LAST UPDATE | 14 Sep 2025

PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL HEATHER Humphreys has said she attended Orange Order parades as a child but stopped going when the Troubles broke out.

The Fine Gael candidate, who is a Presbyterian, said she would now vote for Irish unity and that she was an example to unionists in Northern Ireland of Irish “tolerance and inclusivity”.

However, she has come under pressure over when her husband stopped attending Orange Order gatherings as per reporting in today’s Irish Mail on Sunday.

The Orange Order is a British unionist and conservative organisation that was founded in the late 1700s.

Its membership is made up of local branches, some of which have come to attention most recently for their objection to a GAA camp for children in Co Down and for the annual 12 July parades that have seen the erection of effigies of public figures and migrants.

Humphreys launched her campaign in her home county of Monaghan yesterday, close to the border.

In a speech to party members, she talked about how her grandfather had signed the Ulster Covenant in 1912 – an oath of resistance signed by hundreds of thousands of unionists against home rule on the island of Ireland.

Speaking to the media, she referenced her Protestant heritage as she said she wanted to “reach out” to communities in Northern Ireland.

She said she attended Orange Order parades with her parents, calling it a “family day out” and a “cultural day” for attendees.

But Humphreys added: “When the Troubles started, people were concerned and I didn’t go then after that.”

Heather Humphreys during her campaign launch. PA PA

She believes “things have moved on a lot”, outlining that she has attended St Patrick’s Day parades in Cootehill, Co Cavan, “when Orange bands from Northern Ireland took part in those parades”.

“I think that is a sign of where we are now,” Humphreys said.

If elected, she wants to continue to build on the work of former Irish president Mary McAleese who she said did “wonderful work in reaching out to communities” in the North.

“I feel I am well placed to do that, to extend the hand of friendship and to break down those barriers and to have that conversation,” Humphreys said.

Humphreys added that the Good Friday Agreement was the basis for any discussion about Irish unity.

“I certainly want to see a united Ireland, I definitely do, I have committed to that, but only through working with people and bringing them together,” she said.

“I think when people from the unionist background look at me, for example, I can honestly say to them this country has given me everything I have, it has made me what I am.”

I am an example of a tolerant, inclusive Ireland that can accommodate different traditions and different viewpoints.

She added to reporters: “Of course I’ll vote for a united Ireland.”

Asked if she would use the office of president to advocate for Irish unity, she said that she wants to “convince people that this is a safe place” when it comes to identity and culture for different communities.

Humphreys cautioned that “when you scratch back the surface, there are deep divisions” in Northern communities which have to be addressed.

Humphreys would not put a timeline on when she believed a unity referendum would take place.

“We don’t want to end up in a situation like we had with a referendum in the UK on Brexit and 51% said no and 49% said yes. That is not going to solve problems,” Humphreys said.

Political reaction

A surprise defender of Humphreys was Sinn Féin’s senior TD Eoin Ó Broin, who said there was a need to “accept” that the Orange Order is an “important cultural institution” for Unionists and many Protestants.

“Heather is an Ulster Protestant – I would have been surprised if she hadn’t attended marches,” Ó Broin told Anton Savage on Newstalk this morning.

O Broin said there are “historic and more contemporaneous controversies” involving the Orange Order which should not be discounted.

However, he added that the members of the group needed to feature in discussions “if we’re serious about having a conversation” about Irish reunification.

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton