Independent lawmaker Catherine Connolly has been elected president of Ireland by a decisive margin, capturing more than 63% of the vote and defeating her sole opponent, former cabinet minister Heather Humphreys,

Independent socialist Catherine Connolly’s coolness to Brussels and hostility to Donald Trump put her at odds with the Irish government.

Al Jazeara described how Connolly’s campaign has been “especially popular among young people, who approve of her declaration that reunification with Northern Ireland is a ‘foregone conclusion’, her strong pro-Palestine stance, her commitment to social justice, and criticism of the European Union’s growing ‘militarisation’”.

Every seven years Ireland gets to elect a constitutional monarch – a nominally impotent figurehead who meets and greets the great and good; who makes the occasional statement of

Ireland’s newly elected president, Catherine Connolly, has been described by one media outlet as hostile to Donald Trump in her comments about the U.S. leader.

Catherine Connolly, the controversial independent TD from Galway West, has been declared Ireland’s 10th President, securing 64% of valid votes in a landslide overshadowed by deep division. Announced at Dublin Castle this afternoon,