Full Kilkenny voting results announced as Catherine Connolly strolls to presidential win
The complete results will be announced at the national count centre in Dublin Castle
The final voting results from Carlow/Kilkenny have been announced at Kilkenny College as Catherine Connolly comfortably beat out her opponents, matching trends across the country as she draws closer to being confirmed as Ireland's new president this evening.
The Independent candidate is on track to secure the most comprehensive margin of victory for a presidential election in state history and gained over half of all votes cast in Carlow/Kilkenny with 27,697 out of 51,909.
Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys was a distant second with 14,357 followed by the withdrawn Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin with 3,362.
The total turnout was 44.5%, slightly lower than the current national average of 45.9% while the significant number of votes spoiled was 6,493.
It was clear the outcome was a formality from the early tallies with Ms Humphreys conceding the election and congratulating Ms Connolly on her victory before the first official count numbers had even come in.
Ms Connolly is on track to win in every constituency except Ms Humphreys home of Cavan-Monaghan after a bruising campaign.
The result of the election will formally be announced at the national count centre in Dublin Castle this evening.