Connolly declared president of Ireland after landslide win

5 minutes agoShareSaveAuryn CoxBBC News NIShareSavePA MediaFrom early on Saturday, Catherine Connolly was ahead in count centres nationwideCatherine Connolly has been elected as the president of Ireland after a landslide victory.She has become the 10th president of the Republic of Ireland after defeating Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys, who had already conceded to her rival.The result, long clear from early tallies, was officially declared at Dublin Castle.Connolly – an independent who was backed by the major left-wing parties – is taking over from Michael D Higgins who served the maximum two terms in office.The 68-year-old, from Galway, has been a TD (member of the Irish parliament) since 2016 and previously worked as a psychologist and barrister.She secured 914,143 first preference votes, the largest amount in Irish presidential election history. Connolly spoke first in Irish and then in English for her acceptance speech."For all who voted for me thank you, it will be an absolute privilege to serve you," she said."For those who didn't vote for me and those who spoiled their votes, let me tell you I will be an inclusive president to listen to all of you. I will be making no distinction on the basis of votes."This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.Michael D HigginsRepublic of IrelandDublin