Mary Lou McDonald rules herself out of Irish presidential race

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her name “will not go forward” as the party’s nominee for president.

Ms McDonald said it was her priority to “lead from the front” in holding the current Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition to account.

She said it was worthwhile for the party to test “every proposition” in relation to a candidate.

Speaking on RTE’s Morning Ireland, Ms 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 Ms O’Neill would be the candidate, Ms McDonald said the party’s process was under way.

“My preference is that we call this right and, at the risk of sounding repetitive, we have options,” she said.

Outlining her reasons for not running herself, Ms McDonald said her efforts had to remain on holding the Irish government to account as the leader of the opposition in the Dail.

“I have a real sense of the importance of this time in Irish political and indeed in Irish historical life,” she said.

“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, and I think the Uachtaran will play a very, very important role at a time of huge opportunity and transition in Irish life and for that reason I’ve considered very carefully what we as a party do, but also what I do myself personally.

“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 at Aras an Uachtarain 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.

“So for those reasons, I’ve informed some of my colleagues over the weekend, and I’ll be talking to others obviously here in Dun Laoghaire today (at a party think-in event), and my name will not go forward for that reason.”

Ms 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.

She has sought the backing of Sinn Fein but the party has yet to make a decision.

Ms McDonald said that Ms 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.

Polling day has been confirmed as Friday October 24 and nominations for candidates will close a month before that.

With seven weeks to go before votes are cast, there are two confirmed candidates in the race.

Fianna Fail is expected to confirm the third on Tuesday when it hosts a head-to-head between a popular Cork parliamentarian and a Dublin sporting hero.

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.

The parliamentary party will vote for its preferred candidate by secret ballot, possibly offering an element of drama.

To run as a presidential candidate, a person must be an Irish citizen over the age of 35 and nominated by either 20 Irish parliamentarians or by four local authorities.

There are 174 TDs and 60 senators in the Irish parliament, with Fianna Fail (48), Sinn Fein (39) and Fine Gael (38) commanding enough support in the Dail to put forward their own candidates.

Ms Connolly was the first candidate to publicly gather the required support.

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”.

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.

A number of celebrities and high-profile figures have expressed their interest in the role in recent months.

Their most likely route to secure the nomination to become a presidential candidate is through 31 councils.

Former weather forecaster Joanna Donnelly and Riverdance star Michael Flatley announced last week that they would no longer be looking to become candidates.

Mr Flatley said he had to put his family and health first, while Ms Donnelly said she came to understand she was “underprepared” for a tilt at the Aras, just days after publicly declaring her interest.

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has also 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 through the council route.

On Monday, around a dozen candidates were addressing Kerry County Council to pitch why they should be nominated as a presidential candidate.

The outgoing president Michael D Higgins has been in the role since 2011, having served the maximum two terms.