Irish Presidential Race Sees Final Three Running For Áras an Uachtaráin

By The Gown

The office is Irish presidency is a limited and oft-ceremonial one compared to the executive head Taoiseach, but the upcoming election next month sees a final three candidates in the race.

By early August, the race had come down to two candidates, an independent (backed by Labour, Social Democrats and People Before Profit), and a Fine Gael. The former, Catherine Connolly, has a history as Galway Mayor and Leas-Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil, while Fine Gael’s Mairead McGuinness has had signifiance in EU politics, being a former Vice-President of the European Parliament.

However, it was announced that McGuinness, due to health reasons, was to step down from candidacy in mid-August. This left a one-month rift between the major parties, as none of the three majors had fully set a candidate forth until this month.

The broader race has since a flurry of public figures; Bob Geldof, Michael Flatley, Joanna Donnelly, and the most noted “candidacy” of Conor McGregor, who ran a right-wing, anti-immigration campaign, but faces a stark decline in public image since his civil liability for rape in a Dublin civil court last November.

September has seen the establishment of clear frontrunners of the race for the Presidency: an independent backed by the left-wing parties, FF-FG backing their own, and with Sinn Féin endorsing the former, as announced two weeks ago.

Catherine Connolly (Independent frontrunner since 16 July)

The earliest of the big three in the race, Connolly runs as an independent, and, also similarly to the incumbent President, has a history in the Labour Party.

Much of Connolly’s campaign has itself emphasised her independence, having left Labour in 2006 (five years prior to their coalition with Fine Gael) and in turn furthering the anti-establishment image.

She was most recently the Dáil’s Leas-Ceann Comhairle (deputy speaker), serving for 4-and-a-half years between the last two general elections. Prior to her election to the Dáil in 2016, she was a Galway City councillor and served as Mayor from 2004-2005, where she was outspoken in opposition to the Iraq War. Connolly is markedly the only of the three candidates to speak Irish, having been Chair of the Committee On the Irish Language in her first four years as a TD until 2020.

With the role of President being one much more representative of “the state” in foreign affairs, Connolly’s foreign policy positions have attracted utmost attention. She has been outspoken in acknowledging the unfolding genocide in Gaza, but controversies have risen in other areas, especially her opposition to sanctions on the Syrian Al-Assad regime in 2017, and her visit to Syria in 2018 – which she has since called a “mistake”. Connolly – like Higgins – has emphasised restraint of NATO and opposition to American foreign interventionism, describing herself as a “pacifist”.

Connolly has been endorsed by many of the Oireachtas’ left-wing parties: initially Social Democrats, People Before Profit, the Greens and Labour in the summer, followed by the much-awaited announcement of Sinn Féin’s endorsement on 20 September.

Heather Humphreys (FG nomination: 2 September)

Fine Gael have put forth their candidate after the withdrawal in the summer of Mairead McGuinness, the primary competitor to Connolly at that time, who announced she was stepping away due to health reasons.

Humphreys has established herself as a veteran frontbencher in the Dáil for Fine Gael, having been deputy leader for 6 months last year, Minister for Justice across two occasions this decade, and most recently Minister for Social Protection.

Humphreys’ campaign has ran on unity against an “increasingly divisive” world. She was noted for overseeing the Easter Rising’s centenary commemorations in 2016, and was also Business Minister from 2017-20.

Noted attention has been placed on Humphreys’ background; she is a Presbyterian, and of a family with Orange links. While Douglas Hyde and Erskine Childers were 2 Protestant Irish Presidents (the former the inaugural and founder of Conradh na Gaeilge), NI unionists have emphasised that backlash towards such links are part of a broader intolerance towards Protestantism in a “New Ireland”. Humphreys brands herself “a proud Ulsterwoman, a Protestant and an Irish republican”.

She has been involved in controversy, having apologised to the appointment of Fine Gael’s John McNulty to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) whilst serving as Minister for Arts in 2014. The appointment was accused of cronyism in helping McNulty’s potential victory in a Donegal Seanad by-election. McNulty later resigned.

Nonetheless, and with her religion and background aside, Humphreys has strived to attain the image of a common citizen from her work in a credit union, being married to a farmer. Her work in the cultural sector will no doubt prove to be important, as will as that aspect of unity – both north and south – potentially overlapping with her Presbyterian background.

Jim Gavin (FF nomination: 9 September)

Jim Gavin, the latest of the three to be nominated, is clearly unique in one regard: he is not a politician. He is instead noted for his management of the Dublin county Gaelic Football team, bringing them to 6 Sam Maguires in his mere 7 years as manager from 2012-19.

Gavin beat Billy Kelleher in a party election 41 votes to 29 (out of 70) to secure his nomination on the 9 September. His campaign has stated to “pursue the common good” on both sides of Ireland, and used his public image as an immensely popular GAA figure to aim to resonate. Gavin describes himself as a “centrist” and a “constitutional republican”.

Gavin was criticised by Sinn Féin for perceived indifference in the latter part of his statement on Gaza: “It’s unconscionable that the bombing is still taking place when I believe that the military objectives have probably been reached for that military campaign”. Taoiseach Martin has since accused SF of undermining a genuinely “popular” candidate.

It is hard to make of Gavin’s political background in general, as he isn’t public known as an activist or public figure at all in the world of politics, even out of office. However, since 2022 he has been involved in public sector work, such as chairing a citizen’s assembly in reforming the appointment of the Mayor of Dublin City.

The Outgoing: Michael D. Higgins’ Legacy

The 24th October will see the outgoing of Michael D. Higgins, whose 14-year-long presidency saw the first state visit of an Irish President to the UK in 2014, and remained outspoken on foreign policy and human rights internationally, most notably leading Ireland through a rift with other Western nations – particularly the US – via his pro-Palestinian stances. While Irish Presidents aren’t especially disliked (that role is reserved – as is typically in the parliamentary system – to the Taoiseach), Higgins is a President that has generally been liked. Being a ceremonial role – and representing Ireland – the role of the office of President in the necessarily public eye will be undoubtedly hard shoes to fill.

References