Ireland’s Lacklustre Presidential Race

As Ireland stumbles toward its 2025 presidential election, the contest to succeed Michael D. Higgins as the tenth President of the Republic is shaping up to be an object lesson in political mediocrity.

What should be a vibrant democratic exercise to select the nation’s ceremonial figurehead has devolved into a tepid, uninspiring affair, marked by disarray among independent politicians, a Fine Gael nominee hamstrung by their party leader’s woes, and a Fianna Fáil leadership humiliated by its dalliance with a disgraced former Taoiseach.

The constitutional role of the Irish president, designed to embody the nation’s values, thereby risks being overshadowed by this embarrassing spectacle. This state of affairs is not only disappointing, it is a troubling reflection of Ireland’s fractured political landscape.

The 2025 presidential race to date had the potential to be a defining moment for Ireland, the first election since the 2023 establishment of the Electoral Commission and an opportunity to chart a different course after Higgins’s (long and at times wearyingly interventionalist 14-year tenure.

Yet, the campaign has failed to ignite public imagination. Polls, such as the Irish Times/Ipsos B&A survey from July 2025, reveal a public largely disengaged, with 20% of respondents unsure of their choice and 18% finding none of the candidates appealing. This apathy is not without cause. The race lacks the charisma and gravitas of past contests including the contentious 2011 election that saw Michael D. Higgins emerge victorious.

The absence of a compelling narrative is palpable. Fine Gael’s initial frontrunner, Mairead McGuinness, withdrew for health reasons, leaving the party scrambling to reopen nominations.

Former Fine Gael minister and grand dame Heather Humphreys and MEP Seán Kelly have since stepped forward, but neither has captured the national zeitgeist.

Sinn Féin, wary of repeating its 2018 debacle when Liadh Ní Riada polled a mere 6%, has, at the last minute, backed the unity candidate of the left. Fianna Fáil, meanwhile, dithered, with Micheál Martin publicly stating the party will only support a candidate who commands “broad consensus” or a “significant vote”. Such a stance reeks of indecision, and led inevitably to the selection of a celebrity candidate.

The result is a campaign that feels more like a bureaucratic formality than a contest for Ireland’s highest office.

This lacklustre atmosphere is exacerbated by the absence of a unifying figure. Disagree with them as we might, at least past presidents like McAleese or Higgins brought the perception of a certain intellectual heft or cultural resonance to the role.

Today’s field, however, is a patchwork of second-tier politicians and publicity-seeking outsiders. Names like Conor McGregor, whose candidacy is dismissed as a stunt, and Michael Flatley, a former Riverdance star, add a circus-like quality to the proceedings. The Irish public deserves better than this parade of egos and opportunists.

One of the most glaring failures of this election is the inability of independent politicians to coalesce around a single candidate. In a system where candidates need the backing of 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities, independents face an uphill battle. Yet, the potential for a unifying figure to challenge the dominance of the major parties (Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Sinn Féin) was significant. Instead, independents have squandered this opportunity, fragmenting their efforts and diluting their impact.

Independent TD Catherine Connolly has emerged as a left-leaning contender, securing support from the Left. However, her campaign continues in its struggle to gain traction beyond progressive circles, and her lack of a national profile hampers her appeal.

This disunity reflects a broader malaise among Ireland’s independent politicians. Rather than uniting behind a candidate who could embody a non-partisan, conservative-leaning vision, the independents have thus far allowed personal ambitions and ideological differences to prevail.

The result is a fragmented field that leaves the major parties to dominate, further entrenching Ireland’s political establishment. For conservatives, this is a missed opportunity to champion a candidate who could challenge the liberal orthodoxy that has defined the presidency under an interventionist Higgins.

That being said, the Irish presidency, as defined by Article 12 of the Constitution, is a largely ceremonial role with limited powers.

The president acts as a guardian of the Constitution, with the authority to refer legislation to the Supreme Court, appoint the Taoiseach and other ministers (on the Dáil’s nomination), and represent Ireland at home and abroad. It is a position of symbolic importance, meant to embody the nation’s unity and values. Yet, the current campaign’s lack of substance risks undermining this role’s dignity.

However, the presidency’s constitutional constraints should, in theory, make it an ideal platform for a figure of integrity and gravitas to rise above partisan politics. Instead, the 2025 race has become a battleground for party manoeuvring and personal vendettas.

The absence of a serious debate about the presidency’s role in a rapidly changing Ireland, where issues like immigration, economic inequality, and cultural identity loom large, is a disservice to the office.

A conservative perspective would argue for a president who champions national sovereignty, traditional values, and economic prudence, yet no candidate has effectively articulated such a vision. Fine Gael’s presumptive nominee, likely Heather Humphreys following McGuinness’s withdrawal, faces an uphill battle compounded by the political troubles of party leader and Tánaiste Simon Harris.

Harris, once dubbed the “baby of the Dáil,” has struggled to maintain public confidence amid a housing crisis, high rents, and economic challenges that have dogged Fine Gael’s 14-year tenure in government. Polls show Fine Gael neck-and-neck with Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, with Harris’s leadership criticised for gaffes and a perceived lack of gravitas.

This baggage will inevitably weigh on Fine Gael’s nominee. Humphreys, a former minister with a strong rural appeal, is seen as a reluctant candidate who entered the race only after McGuinness’s exit.

While her cross-party appeal and shared-island vision could resonate, her association with a floundering Fine Gael risks alienating voters. The party’s failure to address pressing issues like housing, notoriously described by former Fine Gael Finance Minister Michael Noonan as “problems of success,” has eroded public trust.

While Fine Gael’s nominee, whether Humphreys or another, will have little choice but to distance themselves from Harris’s missteps. Without this, their campaign risks being overshadowed by the party’s broader failures.

Perhaps the most cringe-worthy subplot of this election was the, entirely self-inflicted, predicament faced by Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Despite Martin’s insistence that the party will only back a candidate with broad appeal, a significant faction within Fianna Fáil rallied behind former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, a figure mired in controversy from the Mahon Tribunal and his role in Ireland’s financial crisis. Ahern, who rejoined the party in 2023, has been teasing a presidential run for years, with polls showing some support among Fianna Fáil voters.

Martin’s opposition to Ahern’s candidacy was clear, indeed he has publicly ruled out supporting him, with journalists such as Mick Clifford citing the “dusty tribunal skeletons” that would resurface during a campaign.

Yet, the fact that so many party members backed Ahern was a humiliating rebuke of Martin’s leadership. Fianna Fáil’s indecision, exemplified by Martin’s vague statements about seeking a consensus candidate has left the party rudderless.

Names like Mary Hanafin, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, and Colum Eastwood have been floated, but none have gained traction, leaving Ahern’s shadow to loom large. For a party that hadn’t fielded a presidential candidate since McAleese’s 1997 victory, this internal discord was an embarrassing spectacle that undermines Martin’s authority and Fianna Fáil’s credibility.

As Ireland approaches the November 11, 2025, deadline for this election, the current state of the presidential race is a stark reminder of the need for principled leadership. Those of a conservative persuasion attempted to ensure that a candidate was selected who can restore dignity to the office, champion national unity, and reject the populist and progressive excesses that have characterised Higgin’s tenure; they failed in that goal.

As noted above, the failure of independents to unite, the baggage of Fine Gael’s nominee, and Fianna Fáil’s flirtation with a disgraced figure like Ahern all point to a deeper malaise in Irish politics.