Presidential Election 2025

Water John · 08-03-2026 05:01PM

Well President Connolly has said Iran war is illegal. Might be a bit uncomfortable for MM next week, but she's correct.

https://www.thejournal.ie/catherine-connolly-iran-war-6978670-Mar2026/

ednwireland · 08-03-2026 05:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124296240#Comment_124296240

under what law ? seriously people keep saying this but as far as I can see biggest army makes the rules ( unfortunately)

Caquas · 08-03-2026 06:04PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124296240#Comment_124296240

“A bit uncomfortable” 😳 The fine art of understatement.

I thought CC would keep her head down at least until after Paddy’s Day but …. it’s International Women’s Day so time to condemn those who attack a regime which notoriously oppresses women. Not a peep about the horrific treatment of women in Afghanistan. Or Myanmar Or Sudan. Or Yemen. How about Syria today and those courageous Kurdish women? Why should we care!?

corkie · 08-03-2026 06:20PM

@Caquas only 7% of voters were satisfied with the choice of candidates.

Where did you pull that from?

What I found in it said (as a percentage of spoiled votes): -

7% said they preferred a candidate not on the ballot paper

Caquas · 08-03-2026 07:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124296395#Comment_124296395

page 56 of the slide deck.

Only 3% (!!!) of those polled in Munster were satisfied. Maybe because two Munster MEPs got blocked by their own parties in favour of hopeless candidates?

Podge_irl · 08-03-2026 07:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124296486#Comment_124296486

FF and FG had open and free nomination processes. The two Munster MEPs simply lost.

Caquas · 08-03-2026 07:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124296512#Comment_124296512

You're joking surely? And it worked out so well for both parties😅

dulpit · 09-03-2026 12:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124296550#Comment_124296550

They did have open nominations & elections. It did work out poorly for both, that's true.

Caquas · 09-03-2026 07:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124297941#Comment_124297941

Even now you believe Jim Gavin wasn't rammed through the Parliamentary Party?

I feel for Bertie, he knew how to shaft his predecessor with grace and style. He also knew how to pick a winner. But MM picked Gavin because he knows that FF has to jettison its past, above all the Bert and his associates, and he wanted a President who had demonstrated an outstanding ability to say nuttin'. How MM must wish Gavin was in the Aras today

And you think HH wasn't foisted on FG by the leadership? In which case, the entire party showed an extraordinary lack of judgment.

Of course ,SF maintained its traditions of "openness" so we will never know what internal machinations lead them to back a candidate who never lifted a finger for them.

dulpit · 09-03-2026 10:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124299225#Comment_124299225

I don't disagree that the party leadership of both made terrible decisions, but they both could have had any other person nominated if the party decided as such.

Caquas · 10-03-2026 01:19AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124299625#Comment_124299625

FF & FG failed in their basic aim - to avoid a repeat of Michael D.

Now they wish he was still in the Áras - he caused headaches but he didn’t attempt to sabotage the Taoiseach

https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2026/03/09/government-says-power-to-set-foreign-policy-lies-with-it-and-not-president-connolly

dulpit · 10-03-2026 10:00AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124299933#Comment_124299933

They failed in that aim. But that doesn't mean that the entire nomination process gets thrown out which is what you have been suggesting...

Cluedo Monopoly · 10-03-2026 10:18AM

Interesting findings from the Electoral Commission research around Connolly's election

Almost half who spoiled vote in presidential election did not like any candidates – study – The Irish Times

Some 55 per cent of respondents believed a president should feel free to speak out on any issue, even if their personal views are not aligned with those of the government.

Fifteen per cent believed it was not appropriate for a president to speak out on any issue without the government’s prior approval.

Grassy Knoll · 10-03-2026 10:41AM

A quick thought experiment …

Headbanger voted in … after a time, same Headbanger starts starts banging their head.

Should we be surprised ?

Caquas · 10-03-2026 11:17AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300294#Comment_124300294

So only 15% of those polled understood the constitutional position of the President and a majority (55%) wanted a bloviator in the Áras.

Caquas · 10-03-2026 01:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300239#Comment_124300239

Not at all! Is every argument here a strawman?

I only suggested a voluntary change in behaviour by the main parties - that they wouldn’t use their Councillors to block reasonable candidates.

Apart from the fiasco last year, this would reflect a structural change in Irish politics (as elsewhere) which reduced the authority of the main parties - their loyal voters are now a minority and less than the total of the floating voters. The proposition that these parties or their Councillors have a mandate or the democratic authority to block all other Presidential candidates is now unsustainable .

Hotblack Desiato · 10-03-2026 01:59PM

Maria Steen was not a reasonable candidate.

Turned out the puppet on the MAGA string Sheridan wasn't either.

Most of the country had never heard of either of those MEPs.

What regards itself as the up and coming party of the future was unable to rustle up a candidate at all.

But bizarrely the takeaway is not that good candidates willing to run for the office are hard to find, it's that somehow the constitutionally mandated nomination process is unfair, and even the selection process and open votes within parties (well, parties other than SF) is somehow unfair too

Then we get screaming Daily Mail headlines, I mean, really?

dulpit · 10-03-2026 02:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300837#Comment_124300837

And again I go back to the example of Monaghan County Council. Your suggestion would mean that 1 person would decide the nominee of that council.

If you want structural change to the nomination process, then a different solution is needed. Maybe make it so that X number of councillors across the country (rather than specific councils) can nominate. Or a certain number of signatures. Something like that. They are tangible and workable solutions. But not just telling parties to ignore their mandates in local government because "unfair".

Seth Brundle · 10-03-2026 03:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300837#Comment_124300837

Can you clearly define "reasonable candidate" in a manner that you would use to forward your suggestion to the parties?
Which of those candidates that wanted to stand in the last election, but couldn't, fit your description of "reasonable"?

As for the your suggestion for the parties, why exactly would they need to adopt a voluntary change - after all, it is the parties who go to expense of funding marketing campaigns, etc. for the candidate that they think best fits their policies. Why exactly should all of their elected members not support that candidate and actively create competition for the parties chosen candidate?

If a political party was to ignore a whip and their elected members can vote to allow an independent candidate stand in opposition to that parties candidate - and the independent candidate wins - what might happen in the future for party backed candidates? Will parties even bother going to the expense of a campaign when a popular independent who is completely inappropriate for the role can decide to stand?

The fact is that you haven't put forward a single reasonable defence for your proposal and have spent the last number of months on here putting forward the theory that parties blocked "reasonable" candidates when in fact there was not one single reasonable independent candidate who actually wanted to stand, who actually wanted to win other than Connolly - and she won!
From here, it looked like those that wanted to put their name forwards didn't want the hassle of having to stand and possibly being rejected. They gave off a sense of entitlement that they should win.

So please tell us which of the reasonable candidates presented themselves to all local authorities because as I understand it, none of the candidates did?
Please tell us which of the reasonable candidates who wanted to stand put themselves forwards for nomination with sufficient time to raise their profile both to the electorate but more importantly to the nominating councils/TDs & Senators?

The fact is that a rabble of half-interested but entitled people wanted to stand but thankfully most were flatly rejected (Sure didn't a number of those wannabes display a complete ignorance of the role). Steen was probably the closest to getting over the line and maybe if she got the finger out in good time, would not have had a public debate with McDowell at the last moment over whether she could stand - she could have secured more backers if she gave herself more time.

Caquas · 10-03-2026 03:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301286#Comment_124301286

I already answered your first point

What do I mean by reasonable? Let the main parties decide but they must defend that decision in public. See how reasonable I can be!

I won't waste time with the rest of your tirade.

Caquas · 10-03-2026 03:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124300928#Comment_124300928

As I said, what harm if a reasonable candidate gets a Council nomination based on even a single vote?

Three other Councils need to agree. And the big parties are free to block anyone they consider would not be a reasonable candidate. And, need I say, it is all ultimately in the hands of the Irish people (somehow posters here put more trust in the choices of the big parties😥)

A structural change to the nomination process may be needed but that would require a referendum. All I ask is that the main parties don't act as bullies and deny the people a decent choice.

Not a single poster on here agrees with my modest proposal or has any constructive suggestion to fix a fiasco which has damaged our democracy. What a waste of time!

Seth Brundle · 10-03-2026 04:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301323#Comment_124301323

You have not defined what a "resonable candidate" is because it simply cannot be defined in a manner that would suit all parties. A councillor from Independent Ireland or one of the other parties on the right may well see McRapist or Steen as reasonable.

As for the rest of my "tirade", you have complained on here for several months about how the system is unfair yet not once have you put forwards a plausible defence for a change that should have made a difference to the outcome of the last election. If you are unwilling to discuss properly then don't start but don't walk off in a huff because someone challenges your mistaken perception of how democratic election nominations should be held.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301343#Comment_124301343

A structural change to the nomination process may be needed but that would require a referendum. All I ask is that the main parties don't act as bullies and deny the people a decent choice.

Nobody was bullied. At all!

Not a single poster on here agrees with my modest proposal or has any constructive suggestion to fix a fiasco which has damaged our democracy. What a waste of time!

Our democracy hasn't been damaged so stop with the rhetorical student-politics nonsense!

JohnDoe2025 · 10-03-2026 04:36PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301482#Comment_124301482

As much as I disagree with the outcome of the election and the person who was elected President, I would wholeheartedly defend the process.

A more open process could have seen the likes of McGregor and Sheridan on the ticket, people who have done nothing to deserve even being near the process. A bit more sympathy for Sheen, as she got close, and her views, while minority ones, have considerably more general support than the other two. Wouldn't have voted for any of them myself though.

dulpit · 10-03-2026 04:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301343#Comment_124301343

If I'm a Fianna Fáil councillor then in my view any non-FF candidate is not a reasonable candidate, so I'd block them.

Don't forget - the big parties are the big parties because they were voted for by the majority of people?

Seth Brundle · 10-03-2026 04:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301506#Comment_124301506

I'm not at all saying that few candidates is better though.
Steen announced her intention to stand in the election on 29th August and nominations closed on Sept 24th. Being honest, she sold herself short on time and knowing the difficulty in getting nominations (and that there were other potential candidates at that time) she should have been better prepared. Hypothetically, as a qualified barrister, would she have left herself with so little time to get prepared when representing a client?
As for mcg - he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near our democratic system, for Christ's sake.

Caquas · 10-03-2026 06:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301506#Comment_124301506

You wholeheartedly defend the process that left us with such an unsatisfactory choice of candidates?

How many times must I say "reasonable candidate", and not Conor McGregor or his ilk.

Caquas · 10-03-2026 06:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301482#Comment_124301482

I am the only one here putting forward a solution to last year's fiasco. And I don't mean the fiasco which the three main parties are unhappy about - that their candidates were humiliated or, for SF, that they couldn't field one of their own. Now there is a problem which I can't fix!

"Bullied" is exactly the right word - using power habitually to exclude someone less powerful.

Our democracy has been damaged - an unprecedented number of voters went to the polling stations for the sole purpose of rejecting the false choice they were being asked to make. This forum is full of people saying the sky in falling because of events far away but my modest proposal to fix a problem here and now is "nonsense"

Bye-bye

Seth Brundle · 10-03-2026 07:01PM

This forum is full of people saying the sky in falling because of events far away but my modest proposal to fix a problem here and now is "nonsense"

You have consistently failed to articulate how your modest proposal would work in reality. In your previous post, you said "How many times must I say "reasonable candidate", and not Conor McGregor or his ilk" but again someone like mcg is a reasonable candidate to his followers (of which there is at least one councillor). You cannot define a reasonable candidate simply because it is all down to perception of the individual. Hypothetically, would a SF councillor find a FG candidate to be a reasonable candidate (or vice versa)?

VinLieger · 10-03-2026 07:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301927#Comment_124301927

You are the only one putting forward a solution to something you are the only one claiming was a fiasco.

Nobody else is engaging with you to come up with a different solution because nobody else believes there is a problem that needs solving.

Our democracy has not been damaged, if anything this should give the people who were dissatisfied with the field more reasons to be more considered of who they vote for in future. If they want a specific presidential candidate they can vote accordingly for TDs or councillors who will help support the candidate they wish to vote for in 6 and half years time.

The problem you wont admit though is the majority of those dissatisfied with the field wont think an iota about this issue again until it is once again too late. So really the problem isnt that our democracy has been damaged its that the people who think it has cant be arsed putting in the work to play by the current rules so want the rules of democracy changed to make it easier for them.

Podge_irl · 10-03-2026 11:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124302108#Comment_124302108

I kinda think there is a problem that needs solving, though the solution is making the mandate be from councillors rather than councils. It is clearly not a priority for a referendum though.

Making a policy of abstaining from council votes quite clearly would be against the spirit of the Constitution though. It is for the Council to nominate, not whatever tiny minority of independent councillors that sit on it.

Presidential Election 2025

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