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IRELAND GOES INTO 2026 with a new president, a new finance minister and, of course, a few new scandals under its belt.
As the year draws to a close, we thought we would reflect on the biggest moments of the political year through thisteen photos.
The year started off with a bang, as the Dáil erupted in an unprecedented row.
What was supposed to be a smooth transition to a new coalition turned into a passionate exchange of views (and some choice words) over the Regional Independents, who participated in government formation talks, getting opposition speaking rights.
Almost all of the Opposition TDs in the Dáil were on one side of the issue, while the Regional Independents Group, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were on the other.
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy struggled to control the hubbub and was forced to suspend the Dáil twice in an hour.
During the heated exchanges, Independent TD Michael Lowry was pictured raising two fingers to his Dáil colleagues.
Virgin Media News correspondent Gavan Reilly took a now infamous screenshot of Lowry making the gesture while sitting inside the chamber.
A number of opposition politicians accused Lowry of “giving two fingers to the Irish people” in posts shared on social media.
Lowry later described it as “an errant gesture” that was “taken out of context”, and was not meant to cause offence.
In 2025, Ireland elected its next president, Catherine Connolly.
Perhaps one of the most important traits for any presidential hopeful to possess is likeability.
While canvassing in Ballybough in Dublin, the 68-year-old wowed locals by performing ‘keepie-uppies’ and played basketball with children.
A video shared by Sinn Féin of the keepie-uppies in question amassed over two million views on TikTok.
It became an iconic moment of the 2025 presidential election.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns’ return from maternity leave was a baptism of fire, as she walked right into yet another scandal.
Eoin Hayes, who had previously been suspended from the party over shares he had in the IDF-linked Palantir, was back in the news again.
The Dublin Bay South TD apologised as photos resurfaced of him wearing “brown makeup” on his face and hands while dressing up as then-US president Barack Obama at a Halloween party in 2009.
Cairns said she was “disappointed and annoyed” but, given the length of time that had passed since the incident occurred, the party decided not to take any further action.
At first, the presidential election was a three-horse race: Independent candidate Connolly, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys and Fianna Fáil’s Jim Gavin.
The trio appeared on The Week in Politics, where Gavin was asked about reports that he allegedly did not repay a tenant €3,300 in rent mistakenly sent to him over a decade ago.
Gavin’s inability to explain the situation marked the end of his presidential run. Later that day, he withdrew from the race.
Fianna Fáil has undertaken a review into his selection as the party’s candidate, but the findings have yet to be published.
Despite Gavin dropping out, his name remained on the ballot as it was too late to change it. In the end, he got 103,568 votes.
Separately, a campaign for people to spoil their votes was championed by businessman Declan Ganley and backed by disgruntled supporters of would-be candidates who failed to get their names on the ballot.
Some 12.9% of the overall votes were spoiled. It’s over ten times the amount spoiled in the 2018 presidential election.
Catherine Connolly won the presidential election, and the victory was one of historic proportions.
She secured 914,143 first preference votes (63%) – a record in Irish presidential election history. Humphreys, her sole opponent, got 424,986 votes.
Electing a new president means saying goodbye to the old one.
Michael D Higgins left office after 14 years. Here’s a summary of his two terms.
After the presidential election, political pundit and broadcaster Ivan Yates got into a spot of bother.
During the race, Yates had attracted criticism for saying he would, if he were advising Fine Gael, “smear the bejaysus” out of Connolly.
Then, in November, it emerged that Yates had coached Gavin, while also co-hosting an independent podcast and presenting shows on Newstalk during campaigning.
He was brought before the Oireachtas Media Committee, where he said he was surprised at the backlash, describing it as “hysteria”.
In November, Paschal Donohoe unexpectedly departed from politics, announcing that he accepted the role as managing director and chief knowledge officer at the World Bank - essentially becoming the bank’s number two.
The Fine Gael TD, who was first elected to the Dáil in 2011, had held the position since January, having previously served as finance minister between 2017 and 2022.
Tánaiste Simon Harris became the new finance minister.
In December, Gareth Sheridan, the millionaire who unsuccessfully launched a bid to get on the presidential ballot, garnered criticism online after he posted photos with various celebrities, including Russell Brand, controversial ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and conspiracy theorist and conservative campaigner Candace Owens.
Sheridan said the photos were taken at a Christmas party hosted by Carlson, which was “not a political event”.
Brand, a former comedian, is currently facing a series of criminal charges, including rape and sexual assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first in-person trip to Ireland since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Zelenskyy took the opportunity to thank Ireland for taking in 120,000 Ukrainians in need of refuge.
He said he believed that Ireland, because of its history, knows what Ukraine is going through.
The high-security trip was not without intrigue. The Journal reported that four unidentified military-style drones breached a no-fly zone and flew towards the flight path of Zelenskyy’s plane as he was nearing Ireland. President of the European Council António Costa described the incident as “another example of the hybrid attacks from Russia” in Europe.
The Taoiseach attended the British-Irish Council Summit in December and shared a photo of what he was up to.
Martin is pictured behind the wheel of a Dave’s Coaches bus, from the much-loved BBC sitcom ‘Gavin and Stacey’. The Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee are piled in the back.
Held in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, the theme of the summit this time around was ‘A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands.’
The nod to ‘Gavin and Stacey’ makes more sense with this context.
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