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Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her name ‘will not go forward’ as the party’s nominee for president. McDonald said it was her priority to ‘lead from the front’ in holding the current Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition to account, and that it was worthwhile for the party to test ‘every proposition’ in relation to a candidate. Speaking on RTE’s Morning Ireland, McDonald did not clarify if it would run its own candidate or back left-wing hopeful Catherine Connolly when it announces its decision on September 20. The party’s leader in Stormont, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, told the PA news agency that the next president should use the office to advocate for Irish unity. Asked if O’Neill would be the candidate, McDonald said the party’s process was underway. ‘I have a real sense of the importance of this time in Irish political and indeed in Irish historical life,’ she said, outlining her reasons for not running herself. ‘I believe that whoever is the Uachtaran [president] following the election will likely be the Uachtaran in office as we move into referendums and Irish reunification and all of the politics and the interaction that needs to happen around that...I’m mindful also that there is a real need to get Fianna Fail and Fine Gael out of office, out of government, and also to keep them out of the Aras [the president’s official residence in Dublin]. ‘But, for me, at this point in time, my effort has to be in respect of holding this government to account day and daily, building with my Sinn Fein colleagues, and with colleagues beyond Sinn Fein, a real alternative as to when the next general election occurs.’ For those reasons, she said, ‘my name will not go forward’. Connolly, who is a strong voice on Palestine and neutrality, secured the backing of a variety of other opposition parties to become the first candidate in the race in July. The Galway TD has faced questions over a trip to Syria in 2018 and her description of ex-MEPs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace as ‘like-minded’. She has sought the backing of Sinn Fein, but the party has yet to make a decision. McDonald said that Connolly ‘is in the reckoning’ if Sinn Fein does not run its own candidate. The presidential race is expected to gather pace this week as local authorities hear pitches from candidate hopefuls and big parties set out their election stalls. With seven weeks to go before votes are cast, there are two confirmed candidates in the race. Fianna Fail is expected to confirm a third on Tuesday. Former Dublin football manager and retired army officer Jim Gavin has the public backing of senior party figures, while MEP and former junior minister Billy Kelleher appears to have more of a battle ahead of him. Former social protection minister Heather Humphreys, Fine Gael’s presidential nominee, is expected to launch her campaign officially in the coming days. She has already faced questions over an abandoned policy that would have seen disabled people in receipt of social welfare medically assessed every five years. Several high-profile figures have expressed their interest in the presidency. Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has appealed to the public to convince councillors to nominate him, while millionaire entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan, previous presidential candidate Peter Casey, and independent Nick Delehanty have also said they would look to be nominated. Outgoing president Michael D Higgins has been in the role since 2011, having served the maximum two terms. By Grainne Ni Aodha and Cillian Sherlock, PA source: PA Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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