Catherine Connolly (centre), at her inauguration as President of Ireland. Picture from the Irish Times.
Earlier today, in Dublin Castle, Catherine Connolly was sworn in as the new President of Ireland. Her inauguration was the 14th to the office of Uachtarán na hÉireann and she is the 10th person to have that title. The ceremony was the first of its kind I have seen and I was impressed by its combination of simplicity and dignity. The previous president, Michael D. Higgins, looked rather emotional as he handed over the reins. I wish him all the best in his retirement. I think he’ll be a hard act to follow, and I wish Catherine Connolly all the best in the role for the next 7 years.
Incidentally, the oath of office reads:
I láthair Dia na nUilechumhacht, táimse, [ainm*], á ghealladh agus á dhearbhú go sollúnta is go fírinneach bheith i mo thaca agus i mo dhídin do Bhunreacht Éireann, agus a dlíthe a chaomhnú, mo dhualgais a chomhlíonadh go dílis coinsiasach de réir an Bhunreachta is an dlí, agus mo lándícheall a dhéanamh ar son leasa is fónaimh mhuintir na hÉireann. Dia do mo stiúradh agus do mo chumhdach
*This “ainm” is the Irish word for “name”; the President-Elect inserts their name here. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the student to translate the rest of the oath into English.
So we come to it at last. After weeks of campaigning, today’s the day we get to cast our votes in the election of a new President of the Republic of Ireland. All the polls suggest that the winner will be Catherine Connolly, and indeed the only posters I have seen around my neighbourhood are for her.
The only message I got through the door was for her too:
I shall shortly be heading to the Presentation Girls National School in Maynooth, which is my polling station. I’ll be voting for Catherine Connolly, in case you want to know. She is clearly the better candidate; my opinion of Heather Humphreys went down every time I heard her speak. Anyway, we should know the result by tomorrow evening when we’ll find out whether the opinion polls are right.
Today also happens to be the last day before our study break in Maynooth University and the start of a long weekend. I did my last teaching session of the week yesterday, actually. That’s why I didn’t have to get up early to vote before work. It also means have research on the agenda for today. Monday 27th October is a Bank Holiday and there are no lectures for the rest of the week. There are conferring ceremonies, though, including one for my recently-completed PhD student on Wednesday.
Update: I voted as planned. The polling station was fairly busy.
Yesterday the official Presidential Election Order was tabled which means that an election for the office of President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann) will be held in the Republic on Friday 24th October 2025. The incumbent Michael D. Higgins will have served his second 7-year term by November and since by the Constitution nobody can hold the office more than twice, we will have a new President of the Republic.
The Irish media have been trying to make news about the presidential election all summer, which has been pointless and tedious to put up as no candidates had even been nominated then. Actually nobody has yet either, as nominations don’t officially open until tomorrow; they close on September 25th. Still, at least the process has started.
In order to progress to the election, a candidate has to receive the support of at least 20 members of the Oireachtas or at least 4 local authorities (i.e. councils). Former or retiring Presidents can nominate themselves but this is not relevant here.
The way the election works is that voters rank all candidates. In the first round of counting, first preference votes are totted up and if one candidate has more than 50% he/she is elected. If not an Instant Runoff method is used, with votes of lower-ranked being reallocated until there’s a winner (ie until one candidate gains a majority).
I just checked the online electoral register to confirm my status:
I will wait to see who has acually been nominated before deciding who to vote for. In the last Presidential Election (2018), five candidates opposed the re-election of Michael D. Higgins, three of them businessmen best known for having appeared on the Irish version of the TV show Dragon’s Den. There’s ample evidence from elsewhere that the products of reality TV shows do not make good presidents. Neither do rapists, so let’s hope Conor McGregor does not get nominated. It is likely that there will be more than six candidates this time and the election will be more closely contested that last time. In 2018 the turnout was very low, no noubt because many people assumed – correctly – that Higgins would win. In the event he got over 56% of the first-preference vote so the transfers were irrelevant. That might not be the case this time.
The Presidency of Ireland is a ceremonial rather than an executive office, and it has little actual power associated with it. It is nevertheless important in that the President is the guardian of the Constitution as well as representing the Irish Nation as a kind of ambassador and as patron of many good causes. Surprisingly, some of the people who want to put themselves forward don’t seem to know anything about what the job entails. Hopefully, the more obvious fruitcakes who put themselves forward will fail to get nominated. I think Michael D. Higgns has carried out his duties in a very dignified and diligent way over the years, and will be a very hard act to follow. I’ve been proud to have him as my President.
It’s hard to believe that seven whole years have passed since the last election. There’s another reminder of that coming up on Friday September 12th when I will be going to the National Concert Hall for a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra that marks the opening of the 2025/6 season. On September 15th 2018 I went to the season opener for that year. That was also my first ever visit to the National Concert Hall. To mark the occasion we were in the presence of the man himself , Michael D Higgins, and his wife Sabena. The President attended as Patron of the National Symphony Orchestra. I don’t know whether he will attend on Friday 12th September, but if he does I’m sure he will get a good ovation. As well as many other things Michael D. Higgins has been a very strong advocate for the Arts in Ireland. I’m not sure his successor will live up to the standard he set.
It’s Christmas Eve so I thought I’d share this Christmas message from the President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann) Michael D. Higgins, a person I admire greatly and am proud to call my President. He is a rare example of a politician who is also a decent and likeable human being.
The whole speech is worth listening to, but I draw your attention in particular to this excerpt:
… may I express my gratitude to the migrants who now call Ireland their home. Their presence enriches our culture, contributes to our society, bringing as they do experiences, traditions, and perspectives that make us stronger as a nation.
It’s such a refreshing change to hear such words, contrasting with the toxic rhetoric being spewed out by so many politicians across the world. Well said, Michael Higgins!
To nobody’s great surprise, Saturday’s count saw Michael D Higgins reelected as President of Ireland by a considerable margin. His acceptance speech on Saturday night was very eloquent and statesmanlike: you can listen to it here.
The Presidency of Ireland is a ceremonial rather than an executive office, and it has little actual power associated with it. It is nevertheless important in that the President is the guardian of the Constitution as well as representing the Irish Nation as a kind of ambassador and as patron of many good causes.
The way the election worked is that voters rank all six candidates. In the first round of counting, first preference votes are totted up and if one candidate has more than 50% he/she is elected. If not an Instant Runoff method is used, with votes of lower-ranked being reallocated until there’s a winner (ie until one candidate gains a majority).
On Saturday, Michael D Higgins gained 56% on the first round so no further counting was necessary. The turnout was very low at 44%. I think this was mainly down to the enormous lead for the incumbent in opinion polls in advance of the voting, but the decision to hold the election on the Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend may have contributed.
The candidate in second place, Peter Casey, had 23% of the first-preference votes. This is worryingly high for a man so clearly unsuited to the role of President. Casey cynically played the populist game, particularly with his incendiary remarks about Travellers. All five other candidates condemned his obvious racism, and the Taioseach urged people not to vote for him. That identified Casey as the anti-establishment ‘protest’ vote and his vote share surged.
Now 23% of a 44% turnout is less than 10% of the electorate, but there’s no room for complacency with gobshites like Peter Casey. In the UK the ghastly Nigel Farage was treated as a joke for decades by many establishment figures, but he nevertheless managed to attract sufficient support to cause irrevocable damage to the UK.
Anyway, that concern aside, sincere congratulations to Michael D Higgins on his reelection. He is a worthy winner and I for one am proud to have him as my President.
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In the Dark 