RTÉ has announced that it will extensively cover the results of the Presidential election tomorrow, Friday, October 24th.
The country will finally go to the polls tomorrow to vote for either Catherine Connolly or Heather Humphreys (and, technically, Jim Gavin) to succeed Michael D Higgins as the first citizen of the country.
While the polls won’t close until 10 pm on Friday and counting won’t begin until 9 am on Saturday, RTÉ will have wall-to-wall coverage of the results, as the country learns who will be the next President of Ireland.
RTÉ has announced that it will extensively cover the results of the Presidential election. Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
On count day, RTÉ will begin Radio 1 coverage at 9 am with a special edition of Morning Ireland, with Gavin Jennings presenting live from the RDS count centre in Dublin while Justin McCarthy is in the studio.
The count coverage will continue throughout the day, with discussion, debate and analysis on the Brendan O’Connor Show, as well as an extended Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin from 1 pm -3 pm. Listeners will be regularly updated on tallies and constituency results throughout the day, while the national picture will be formed at Dublin Castle, where the official result is expected on Saturday evening.
A special This Week programme, presented by Rachael English and Áine Lawlor, will provide the latest results coverage from 6 pm to 8 pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys will contest the election on Friday when the country goes to the polls. Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
On TV, RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player will provide comprehensive election results, analysis and discussion from count centres around the country throughout the day. Live coverage will kick off from 10 am, and will be presented by David McCullagh and Fran McNulty in the RTÉ studio while Miriam O’Callaghan presents from Dublin Castle.
David, Miriam and Fran will return in the afternoon from 3 pm, with further updates expected on Nuacht RTÉ, RTÉ News with Signing, and the Six One News, which will be extended to include the latest updates from 6.01 pm to 7 pm. The Nine O’Clock News will feature results along with the main national news stories of the day.
Raidió na Gaeltachta will present the results as Gaeilge in the programme Lá an Chomhairimh, with coverage beginning at 10 am on Saturday. Anchored by presenters Máirín Ní Ghadhra and Gormfhlaith Ní Thuairisg, the programme will feature lively analysis and discussion from the results with a panel in studio and rolling results from reporters in count centres nationwide.
Catherine Connolly is heavily expected, according to the latest polls, to handily beat Heather Humphreys and become the next President of Ireland. Pic: Catherine Connolly/Instagram
Panellists in the studio on Raidió na Gaeltachta will include journalists Cathal Mac Coille and Áine Ní Chiaráin, former Government Press Secretary Eoin Ó Neachtain, former TD for Galway West Éamon Ó Cuív, barrister Cecelia Ní Choileáin, and People Before Profit’s Eoghan Ó Ceannbháin.
The RTÉ News Channel will also be providing rolling coverage of the election results throughout the weekend.
As for who’s expected to win the election, a Red C poll conducted by the Business Post found that Catherine Connolly has a commanding lead over Heather Humphreys, with her set to take a 64%-36% win excluding undecided voters.
The poll found that, including undecided voters, Ms Connolly’s campaign surged ahead by eight points to 44%, while there were no changes for Ms Humphreys, who lags 19 points behind at 25%. Jim Gavin, who officially withdrew from the race but will remain on the ballot, is at 10%, falling from 12%.
Polls open at 7 am on Friday, October 24, and remain open until 10 pm.
