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JOANNA DONNELLY HOPES to be an “alternative” candidate for the public when they go to the polls in next month’s presidential election.
The former Met Éireann forecaster threw her hat in the ring earlier this week when she contacted local authorities asking them to allow her to address councillors as part of her bid to get on the ballot.
Áras hopefuls opting for the ‘council route’ need the backing of four local authorities in order to enter the race.
Donnelly joins a growing list of potential candidates seeking to get the support of local politicians around the country, guided by the belief that she offers something different to voters.
The meteorologist made headlines this year when she left her Met Éireann role after a series of clashes with management, which she detailed in a column in the Sunday Independent.
She’s described her break with the national forecaster as traumatic, but she says she’s become a “new person” since leaving.
When she spoke to The Journal last month about the next steps in her career, Donnelly talked of books and family time – but not the presidency.
She seemed glad of the break after a busy few months that also included a run on RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars at the start of the year.
So why, just a few weeks later, has she launched herself back into the public eye in a bid for the country’s highest political office?
Speaking today she said that while she had “no control” over the situation she found herself in in Met Éireann, she was now happier and more relaxed “and able to see a clear vision of what I want for my future”.
She said she’s realised that the things she enjoyed most about her job as a meteorologist were public engagements, promoting STEM subjects and being “a voice of reason” in the climate change conversation.
Donnelly, who spoke to The Journal at her home in north county Dublin this morning, believes she’s gained the trust of the people of Ireland from years of speaking to them each night on TV.
“I’ve been very strategic in building a relationship with the public, knowing that I need them to know me and to trust me.
“I used to stand with my hand in my pocket. I didn’t do it just to show off that my dress had a pocket.
“When you stand in a relaxed manner with your hand in your pocket, you look like somebody that is in control, sure of themselves, relaxed, and you can only be those things if you’re confident that what you’re saying is the truth.”
Asked what sparked the idea to run for the Áras, Donnelly said it was a mix of timing and encouragement from family, friends and viewers.
“All I’ve been hearing about are the presidential nominations and the presidential race.
“I’m thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life, and I’m influenced by the conversations going on around me, and I’m influenced, for good or bad, by the people suggesting that they wanted me to be their president,” she said.
“Well, actually, that is a job I can do. I could be a good president, because I could represent the people of Ireland.”
Donnelly said she’s passionate about reducing wealth inequality.
She said she spent the first three years of her life in a tenement building before her family got a council house in Finglas.
Her father died shortly after the family moved and she was raised by her mother and her extended family. She said her childhood was “a little bit chaotic”, but experiencing hardship has motivated her to help people in need.
Elsewhere, she said she believed it was important that all presidential nominees would have the ability to speak Irish. She completed a course in the language a few years back to bring her standard up.
So why go for Donnelly?
“Why not me?”, she says.
“It’s an alternative candidate to offer to the Irish public. If they see themselves reflected in me, then I’m here to serve.”
She acknowledged that, given her lack of experience in the political arena, some may think she’s not qualified for the role. But she says they’re wrong.
“I’m motivated to do this role to serve the Irish public,” she said.
The meteorologist studied applied maths at DCU in the 1990s before going to work for Met Éireann.
Describing herself today as “not very political”, she said she’s never been a member of a political party and has never run for public office – making the prospect of organising a presidential campaign, admittedly, daunting.
Could she benefit from the backing of a party? Maybe. But none particularly appeal to her, she said.
“Most political parties are the same.
“They might have small, minor differences between themselves, but we’ve seen politicians switch from one party to another, and we’ve seen parties that we always thought were divisive merge or form a government together.”
According to Donnelly, Irish people are largely centrists, like herself.
However, on issues such as abortion and marriage equality, Donnelly is openly progressive. She prefers the term “forward thinking” over “left leaning”.
The Dubliner has previous experience as a campaigner through her involvement with the IVF charity Pomegranate, which she co-founded in 2010 after struggling with infertility.
Donnelly had her second child through IVF. When she and her husband – fellow forecaster Harm Luijkx – decided to have a third child, they expected to have to do the same again, but Donnelly fell pregnant naturally.
“I said at the time to my friend who was going through the same thing as me, ‘if I get to keep this baby, I’m going to use that money to help somebody else’.”
She set up the charity to help others who couldn’t afford IVF, and in its 11 years in operation Pomegranate funded treatment for 36 couples. It ceased operations in 2022 as IVF became publicly funded.
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