Irish presidential election candidates 2025 — who is up for it?
McGuinness, a former European commissioner, began contacting her closest supporters last week in an attempt to secure the 50 Fine Gael signatures needed to be formally nominated as a party candidate in the campaign to replace President Higgins in Aras an Uachtarain.
Connolly, the independent Galway West TD, has sought support from Independent Ireland and other parties who are in the process of considering potential candidates.
An Independent Ireland source said: 'Catherine met with one of our members to seek a nomination, she's a very pleasant lady, everyone likes her. We will have our own parliamentary meeting to discuss things and go from there.'
However, party members have also sought to encourage Ciaran Mullooly, Midlands North West MEP, and Michael Fitzmaurice, TD for Roscommon Galway, to consider a run for the Aras.
The leaders of Sinn Fein, People Before Profit, Labour and the Social Democrats will meet this week for the third time to consider backing a joint candidate with Connolly as well as Frances Black, the independent senator, the most likely candidates to be discussed.
Despite recent statements from Black suggesting that she is not considering an Aras run, left-wing parties believe that she remains 'very interested and open' to the prospect of becoming president.
The Fine Gael nomination process will begin on Monday and will close the following week on Tuesday at 4pm. To be nominated, those interested will be required to have 20 signatures from the parliamentary party, 25 Fine Gael councillors and five members of the executive council.
Michael O'Leary, the Ryanair boss, announced he would endorse McGuinness in her election campaign, but she may face competition from Seán Kelly, the Ireland South MEP, who told The Sunday Times he remained in 'two minds' about whether he should seek a nomination — although if he did decide to go for it, he would give it '110 per cent'.
Kelly said that while he had the necessary characteristics to do the job in terms of respecting the boundaries of the office, representing Ireland overseas and supporting the government, he was considering the impact on his family and his work as an MEP.
If he did decide to take on McGuinness and any other Fine Gael candidates that might emerge, there would be a number of hustings held in late July with a postal ballot of members to take place across August. In Fine Gael, the membership contribute 30 per cent of the overall vote, councillors' votes are worth 15 per cent and parliamentary party votes account for 55 per cent.
The parliamentary party will vote in one location, and a decision will be taken as to how councillors will vote; either in person or by postal ballot. The result will be announced, and the candidate ratified at an event in early September.
No clear candidates have emerged from Fianna Fail. One Fianna Fail minister said their party should not run a candidate unless someone emerged who could win or come close to winning, given the campaign would cost close to €500,000. They said it would cause 'untold grief' for Micheál Martin, the taoiseach, to field a 'losing horse'.
A candidate who receives at least one quarter of the quota of votes, based on the single transferable vote system, is entitled to reimbursement of election expenses. The maximum reimbursement allowed is €200,000.
The minister also dismissed the idea that there was significant internal support for Peter Power, the Unicef Ireland executive director and former Fianna Fail politician, or Mary Hanafin, the former Fianna Fail minister for education. Hanafin has also been actively seeking support from within the party.
Fianna Fail will make a decision in late summer on what would be the first contested presidential election for the party since Mary McAleese in 1997.
The election is likely to take place in late October or early November, with the nomination process expected to conclude in late August or early September.
Some Fianna Fail TDs strongly advocate for participation, while others believe the party should only field a candidate capable of winning.
'The names currently circulating are unlikely to be the final candidates,' a senior party source said.
• Brenda Power: Best candidates know the presidency could bite them in the Aras
The party is taking a methodical approach, thoroughly examining the election dynamics before making a final decision.
Some are also speculating that Bertie Ahern, the former taoiseach, may run as an independent candidate instead of running under the Fianna Fail banner.
Ahern told The Sunday Times he would consider a potential run over the summer and has said anyone interested should announce their intentions in August.
He said: 'It's just too early to say. We don't know who is going to be going for it and my line is always 'we'll see where it goes'.'
'I know from over the years that August is the time that people start declaring because the campaign would be September, October time.'
He felt recent polls regarding public support for potential candidates were 'meaningless'. He added: 'These are polls that aren't covering all the candidates. Nobody knows what Sinn Fein, Labour or the Social Democrats are doing yet, we'll have to see what they are doing first but later on in the summer, I'll have to put my mind to it.
'I'm focused on staying well and healthy, I have a lot of work that I'm currently involved in too that I need to consider.'
Peadar Toibin, the Aontu leader, said that he is in the process of speaking to two potential candidates who are 'seriously considering' running.
Joe Duffy, the recently retired RTE Liveline presenter, has said he will not contest the presidential election, ending recent speculation that he was taking time to 'mull over' a possible bid.
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