Latest news with #Leas
Extra.ie
3 days ago
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Who is the new favourite for President with Mairead McGuinness OUT?
Mairéad McGuinness has dropped out of the race for the Irish Presidential election. The former EU Commissioner and favourite to win the race, Ms McGuinness, has cited health reasons for her decision and disclosed that she was hospitalised last week. With Ms McGuinness withdrawing, the race has since been blown open — with former Mayor of Galway and Leas Ceann Comhairle Catherine Connolly emerging as the new favourite. Mairéad McGuinness has dropped out of the race for the Irish Presidential election. Pic:Ms Connolly, a Galway West TD, is now the only official candidate — with her having support from a number of left-leaning parties and independents including People Before Profit and the Social Democrats. Paddy Power have since placed Ms Connolly's odds of becoming President at 10/11, while Fine Gael's Seán Kelly — who was also expected to compete with Ms McGuinness before he himself dropped out — has also re-entered the betting pool, with his odds standing at 9/4 at the time of writing. Mr Kelly has not responded to potentially re-seeking the nomination following his colleague's departure from the race, saying at the time of his own decision not to seek the nomination that he ultimately decided against it after weighing up the pros and cons of taking on the job. Catherine Connolly, who is the only official nominee at the time of writing, has seen the odds of her winning the election go to 10/11 — making her the favourite. Pic: Eamonn Farrell/ While Fianna Fáil have yet to confirm who their candidate will be, many are speculating that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will be their nomination — with the odds of him replacing Michael D Higgins standing at 5/1. Similarly, Sinn Féin have not announced who their nominee will be or if they will run one at all — but after Mary Lou McDonald refused to rule herself out of the nomination, her odds have been slashed to 11/2. A number of potential candidates have also expressed their interest in running for the office, although the odds of them getting the keys to the Áras are slim — with Michael Flatley, who confirmed he's seeking a nomination, coming in at 18/1. Other potential nominees include former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (pictured), former CMO Dr Tony Holohan and 2018 runner-up Peter Casey. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Former Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, who's also reportedly seeking the nomination, is a rank outsider, with Paddy Power having his odds of being the next President at 25/1, while pharmaceutical executive Gareth Sheridan, who's looking to be the youngest Presidential nominee ever, has seen his odds tumble from 22/1 when he initially announced his intentions to 50/1 at the time of writing. Former nominee and 2018 runner-up Peter Casey is currently 66/1, with other potential nominees standing at those odds including former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams and GAA pundit Joe Brolly. Announcing her decision on Thursday (August 14), Ms McGuinness said that she was pulling out on health grounds, and had stayed in hospital last week. 'I have made the very difficult decision to withdraw my name as the Fine Gael nominee for the Presidential election,' Ms McGuinness said in a statement. 'This decision is not lightly taken and follows a stay in hospital last week. 'My priority now is my health. Given that the election is in a short couple of months, I do not believe that I have the strength to give the campaign my all.'
Irish Times
14-05-2025
- Irish Times
Red Ruby
Wind swirls around them, guiding them to clues as the clock ticks and the day goes by. Fortunately for Detective Noone, the wind guides her to a clue that may crack the case after all. A hair, not just any hair because neither Noone nor Leas had red wavy hair. Noone was on task immediately, off to contact the forensic employees to bag the evidence. One step closer to finding their killer. Leas found an earring too that was quickly bagged. An hour later, the scene was ready for the secondary officer to cross-examine. As they were packing up, Noone noticed Leas's stuff. What looked like evidence bags were hidden into the M-seams of her blazer. Noone called her out on it but Leas couldn't keep her cool. 'Why do we have to find the killer anyway? They're not doing anything wrong: the killer is taking the escaped fugitives off our hands. That's less money we have to pay. The prisons are already overcrowded enough. They're letting out death row prisoners after a quarter of their sentence. So what if the killer is killing them off before they kill an innocent civilian again?' Noone has never seen this side of her partner before. They have been partners for the longest time. They trained in the academy together, became probational officers together, made detective in their third year together. There was not one thing Noone didn't know about Leas. READ MORE 'We can't choose who we save, Leas. It's part of the job you signed up for. I don't want to be the one who takes you off this case.' Leas says nothing, Noone stunned. They had never had a fight like this before. They were thick as thieves, some even said. People were often envious of their bond, but nobody would be envious of this. Leas storms off, upset and enraged, taking the evidence bags with her. 'Wait! Don't leave like this!' Noone grabs the back of Leas' jacket, accidentally pulling her hair. Pulling her hand back, she held a blond wig. Noone looked up. What she saw was not the Leas she knew but a Leas with red wavy hair… Tales to Scale focuses on creative engagements between Fighting Words and Deis primary and secondary schools across Ireland. Creative workshops run by Fighting Words offer positive spaces in its centres, in local libraries and classrooms for young people to tell their stories. Across more than 500 activities in 2024, Fighting Words met 9,352 young people from more than 200 Deis schools through workshops, summer camps, an after-school program called Word Warriors and its Book Project. More than 200 stories have been published at
