Presidential Election 2025

agreed; but the point I was replying to was that it would be a rough day for the bookies if HH won. Which is not the case. However small the stakes, bookies still prefer an outsider to win over a hot favourite.

Fully agree. Yesterday's I.T had a big picture of CC meeting voters (and SF grandees) on page 1. And to-day's paper has a trimphmhialist headline worthy of Pravda.

https://www.irishtimes.com/

Edit: that was on the live news section when I posted. Now they have changed the ehadline. Slippery bu**ers!

https://cricketireland.ie/news/start-of-a-new-era/

"Keane brings an extraordinary wealth of experience to Cricket Ireland. She is currently one of the longest-serving and successful CEOs in Irish Sport, having led Swim Ireland since 2004. Under her 21-year tenure, Swim Ireland underwent a remarkable transformation, achieving its best-ever Olympic Games performance in Paris 2024, securing multiple World and European medals, launching a government-backed groundbreaking National Swimming Strategy with a significant focus on infrastructure, and consistently driving increased participation through innovative programmes."

If she does not know about cricket, Do you think in the next 12 months she will find out as much as possible about cricket, the rules, the equipment, the player welfare etc. etc. or just pawn it off to a Junior Minister (I mean Junior CEO).

I fully agree with everything you've said. But you're forgetting about two strange phenomenon which always fa tor into an Irish election. Both are illogical, cannot be forecasted and make no sense whatsoever:

Optics and the underlying Zeitgeist of the population.

That's the point of my post.

The Optics surrounding both candidates are terrible, but in the simple minds of the electorate) in a non derogatory manner), CC = Left and HH=Centre, which for many, many people across the country means that they just will not vote for CC.

Unfortunately, there is a massive anti-immigration sentiment across the entire country, and it is this cohort of people who always get out and vote. That's the danger here for CC. It makes zero sense, but I can guarantee that it will factor into many people's decision. Speaking to people in towns and villages across the country, I have not met one person over the age of 50 who said they'd vote for CC and every person I asked mentioned the fact that CC was too left-wing and that immigration and the effects it was having in rural communities was a factor in their decision.

Iinteresting that the Irish Times have changed their headline online this morning. A tad hasty in their predictions yesterday maybe?

Just back from voting now (CC if anyone was wondering). I was surprised at how busy it was. I'm not going to say it was busy busy, but there was a decent number of people coming out as I went in, a decent number in the station while there and more coming in as I was leaving. Now there are 10 polling booths in the 1 place so that'll make it look busier anyway, but still.

It was nice having such a short polling slip for once…

Overly simplistic, Daly in particular would arguably still be an MEP if BS hadn't stood, but there is indeed an irony in some on the left championing CC who were far more reticent with the two former MEPs not least the LP.

neither candidate is suitable- looks like I’m going to spoil my vote.

MM met the same dictator.

No it's not, it's a vote for Heather Humphreys for president. In the same vein a vote for Catherine Connolly is a vote for her as president and not a vote against the current government. Putting either candidate in the Áras won't change one thing about the composition of the government in the Dáil, the presidency is a ceremonial role at best.