There have been 14 occasions since the creation of the office in 1937 in which the office of the President has been up for grabs. 

There have been six occasions where the office was filled due to there only being one candidate nominated to contest the race by close of nominations. This resulted in the election of five individuals (Patrick Hillery was unopposed twice) to the office without the Irish public ever casting a ballot. These instances are outlined in red on the table. 

Fianna Fáil dominated the Áras since the creation of the office. 6 of the 8 office holders have been Fianna Fáil candidates. 

Despite their best efforts, Fine Gael have never won the race for the Áras. They nominated candidates in 7 of the 8 elections, and have lost each one. 

Mary Robinson (elected in 1990) served as the first female president of Ireland. She was succeeded by Mary McAleese in 1997, making Ireland the first country in the world to have a woman succeed another woman as Head of State.