FIRST CONTACT AMONG the candidates in the presidential election of 2025 is in the books. 

After a month of debate about who’d get on the ballot, the official candidates first get to Ballymount as Virgin Media gathered them together in the same room. 

In order of where they sat left to right, Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin all set out their stall and debated all manner of topics. Some of which even related to the presidency. 

So, what did we learn about the candidates? 

Much of the talk ahead of tonight was that Fianna Fáil’s big gamble of picking a political novice in the form of Gavin needed to be justified on the debate stage. 

On the trail so far, Gavin has seemed rather more meek than one would expect from a former Defence Forces officer and Dublin GAA manager. 

The pressure was on to dial up the energy and he seemed to have got the message when he challenged Connolly early on about her comments on European militarism. 

Gavin has been trying to talk up that, at 54, he sees himself as a young man and the Weetabix certainly seemed to have lasted into the evening as he presented a lively figure. 

The energy also seemed to extend to his hands, which were moving like a conductor’s baton for much of the evening.

Criticisms of Gavin have also honed in on accusations that he’s sounded a bit PR-driven. It’s a trap he fell into again when asked about the use of Irish flags by anti-immigrant groups.

Dodging the question, he said that when people raise the flag they’re “speaking to inclusion and equality”. 

On the same question, Connolly at least called it for what it is, saying there are people who use the flag to sow division and claim “the country is full”. Something which she said was “abhorrent”. 

Overall, Connolly probably had the strongest night of the three candidates. Whether one agrees with her politics, she probably did the best job at articulating her principles and was largely unfazed by the glare of the studio. 

Where she fell down was by often appealing squarely to her existing supporters and not to undecideds. Being against growing military spending is one thing, but using the phrase “military industrial complex” on five occasions is probably too many. 

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However, Connolly gave a two-minute answer on the housing crisis that any opposition leader would gladly repeat in a general election debate. Setting out her stall, as if it was needed, as the only non-government candidate in the race. 

On the other hand, decade-long former Fine Gael minister Humphreys has the difficulty of being the most government candidate in the race and therefore must defend a record the others do not. 

One of her low points in this regard was saying that successive housing ministers “really, really tried, they did their best”. 

Humphreys skills are more interpersonal than televisual and it’s long been said that debates would not be her strongest suit. This did appear to be the case for periods as she appeared to be the most nervous of the three candidates.  

Her best moment was probably one-minute pitch up top, in which she was strong at selling the importance of motherhood. A pitch that we’ve heard a lot in from one would-be candidate that didn’t make the race. 

Calling herself “a daughter, a mother and a grandmother”, Humphreys emphasised the “quiet strength of women” and asked the public to put their trust in her. 

We shall see. There are just over three weeks to go.