Early tallies show Catherine Connolly surging ahead in Irish presidential poll

Early tallies indicate that left-wing independent Catherine Connolly is the clear frontrunner to become Ireland’s next president.

There also appeared to be a significant number of spoiled votes as the first ballot boxes were opened.

The electorate had the choice between Ms Connolly, former cabinet minister Heather Humphreys and ex-Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, until he withdrew from campaigning three weeks ago.

Tallies at Adamstown count centre in the Dublin Mid-West constituency gave Ms Connolly 73% of the valid poll, with a turnout of 43%.

The number of spoiled votes in Adamstown, where Mr Gavin is from, appeared on par with the combined vote for Ms Humphreys and Mr Gavin.

Some of the spoiled votes had messages on them, including “no democracy”, “EU puppets” and “no from me”.

Among the messages on spoiled votes were “Maria Steen”, who failed to get enough nominations to become a candidate, and references to an alleged sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl that sparked anti-immigration demonstrations in west Dublin this week.

The winner of the election will replace Michael D Higgins, a popular poet and former arts minister who has served the maximum two terms in office.

Voting slips are being counted by hand at more than 30 count centres, representing 43 electoral constituencies, across the country.

Ireland uses a system of transferable votes in elections but, with only three candidates on the ballot, there can only be a maximum of two counts.

The final result will be officially declared by presidential returning officer Barry Ryan once all 43 constituencies have completed counting.

In the weeks before polling day, several opinion polls put Ms Connolly ahead of Ms Humphreys by some margin.

Ms Connolly cast her vote at a primary school in Claddagh, Co Galway, on Friday after going for a swim that morning.

She took time after voting to examine students’ essays about the presidency that were pinned to the wall, and to take her elderly aunt, who was in a wheelchair, into the polling station, before cycling home.

Ms Humphreys cast her vote in Newbliss, Co Monaghan, with daughter Eva and one-year-old granddaughter Charlotte.

Mr Gavin withdrew from campaigning after the emergence of a 16-year-old dispute with a former tenant.

The ex-army pilot, 54, who was best known for his role as the manager of Dublin’s record-breaking Gaelic football team, which won five successive All-Ireland Championships, withdrew from the race three weeks before polling day.

It came after a former tenant, deputy editor of the Sunday World Niall Donald, claimed he tried to recover 3,300 euro in overpaid rent from Mr Gavin.

Mr Gavin said he had made a mistake “not in keeping with my character” and repaid the money after his withdrawal.

The move has had serious implications for the Fianna Fail party, which selected him as their candidate, and for its leader, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who championed Mr Gavin.

It also had an effect on the election count as his late withdrawal meant there was not enough time to legally remove his name from the ballot paper.

If he were to win the most votes, he would still be elected as president.

It is a largely ceremonial role which involves hosting heads of state at the president’s official residence, Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park, and other diplomatic and civic engagements.

The president must also consider whether legislation passed by the parliament complies with the constitution, and if they believe it does not, in consultation with the Council of State, they can refer it to the Supreme Court.

In recent years, the Irish presidency has become a more political role.

During his tenure, Mr Higgins said Ireland’s housing crisis was “our great, great failure”, that the UN was “losing credibility”, and that the Irish state must “urgently meet the needs of”, and address the concerns of, the survivors of mother and baby homes.