“I’m absolutely delighted with the result and I want to thank all of my supporters,” she told reporters when the count showed the scale of her victory on Saturday.
“Actually, I want to thank everybody, even those that didn’t vote for me.”
Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys, a former cabinet minister from one of the parties that holds government, ceded defeat on Saturday afternoon (Sunday AEDT) during the count of the ballots cast in Friday’s election.
Connolly, 68, entered politics with the Labour Party in the 1990s in her home city of Galway but left the party and later ran as an independent at national elections in 2016, winning a seat in the Dáil Éireann, the country’s lower house. She is married with two adult sons.
As head of state, Connolly must act on the advice of the Taoiseach but has a key role in summoning or dissolving the parliament and appointing the leader of the government based on the seats in parliament.
But her success highlights the challenges for the government, which was formed in January in a coalition between Fianna Fáil, led by Martin, and Fine Gael, led by Simon Harris. The agreement installed Martin as Taoiseach until November 2027, when Harris takes over.
Fianna Fáil performed poorly in the presidential election, with its candidate dropping out early, and the Fine Gael candidate gained about 30 per cent of the vote.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald backed the Connolly campaign as a way to counter the government and champion the case for a united Ireland. Adams, the Irish republican who led Sinn Féin for three decades, also came out in her support.
“Vote for a president who will shape a new, united Ireland,” he said on social media in the final days of the campaign.
While all candidates for the presidency supported the idea of a unified Ireland, Connolly pledged to use her “moral authority” to put this to a vote of the people – a position that helped cement support from Sinn Féin and others.
“We cannot delay, deny, or obstruct that right,” Connolly said. “The Irish and British governments should agree a date for a border poll, and begin preparing now to ensure it is inclusive, fair, and respectful of all traditions.”
Under the Good Friday agreement of 1998, a unified Ireland requires a majority in Northern Ireland as well as in the Republic of Ireland. A survey by The Irish Times in February found that unification would be defeated in the north and approved in the south.
Geldof, the lead singer of the Boomtown Rats and the driving force behind the Live Aid concert that raised funds to alleviate famine in Africa, said on Thursday that he thought about running for president but called the Taoiseach when the leader had already chosen a candidate.
“If I’d stood I’d have walked it,” he said. “And I’d have been really good.”
Geldof acknowledged he may have struggled to get a formal nomination without a major party behind him.
“People are very ambivalent about me, which I totally understand, because I’m ambivalent about myself.”
