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Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín speaking to reporters earlier © RollingNews.ie
next president
TDs were queuing up in the rain to have their say on the Áras race this morning
A particularly wet St Swithin’s Day saw TDs line up to outline their party position.
LAST UPDATE | 15 Jul 2025
POLITICIANS QUEUED UP outside Leinster House this morning to speak with reporters about the day’s event, but journalists were most-interested in who they wanted to see in another 18th century building at the end of the year.
The Presidential election has heated up since last week, when independent Galway West TD Catherine Connolly became the first candidate to publicly declare that she will run in the presidential election.
People Before Profit and the Social Democrats were quick to back the left-wing politician, but questions still remain in respect of other opposition parties – particularly Connolly’s old tent, Labour.
First, however, Dublin West TD Ruth Coppinger wanted to make an important distinction, outlining that the Solidarity wing of the People Before Profit-Solidarity alliance had yet to back a candidate.
While she welcomed the establishment of a left-wing campaign and believed Connolly’s viewed aligned with her party, she said the small group of elected and non-elected members had yet to formally thrash it out.
“We just haven’t met yet,” Coppinger told reporters. “We’ve been consulting members about it now, and we’ll talk to Catherine and then come to a decision.”
She added: “We have one TD and just a few councillors, the presidency hasn’t been our top priority.”
People Before Profit’s TD Paul Murphy said his wing of the alliance are “very enthusiastic” about Connolly’s presidential bid, on the other hand. He said that there is a potential to push a left-wing candidate nationally and hopes other parties unite.
The Social Democrats have similarly already backed Connolly. The party today expressed “hope that all left wing parties would come out to support her”.
Connolly meeting old friends
The biggest question mark is over Labour. Connolly and her sister left the party in 2006 after she was rejected a place as current President Michael D. Higgins’ running mate in Galway West in that year’s general election.
Connolly approached the party last week to seek its support and has continued to discuss the topic with Labour leader Ivana Bacik, TDs George Lawlor and Marie Sherlock said today.
While Lawlor and Sherlock were cautious with their words in front of reporters, they did detail that the parliamentary party would be meeting with Connolly today as the independent TD seeks to gain support from over 20 Oireachtas members.
“We will speak with our members but no decision will be made today, it’s simply an informal meeting,” Lawlor said, adding that the meeting was “not just a case of the Labour Party rowing in so we’re not left out”.
He said that the party would continue its discussions over other potential candidates, but conceded that the Labour Party has had no other meetings organised with different potential nominees.
Sherlock said nothing would be decided until the party leader, Ivana Bacik, and its members spoke with Connolly thoroughly: “We will have a very frank and detailed conversation with Catherine and then a decision will be made.”
The Green Party were also in negotiations with left-wing and opposition parties over potentially backing a single candidate. Unlike Labour, the party leader and sole TD Roderic O’Gorman said the Greens have not been approached.
He added that there would be a “real benefit from mobilising parties on the left”. O’Gorman said that the party’s support for a candidate depended on a number of elements, which would be decided at a later date.
He ruled out that the element of surprise to The Journal and confirmed that the Green Party would not be proposing a candidate.
Independents’ selection bloc
Peadar Tóibín claims his party Aontú has been in discussions with like-minded independents and one other party in respect of the Presidency.
Tóibín was tight-lipped about which other party he had been in discussions with, until reporters informed him that Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins had told reporters at a press conference earlier that his party had not been in touch in Aontú.
In fact, Cork TD Collins told journalists that he didn’t believe Tóibín’s party had a chance of successfully pitching a candidate in the presidential election and that Independent Ireland were giving “serious consideration” to backing to Connolly.
Tóibín was quick to clarify to journalists that his party had only a few conversations with Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly, who would not be able to provide a vote to a candidate as he is outside the Oireachtas.
He said Aontú had not approached the Midlands North West MEP to run as a candidate. Tóibín suggested, however, that there are one or two others that Aontú had in mind – but refused to detail names.
The Meath West TD said that he has spoken with independent members of the Oireachtas, seeking that they pitch in to the same campaign, and suggested that there was a “danger” voters would be given a non-representative binary choice of candidates.
He said Aontú has suggested that up to 25 TDs and senators come together to create a “selection bloc”, whereby candidates of similar values could put themselves forward to seek a nomination.
“Then there will be a vote amongst those TDs and senators in a PR-STV style to select who would be the best candidate amongst them,” explained Tóibín.
Tóibín said some independents “are not being proactive” on this election, and that voters may not feel either potential candidate represents them.
Elsewhere, Fine Gael politician Mairead McGuinness has been selected as her party’s candidate.
Fianna Fáil deputy leader and public expenditure minister Jack Chambers meanwhile today told RTÉ Radio One that the party is “assessing our options”.
He ruled out that party leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin would be the group’s candidate.
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