The Irish Labour party's Michael D Higgins has been confirmed as the ninth president of the republic after winning a landslide victory in the most fractious campaign in the country's history. The poet and campaigner gained a 56.8% share of the vote, putting him comfortably ahead of his rivals – Dragons' Den star Seán Gallagher, who came second, and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, who ended in third place.