DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL was one of multiple local authorities that opted not to nominate a candidate for the presidential race after hearing from those who were attempting to win them over with arguments on housing, impartiality, immigration, and in one case “kindness”. 

Fifty voted in favour of not nominating a candidate, while nine voted against that motion.

It is safe to say that there was a collective sense of bewilderment as the elected officials filed out of the city hall tonight. 

But there was also a sense of relief, because former MMA fighter Conor McGregor, who was found liable for the sexual assault of Nikita Hand by a civil court jury, did not show up. 

They were expecting paparazzi, protestors, and a general box office event. 

That didn’t materialise, but plenty of speakers did show up (though most of them were late after legging it back from various other local authorities that held meetings earlier).

A Fine Gael councillor told The Journal: “It was the most bizarre meeting I have ever attended in my time as a councillor. It was at times comical, at times farcical, and at times offensive.

“It was clear that the majority of the people who presented themselves in front of us had no idea of either the role of the President or the role of the councillors to whom they were speaking, and I think that would be a basic requirement if you are going to put yourself forward,” they added. 

“The public is not interested in how many degrees or MAs you have, it verges on snobbery,” said Sinn Féin’s Daithi Doolan, who strongly felt that the standout theme of the pitches given was “elitism”. 

The Green Party’s Donna Cooney said: “It was my understanding that the code of conduct meant that potential candidates would not be able to use racial slurs”. 

She added that one candidate should have been muted, in her view, on the basis of the language they used, and that the chamber should have been temporarily suspended. 

Another councillor from a smaller party simply said: “That could have been an email,” and that the presentations were “disrespectful to the office of the President”. 

Green Party Councillor Feljin Jose said: “Dragon’s Den has a lot to answer for”. 

Catherine Morrissey, a corporate consultant and Kildare native, said she was running for President because she wanted to address homelessness and overcrowding in emergency departments. 

Multiple councillors asked her how she planned to do that considering the limitations of the office she was running for. She was also asked why she didn’t run for local or national election if she wanted to achieve those aims. She said she isn’t a very political person. 

Sarah Louise Mulligan had to be warned not to violate the code of conduct for candidates multiple times and she made several baseless claims about migrants causing a “rise in crime”. 

Lord Mayor Ray McAdam had told her “language matters” after she attempted to go into a tangent about the nationality of Aisling Murphy’s murderer. 

Multiple councillors called out point of order as Mulligan said that “Ireland needs to be saved” and that the country needs to “close our borders very fast”. One councillor called for her mic to be turned off. 

However, Councillor Malachy Steenson said that there had been attempts in the chamber to “shut down” Mulligan, and he then proceeded to start speaking about the murdered far-right commentator Charlie Kirk, which drew groans from the chamber. 

Mulligan then said she was dedicating her speech to Kirk, and that she “stands with Elon Musk”. 

“Oh mammy,” one councillor could be heard exclaiming. 

Anti-vaccinations campaigner Dolores Cahill gave a rundown of her career and said that she has been misunderstood throughout it. She said very little about what she would do as President, apart from wanting to focus on education.

Maria Steen seemed slightly rattled after what was likely a long day of travelling to try and secure nominations. 

Her pitch to councillors was that they don’t need to feel that they would vote for her in the election, they just needed to agree that she would be a good independent voice who would bring something to the presidential race. 

Steen started speaking about how a Fianna Fáil councillor in Longford said he wouldn’t be listening to her as his daughter is gay (Steen campaigned against gay marriage in the referendum). 

She said that she has gay people on her team, and that “lots of gay people” want to see her “go forward as a candidate”. 

It raised eyebrows. 

Steen was asked her stance on the genocide in Gaza and she didn’t answer on that point, though she did run out of time and got cut off in her replies.

Dr Cora Stack, a maths lecturer, spoke about her belief that Ireland should maintain its neutrality and her horror over the situation in Gaza. 

Later, she tried to interrupt proceedings several times by speaking over the chair, and he had to ask her to desist. 

Lorna McCormack spoke about her work with the deaf community, and as a fibre artist, and a worker in the wool and textiles industry. She advocated for “kindness and empathy” in politics. Her speech roused very little interest from the councillors. At one point she said that no one pulls the wool over her eyes – which failed to lift the mood in the chamber. 

Keith McGrory, a businessman in the construction sector from Donegal spoke passionately about the need for housing reform, and also about his experiences of growing up during the Troubles and the lifelong injuries his brother sustained as a result of being caught up in the Omagh bombing. He said he wants an inclusive Ireland that is for everyone, no matter their background. 

However, when asked by Councillor Gavin Pepper if he, as President, would attend a friendly football match between the Republic of Ireland and Israel, he said he would, and that he doesn’t believe we can achieve peace without attending events. 

That too raised eyebrows. 

There was a round of applause when the councillors were finally freed, and one suggested on the way out that perhaps a candidate should have to secure at least the backing of three councillors before they could make a pitch to the whole council, “because if they can’t get three, sure what hope would they have anyway?”

Though Gareth Sheridan managed to get the backing of Kerry County Council today, five councils went the same way as Dublin City, and it remains unclear if the local authorities pathway will be successful for any of our hopefuls.