Connolly wins by landslide but questions remain about future left alliance
James Cox
Here, we have a look at the issues likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Connolly's landslide win
Catherine Connolly's historic presidential election win saw her elected Ireland's 10th president with 63.3 per cent of the vote.
The previous record was Eamon De Valera's election with just over 56 per cent.
She received 914,000 first-preference votes with Heather Humphreys far behind on 424,000.
Addressing the assembled crowd at Dublin Castle after being declared the winner, Ms Connolly said: “I will be a president who listens and reflects and who speaks when it’s necessary.
“I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality, a voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change, and a voice that recognises the tremendous work being done the length and breadth of the country.”
Can 'left alliance' deliver at a general election?
Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, the Greens and People Before Profit all backed Ms Connolly and it was extremely successful.
The party leaders regularly appeared with the president-elect throghout her campaign.
This type of coordination has not been seen before, at least with the modern iterations of each party, and it will be needed if they are to get Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael out of government, which they so often call for.
However, coordinating personalities, vision and policy for a general election campaign will be much more difficult than it is for a presidential campaign.
Speaking after Ms Connolly's landslide win, People Before Profit's Paul Murphy said it was proof "when the left unites we can win".
Comments from Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik then highlighted the differences between the parties, as she refused to be drawn on a possible government with Sinn Féin on RTÉ radio.
Speaking after Ms Connolly's win, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald (the likely taoiseach in any unity left government), first sounded positive, but then refused to be drawn on any left-backed candidate for the Galway West by-election.
She said Sinn Féin would run a candidate for the seat vacated by Ms Connolly.
Spoiled votes
Another big story from the day was the unprecedented number of spoiled votes. A total of 213,738 spoiled votes represented 13 per cent of all votes cast in Friday's election.
MEP says Irish peacekeepers would be well suited for Gaza stabilisation force
Irish peacekeepers would be "ideally suited" to take part in a Gaza stabilisation force due to their "credibility and reputation in the Middle East", according to a Fianna Fáil MEP.
There are currently around 300 Defence Forces members serving in a peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, but the Unifil UN mission is due to end at the end of 2027.
In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, MEP Barry Andrews said Irish peacekeepers would be well-positioned to take part in any Gaza mission, subject to the peace deal holding.
"Where there is so much memory and knowledge about deployment in the Middle East, so many soldiers at different levels throughout the Defence Forces have worked in south Lebanon, and they could do a similar job in Gaza.
"Secondly, our credibility in the region because we were one of the first to recognise the state of Palestine, to support UNRWA, to put pressure on the Israel Trade Association Agreement, been outspoken all along, that gives us a lot of credibility with the population in Gaza.
Abroad
Internationally, the fragile Gaza peace deal led by US presidnet Donald Trump's administration continues to hold, despite a number of Israeli breaches.