The Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has been elected as the Republic of Ireland’s taoiseach – prime minister – after the formation of an historic coalition government. The three-way coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green party is the first time the first two parties – former civil war rivals – have been in government together. Martin won with 93 votes in favour and 63 against in Saturday’s special sitting of the Dáil, the Irish parliament. Due to social distancing rules, the sitting was held at the Convention Centre Dublin instead of Leinster House. Three TDs abstained. Martin’s election is the culmination of months of coalition talks following February’s general election, in which no party secured a majority but Fianna Fáil won the most seats. The talks were disrupted by coronavirus, but the parties reached an agreement earlier on in June. Fine Gael’s leader and former taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the coalition’s formation marked the end of civil war politics in the Dáil. “I believe civil war politics ended a long time ago in our country, but today civil war politics ends in our parliament,” he said. “Two great parties coming together with another great party, the Green party, to offer what this country needs: a stable government for the betterment of our country and for the betterment of our world.” He said serving in the government was a privilege, and that the coalition gave Fine Gael the opportunity to serve a third consecutive term in government. “The chance to protect what has been achieved and secured over the past nine years and also a second chance, an opportunity to get right some of the things that we didn’t get right in the years gone by,” he said. “I’m up for that challenge.” In his inaugural speech, Martin hailed his new role as “one of the greatest honours which anyone can receive” and paid tribute to health workers, and those who have died during the coronavirus pandemic. “We are meeting away from our permanent chamber because of a historic pandemic which has struck Ireland and the rest of the world,” he said. “As of today, 2,278 people on this island have lost their lives. Many thousands more have fought a long struggle to recover. There is no community, no part of our country, which has escaped untouched.” Martin said there had been “enormous progress” in controlling coronavirus over the last three months but emphasised that “the struggle against the virus is not over”. “We must continue to contain its spread. We must be ready to tackle any new wave, and we must move forward rapidly to secure a recovery to benefit all of our people,” he said. The Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, whose party won the second-highest number of Dáil seats, said that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had conspired to exclude Sinn Féin from government. “Faced with the prospect of losing their grip on power, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have circled the wagons,” she said, also describing the coalition as a “marriage of convenience”. Ministers are due to be appointed later on Saturday.