Mary Lou McDonald or Catherine Connolly for president? Sinn Fein can't decide
The Sinn Fein ard comhairle, which is the party's governing body, is expected to discuss presidential plans at a meeting this month, but senior figures believe the majority of members favour backing a candidate of the left rather than McDonald.
While the majority of Sinn Fein TDs who spoke to The Sunday Times said they believed backing a candidate of the left was the most likely outcome, there was a significant minority who felt McDonald should put her name forward.
Party sources believe if the preferences of the parliamentary party were tallied, there would be a 65 per cent to 35 per cent split in favour of backing a candidate agreed by the left, such as Catherine Connolly, the left-wing independent who formally launched her campaign last week.
Others believed it would be closer to 60 per cent against McDonald running, and 40 per cent in favour of it.
'There is a split there on the wider question of whether we should run our own candidate or not. There are a lot of people within the parliamentary party who think we should support Catherine Connolly,' a Sinn Fein source said.
'Having said that, the argument is being made that from the perspective of what we are trying to achieve, a united Ireland, this would be a great opportunity to further that, and that we would be mad not to take it.'
The senior party member said Connolly was a good choice because of her track record on social issues and pointed to her opposition to the family and care referendums.
'She was bang on when she expressed her concerns and we were really caught out there,' the source said.
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'We are also trying to make an argument to the electorate that there is a bloc there on the left, among the opposition, who could work together and form a government after the next general election, and backing Catherine would really help that argument.'
A second source said some TDs argued McDonald would make a formidable candidate. 'If we were to run someone, realistically it would have to be Michelle O'Neill [the Stormont first minister] or Mary Lou,' they said. 'If Mary Lou ran, she would wipe the floor in debates and sweep up votes across the board. It would be a good moment for the party.'
Among the grassroots of the party, however, there are sharper opinions. One local rural party member said they believed there was 'no way' McDonald would run and that the conversation was not one grounded in reality.
Another grassroots member said that in the course of the party's internal consultations on the presidency, it was never once suggested that McDonald could be the party's candidate and that the debate had been started by the media.
Although members of the ard comhairle are expected to discuss the plans at the end of this month, it is likely Sinn Fein will wait until August to announce its intentions. Connolly, the independent Galway West TD, formally announced her candidacy last week and said she would welcome the backing of Sinn Fein. She said she believed a united Ireland was on the cards 'soon' in comments widely viewed as an attempt to woo Sinn Fein.
Connolly also made a presentation to the Labour Party last week in an effort to win the support of its TDs. Labour is planning to launch a consultative process with its membership before coming to a final position.
Fine Gael has nominated Mairead McGuinness, the former European commissioner, as its candidate. Her name will officially be put forward for ratification at an event in September, and this will mark the start of her presidential election campaign.
'Subject to my candidacy being ratified by the party in early September, I very much look forward to setting out my vision,' McGuinness said.
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