The Irish presidential election determines who serves as the President of Ireland, the head of state of Ireland. The latest election was the 2025 Irish presidential election, which took place on 24 October 2025. Where only one candidate is nominated, that candidate is declared elected without a ballot; this has occurred on seven occasions.
Procedure Presidential elections are conducted in line with Article 12 of the Constitution of IrelandArticle 12, and under the Presidential Elections Act 1993, as amended. An election is ordinarily held not more than 60 days before the scheduled ending of the incumbent's seven-year term of office. In case of a casual vacancy (by death, resignation or removal from office) an election is held within 60 days. The dates during which candidates may be nominated and the date of the election are fixed by an order made by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
All Irish citizens may vote in presidential elections if they have the right to vote in elections to Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas or parliament). The voting age is eighteen. The Dáil electoral register is based on residency within a geographical Dáil constituency, so that those living abroad may not vote, except diplomats and military posted overseas. Resident UK citizens may vote in Dáil elections but not presidential elections. A proposed constitutional amendment would give non-resident citizens a vote in presidential elections.
Elections are conducted by means of the instant-runoff voting, which is the single-winner analogue of the single transferable vote used in other Irish elections. The constitution calls the system "proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote", although a single-seat election cannot be proportional.
To qualify, candidates must: be a citizen of Ireland, be at least 35 years of age, andThe 1995 report of the Constitution Review Group notes "There is an apparent discrepancy between the English and Irish versions. The Irish version has '' (that is, has completed thirty-five years), whereas the English version is 'who has reached his thirty-fifth year of age', which could mean has entered rather than completed that year". As the Irish language text prevails, this means a candidate must be at least 35 years old. be nominated by: at least twenty members of the Houses of the Oireachtas (, 174 TDs and 60 senators), or at least four of the 31 county or city Councils, or him- or herself, in the case of an incumbent or former president who has served one term.
The election order will declare the last day on which nominations may be received. If a member of the Oireachtas or a County or City council nominate more than one candidate, only the first nomination paper received from them will be deemed valid.
If there is only a single candidate they will be deemed elected without a poll. No one may serve as President for more than two terms.
Spending limits and donations The spending limits in a Presidential election were reduced in 2011. The limit is €750,000 (was €1.3 million) and the amount a candidate can be reimbursed from the State is €200,000 (was €260,000). A candidate who is elected or who receives in excess of one quarter of the quota can seek reimbursement of their expenses.
The value of donations that may be accepted by candidates, their election agents and third parties at a presidential election is governed by law. In the case of candidates and presidential election agents, the maximum donation that may be accepted from a person (or a body) in a particular year cannot exceed €2,539. In the case of a third party, the maximum donation that may be accepted cannot exceed €6,348. The acceptance of donations from non-Irish citizens residing abroad is prohibited.
Results ElectionCandidateAgeNominated by1st Pref.WinnerVotes%1938Douglas Hyde78Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil and Fine Gaeln/an/aDouglas Hyde1945Patrick McCartan67Oireachtas: Labour Party and Clann na Talmhan212,83419.6%Seán T. O'KellySeán Mac Eoin51Oireachtas: Fine Gael and Independent TDs335,53930.9%Seán T. O'Kelly62Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil537,96549.5%1952Seán T. O'Kelly69Self-nominationn/an/aSeán T. O'Kelly1959Éamon de Valera76Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil538,00356.3%Éamon de ValeraSeán Mac Eoin65Oireachtas: Fine Gael417,53643.7%1966Éamon de Valera83Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil558,86150.5%Éamon de ValeraTom O'Higgins49Oireachtas: Fine Gael548,14449.5%1973Erskine H. Childers60Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil635,86751.9%Erskine H. ChildersTom O'Higgins56Oireachtas: Fine Gael587,77148.0%1974Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh63Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Partyn/an/aCearbhall Ó Dálaigh1976Patrick Hillery53Oireachtas: Fianna Fáiln/an/aPatrick Hillery1983Patrick Hillery60Self-nominationn/an/aPatrick Hillery1990Austin Currie51Oireachtas: Fine Gael267,90217.0%Mary RobinsonBrian Lenihan59Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil694,48444.1%Mary Robinson46Oireachtas: Labour Party and Workers' Party612,26538.9%1997Mary Banotti58Oireachtas: Fine Gael372,00229.3%Mary McAleeseMary McAleese46Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats574,42445.2%Derek Nally60County and City Councils59,5294.7%Adi Roche42Oireachtas: Labour Party, Democratic Left and Green Party88,4236.9%Dana Rosemary Scallon46County and City Councils175,45813.8%2004Mary McAleese53Self-nominationn/an/aMary McAleese2011Mary Davis57County and City Councils48,6572.7%Michael D. HigginsSeán Gallagher49County and City Councils504,96428.5%Michael D. Higgins70Oireachtas: Labour Party701,10139.6%Martin McGuinness61Oireachtas: Sinn Féin and Independent TDs243,03013.7%Gay Mitchell59Oireachtas: Fine Gael113,3216.4%David Norris67County and City Councils109,4696.2%Dana Rosemary Scallon60County and City Councils51,2202.9%2018Peter Casey60County and City Councils342,72723.3%Michael D. HigginsSeán Gallagher56County and City Councils94,5146.4%Gavin Duffy58County and City Councils32,1982.2%Joan Freeman60County and City Councils87,9086.0%Michael D. Higgins77Self-nomination822,56655.8%Liadh Ní Riada51Oireachtas: Sinn Féin93,9876.4%2025Catherine Connolly68Oireachtas: Sinn Féin, Labour Party, Social Democrats,People Before Profit, Solidarity, Green Party,100% Redress and Independent TDs914,14363.4%Catherine ConnollyJim Gavin54Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil103,5687.2%Heather Humphreys65Oireachtas: Fine Gael424,98729.5%
Election dates and forms of nomination
Table legend: Oir = Oireachtas CC = County or city council
YearMinisterial OrderClose of NominationsNominationsElection dateInaugurationOir.CCSelf193814 April4 May10031 May25 June194516 May30014 June25 June195225 April16 May00110 June25 June195927 April19 May20017 June25 June196627 April10 May2001 June25 June197325 April8 May20030 May25 June197410017 November19 December19761002 October3 December19837 October21 October00123 November3 December199016 October3007 November3 December199715 September30 September32030 October11 November200413 September1 October00122 October11 November201130 August28 September34027 October11 November201828 August26 September14126 October11 November20253 September24 September30024 October11 November Election dates in italics indicate dates which were set in the ministerial order, but where no election was held as only one candidate had been nominated.
See also Politics of the Republic of Ireland Elections in the Republic of Ireland Irish presidential inauguration
References
External links Website of the Presidential Returning Officer Website of the President of Ireland Presidential Elections Act 1993, as amended Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011