twitter.com/uCVAeik5DD
Voters have been slow to take to the polls in Cork this morning.
At 8.30am, turnout in Cork South West and Cork East was at 1.8%. It was even lower in Cork County, at 1.7%, and lower again at 1.6% in Cork North West.
There were more early risers in Cork North-Central and Cork South-Central, with turnout there at 3% and 3.6%, respectively.
In some very good #dogsatpollingstations content, here’s Gareth Keogh arriving to cast his vote in Dublin 8 this morning with his gorgeous dogs Cinsault and Pino in tow.
Have you got any pictures or videos of dogs at polling stations? Send them to tips@thejournal.ie with ‘Dog at Polling Station’ in the subject line.
Incumbent President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina have been out this morning to cast their votes.
They voted at the St Mary’s Hospital polling station in the Phoenix Park, a stone’s throw from the Áras.
We have some turnout figures for Waterford as of 10.30am.
Around 7% of voters have been to the polls in Waterford city, 8% in the Tramore area, and between 5% and 6% in the Dungarvan area.
And here’s how turnout in Dublin city was looking as of 9.30am:
And here’s how turnout is looking around Meath as of 11.30am:
In the Navan area specifically, here’s how the polling stations are doing:
And here’s how turnout is faring in Kerry this morning:
Turnout in Kerry as of 10.30am - Killarney leading the pack while Listowel is the quietest so far:
— Lauren Boland (@laurenanna_1) October 24, 2025
Tralee - 5.2%
Listowel - 4%
Kilgarvan - 6.3%
Killarney - 8%
Killorglin - 4.87%
Dingle - 7%
Castleisland - 4.2%#Aras25 @thejournal_ie
It’s been a slow enough start at most polling stations so far, but that’s not surprising – things usually pick up more later in the day.
We’re heading into the afternoon now so we’ll know in the next couple of hours whats parts of the country see the biggest lunchtime rush on the polls.
Here’s how turnout stood in Mayo as of 12pm:
Turnout at Mayo polling stations this morning - highest in Mulranny, where 12% have cast their vote so far#Aras25 @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/AiYsMYSIdY
— Lauren Boland (@laurenanna_1) October 24, 2025
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has cast her vote.
The party was slow during the summer to declare its intentions heading into the election but ultimately rowed in behind Catherine Connolly.
We have an update for you on the turnout in Dublin city, where there’s been a decent jump since the numbers from this morning we shared with you earlier. It’s now at:
Meanwhile, in Offaly, here’s how things stood as of 12.30:
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary have voted in Cork.
Martin, the leader of Fianna Fáil, pledged his support to Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys after his own party’s pick Jim Gavin pulled out.
🗳️ I voted with Mary this morning in Ballinlough, Cork.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) October 24, 2025
We cherish our democracy, where every voice counts. I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to vote and be part of it. pic.twitter.com/hQzByUqjkM
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the turnout at polling stations Galway East and Galway West.
Galway West, of course, is the constituency where Catherine Connolly is a TD.
We have some more turnout figures from polling stations this afternoon.
Meath:
Meath East – 9.8%
Meath West – 10.3%
Donegal:
Donegal Town - 10.3%
Letterkenny - 11.7%
Stranorlar - 9.1%
An Falcarrach - 8%
Waterford:
East Waterford – 10.4%
Waterford City – 11%
Dungarvan Rural – 11.63%
Dungarvan Urban -11%
Tramore Rural – 15%
Tramore Urban – 10%
Gaeltacht area Scoil Naisiunta Baile Mhic Airt – 8%
Halla Pobail Na Rinne – 14%
Limerick:
Milford Castletroy – 9.5%
Patrickswell – 9%
Our Lady of Lourdes Rosbrien – 11.9%
Newcastle West 8% and 9.7% (two schools)
St Pauls Dooradoyle – 11.5%
Bruff – 9.7%
Raheenagh – 8.1%
Cappamore – 12.9%
Oola – 10%
As of 12.30pm, the estimated national turnout was 10.6%, according to Ireland Votes.
Ireland Votes is estimating that that the national turnout at 12:30 is 10.6%
— Ireland Votes (@Ireland_Votes) October 24, 2025
Follow our LIVE blog for turnout updates: https://t.co/lhCzC2vgin#Aras25 pic.twitter.com/52Pl4eOZVY
As we all know, one of the best parts of any polling day is seeing dogs at polling stations.
In keeping with that time-honoured tradition, here’s Johnny keeping warm outside Holy Family National School in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin.
If you have any pictures of dogs at polling stations, please send them to tips@thejournal.ie with ‘Dog at Polling Station’ in the subject line and we’ll share them here.
A number of other party leaders have now cast their vote.
Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik cycled to her local polling station this afternoon.
We’ve got some more early turnout figures in from Meath as of 3.30pm.
It appears that turnout is faring well so far in Meath East – at 1pm, the turnout figure was at 9.84%.
Here’s how the turnout is faring across Limerick locally:
Here’s little Lily at a polling station in Midleton, Co Cork this evening.
Her owner says that she is “patiently waiting to cast our vote for Catherine Connolly”.
Keep the cute dog pictures coming people!
Here’s Dolly Costello voting with her owner (Edel Costello) at 7.45am today before work.
“Dolly says don’t forget to vote!”
We’ve got some updated turnout figures from Cork as of midday.
Turnout in Cork South West and Cork East stands at 10.2% and 9.5% respectively.
Cork County turnout is hovering around the same at 9.9%, and it is slightly higher (10.3%) Cork North West.
Cork South-Central is currently boasting the highest turnout, standing at 11.7%. Cork North-Central and Cork City are currently at 9.9% and 10.7% respectively.
Total turnout for Co Cork so far is 10.3%.
More figures again from Kildare, which as of 3.30pm appears to be boasting some of the highest turnout rates so far.
Here’s how the turnout is looking across Co Kildare:
And there’s more turnout figures from Mayo as of 4pm, where there has been a signifcant jump in the numbers.
Urban
Rural
Like other counties, the figures are finally starting to rise across Kerry too.
As of 4pm, here’s how the turnout looked there:
They’re coming in quickly now – here’s the latest turnout figrues from Galway.
A lot of polling stations have finally received a turnout of over 20% so far.
Let’s break up the latest turnout figures with some more dogs shall we?
Here’s Reggie and Ted en route to the polling station.
“Unfortunately they were feeling particularly giddy today and had to stay in the car,” their owner said.
More turnout figures – we’re going to Offaly again, where the figures have signifcantly jumped since this morning.
Here’s the breakdown:
We’ll head to Roscommon and Galway next, where the turnout figures have also been steadily increasing since this morning.
Here’s how the figures were looking as of 5pm across the region.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald was among canvassers threatened on a Dublin Street today.
Gardaí were called over the incident, which happened at around 4pm on the city’s northside while McDonald and others were canvassing for people to vote in today’s election.
A video cirulating online shows canvassers standing between McDonald and a man who was verbally abusing her and other members of the group.
He also threatened to hit McDonald and others.
We’ve got more turnout figures from Waterford.
In Waterford City, the turnout has risen to somewhere between 23% to 25%, according to officials.
In Dungarvan, turnout stands at 27%, while in the Gaeltacht areas (An Rinn) it stands at around 24%.
Rural Dungarvan is at 25.3%, and Tramore’s turnout stands at 15% to 18%.
Here’s Harvey Kinkle Shannon preparing to cast his ballot in St. Canice’s in the Dublin North constituency this afternoon.
Harvey wishes to keep his voting preferences private.
Across Co Donegal, the turnout remains low though it has picked up a good bit since earlier this afternoon.
Donegal Town – 25%
Letterkenny – 24%
Buncrana – 19%
Stranorlar – 21%
An Fal Carrach – 20%
And some more turnout figures from Co Limerick.
Patrickswell 29%
Caherdavin 28%
Adare 28%
Murroe 25%
Bruff 25%
Herbertstown 23%
Knicker 21%
Hospital 17.5%
Doon 18%
Oola 16%
As of 5.30, here’s the situation in Co Kerry.
Tralee 23%
Listowel 15.5%
Kilgarvan 19%
Killarney 29%
Killorglin 23%
Dingle 25.5%
Castleisland 22.7%
Caherciveen 16%
Meanwhile, across Carlow/Kilkenny the overall turnout is 22% and 23% in Co Wexford.
The next update in Dublin won’t be available until 8pm, but as of 4.30pm, here’s the state of play.
Dublin North West: 18.5%
Dublin Bay North: 28.8%
Dublin Central: 22.25%
Dublin Bay South: 19.40%
Dublin South Central: 21.25%
After a glut of turnout figures, here’s some spooky pets who accompanied their owner to vote in Rathfarnham.
Their names are Woodie and Alfie.
And now back to the numbers, where there has been a good turnout in some places in Kildare as of 5.30pm.
Celbridge 50%
Athy 42%
Clane 28%
Kildare Town 24%
Leixlip 30%
Rathangan 25%
Kilcock 33%
Newbridge 25%
Maynooth 29%
Kill 28%
Naas 33%
Sallins 27%
And in Co Cork, the returning officer has provided this handy table:
We reported earlier that Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald was among canvassers threatened by a man on the street in Dublin city centre.
We can now confirm that a woman was subsequently brought to hospital for medical examination.
We also have more detail from a video circulating online that is said to be from the incident.
A man can be heard saying: “Slap the phone out of my hand, you’ll get a slap in the face.”
He later says: “I’ll give her another bleeding slap.”
He shouts various names at individuals, such as “f*cking animal,” “bleeding tramp,” and “poisonous c*nt”.
He also used a transphobic slur multiple times.
Read the full story here.
We’re getting the first turnout figures as of 6pm.
In Meath West, turnout is 27.24%. That’s up from 13.5% at 3.30pm.
Meanwhile, Meath East is now at 22.5%, up from 18.07%.
It’s a tranquil scene at Dublin Castle this evening.
But tomorrow, swathes of politicians, journalists and Electoral Commission staff will descend upon it.
We’ll get results for individual constituencies from count centres around the country as they’re verified, but St Patrick’s Hall in Dublin Castle is where the Central Count Centre is – and where the overall national result will be announced.
We asked for your photos of dogs at polling stations, and you delivered!
Evelyn said: “This is our dog Fergal deep in thought over who to give his first preference to at Clontarf polling station this morning.”
And here is Púca (what a perfect name)! He was out voting in Good Shepherd National School, Dublin 14.
Well folks, there are only three hours left until polls close.
Turnout is ticking upwards slowly. If you still haven’t gotten out to vote, here’s a handy guide.
Google has even styled itself for the occasion.
As of 7.30pm, only Killarney in Co Kerry has seen a turnout of over 40%, sitting at 42%.
On the other end of the spectrum in the county, Listowel has a turnout of a lowly 24% as of 7.30pm.
Tralee – 32%
Castleisland – 35.7%
Dingle – 38%
Killarney – 42%
Killorglin – 37.5%
Listowel – 24%
Caherciveen – 29.7%
Kilgarvan – 31%
Meanwhile, Freya went voting at the Muslim National School in Dublin 14.
She’d prefer if President Higgins stayed in, to keep the Bernese mountain dogs in power.
Some more turnout figures and it follows the lowly trend already seen elsewhere.
As of 7pm in Co Mayo, a polling station in Westport has the highest turnout on 38%, while a polling station in Drumgallagh is on a lowly 16%.
And here are the latest figures coming from Dublin, as of 8pm.
Dublin North West: 29.50%
Dublin Bay North: 44.00%
Dublin Central: 32.00%
Dublin Bay South: 27.00%
Dublin South Central: 33.35%
Some lucky voters in Co Tipperary have been treated to apple or rhubarb tart and a cup of tea or coffee after casting their ballot inside a sitting room being used as a polling station.
In Coolmoyne in South Tipperary, around 250 people are eligible to vote and they’re well used to voting inside someone’s home.
Read the full story here.
There is still one hour left to vote, but we’re wrapping up the liveblog for now.
Turnout has been quite low, despite a steady increase throughout the evening as many people got out to vote after work.
We’ll be with you again tomorrow morning as counting gets underway.
For now, enjoy these photos from an eagle-eyed poll clerk who has been doing some serious dog spotting.
Slán!
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