Paddy Power have said that they’re already paying out on the upcoming Presidential election.
Three became two earlier this week when Fianna Fáil’s candidate Jim Gavin pulled out of the race, following controversy surrounding his failure to re-pay a tenant of his over €3,000 16 years ago.
With Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys now the only two who will run for the Áras, Paddy Power have since announced that they’re paying out on Ms Connolly to win the election, over two weeks before it takes place.
🚨 EARLY PAYOUT 🚨
That's it, we've seen enough. We're paying out on Catherine Connolly to win the Irish Presidential election. And if she doesn't win, there's always the Ballon D'Or…
Applies to single bets only, no max payout. Winnings paid as cash. Online & Shop bets… pic.twitter.com/XyX8OUJ3fH
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) October 8, 2025
‘That’s it, we’ve seen enough. We’re paying out on Catherine Connolly to win the Irish Presidential election,’ the betting company wrote on Twitter (X) — before making a reference to a viral video of her doing keepie-uppies in Dublin over the weekend.
‘And if she doesn’t win, there’s always the Ballon D’Or…’
Ms Connolly was filmed in Courtney Place, Dublin, where she impressed the kids with her keepie-uppies skills, as well as playing basketball.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald shared the video on social media, with the caption: ‘Catherine showing us how it’s done today in Courtney Place,’ and while some initially believed it to be AI, it was indeed genuine; and, as a result, people were hoping she’d get called up for the Ireland squad.
‘Get her in the squad for Portugal @IrelandFootball,’ one person wrote, while another wrote ‘A call up to Heimir’s midfield incoming me thinks.’
‘Replacing Matt Doherty in the Ireland squad,’ another joked, while another compared her to Argentina legend Diego Maradona.
Ms Connolly is running on a broad-left coalition, with support from Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Labour, while former Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys is running on the Fine Gael ticket.
Former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin was running under the Fianna Fáil banner, but pulled out on Sunday after it was revealed that he hadn’t repaid over €3,000 to a tenant who had accidentally paid him after leaving his property.
Despite withdrawing from the race, Mr Gavin will still appear on the ballot — with people still being able to vote for him.
