President McAleese was not able to cast her vote today for the first time in her seven-year term in office.
She is attending the state funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan in Washington, DC, and will not return to Dublin until tomorrow morning.
"It is purely down to the attendance at the funeral and the short term notice of the arrangements," a spokeswoman said.
She added that President McAleese, who flew to Washington last night, could not get a flight that would have allowed her to vote. "Even with the Government jet, the funeral is on from 11.30 a.m. (4.30 p.m. Irish time) to 1.30 p.m. (6.30 p.m. Irish time). It's still a seven hour flight to get you back. It's a physical impossibility," she said.
President McAleese, who has voted in all of the previous elections during her term in office, was not able to obtain a postal vote either. Citizens who require a postal vote needed to amend the electoral register before November 25th last year.