Mary Hanafin to seek Fianna Fáil nomination for presidential election
Former minister Mary Hanafin is to seek the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the presidential election.
The Tipperary native and former Dun Laoighaire TD has told the Irish Independent she is "in the mix".
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Ms Hanafin said: "'If I could contest it, I would happily do that. It's a role I would hope people could feel I would do well, both nationally and internationally."
Fianna Fáil hasn't put forward a candidate for the election since 1997.
The party decided to sit out the 2011 presidential election after a disastrous showing at the general election earlier that year, while in 2018 Fianna Fáil opted not to challenge President Michael D Higgins.
Ms Hanafin, 66, feels sitting out the 2025 presidential election is not an option.
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'I think it would be an insult to the office of president if the largest political party doesn't contest it. It's a really important constitutional role,' she said.
'I think the nomination should be decided earlier rather than later. I know it can make it a very long campaign, but for a candidate to campaign well I think you could go around the country and actually talk to people."
Ms Hanafin has had a number of disputes with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the past. In 2011, she lost out to Mr Martin in the Fianna Fáil leadership contest, and in 2014 she ignored his request not to stand in the local elections in Blackrock.
However, she said they are now on good terms.
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Ms Hanafin served as education minister, arts minister and social protection minister during her time in government.
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She is the first big name in Fianna Fáil to make her intention to seek the nomination clear. Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former minister Éamon Ó Cuív and MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú have all been linked with a bid.
Big names have been slow to emerge ahead of the election, but many are likely to set out their stall in the weeks to come given the election must take place by Tuesday, November 11th.
MEP Seán Kelly and former MEP Mairead McGuinness are likely to compete for the Fine Gael nomination.
Sinn Féin has not selected a candidate yet, but Northern Ireland First Minister
Michelle O'Neill
has not ruled out a bid.
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The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘It's very concerning': conservatives react to Zohran Mamdani's New York primary showing
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Times
40 minutes ago
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Tom Clarke: Donald Dewar was a miserable sociopath and a bigot
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Clarke has broken decades of silence to highlight in his memoir what he describes as his erstwhile Labour comrade's 'mendacious, petty and back-biting' nature. • Twenty years on from his death, where would Scotland be with Donald Dewar at the helm? He alleges that Dewar and his supporters attempted to destroy his career and reputation by circulating an official party press release which stated he had contradicted 'a virus', prompting speculation that he had developed Aids — then regarded as an incurable death sentence. 'I have since been told that the release had been signed-off at the 'highest level' within the Labour Party in Scotland,' he told The Sunday Times. 'It is difficult not to draw the conclusion that this, undoubtedly the nastiest piece in a very protracted campaign against me, was entirely the work of one Donald Dewar.' Clarke was actually suffering from ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, from which he quickly made a complete recovery. 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Clarke speculated that the root of their rancorous relationship could stem from Dewar's past failure to be selected to represent his Coatbridge constituency. 'He was ever the man to bear a grudge,' he claimed. 'Perhaps with Donald I was the victim of the perfect storm of snobbery, elitism and irrational personal jealousy.' • John MacKay: Scotland is a different country to when I began presenting the news Other party colleagues and prominent figures have suggested a more malign explanation. 'I don't imagine I will ever know all the reasons for this inexplicable hostility,' he said. 'However reluctantly, I cannot ignore the number of times my religious beliefs were mentioned. 'My closest friend in the Commons, the Welsh Labour MP Gareth Wardell, highlighted Dewar's constant and insidious attempts to undermine me.' 'He ascribes Dewar's hate campaign to something much nastier which many others have commented on; his deep-rooted anti-Catholic bigotry.' 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'I have recorded what I think is the story of my life and it wouldn't make sense if I wasn't completely honest,' he said. 'If people come out worse then they would have wanted that's unfortunate, but I must tell it exactly as I recall it.' To Be Honest…The Story of My Life by Sir Tom Clarke will be published this week by Baxter Jardine, with all proceeds going to charity.
The Sun
an hour ago
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Dizzying U-turns, winter fuel fiasco & £40bn tax hikes… how did it get so bad so quickly for Keir after a year in power?
SIR Keir Starmer will celebrate his first anniversary as Prime Minister next week — but no one will be popping open the Champagne in No10. Labour MPs are in open mutiny, forcing the PM into a humiliating climbdown on welfare cuts — his third screeching U-turn within a month. 5 The knives are out for the PM's closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney. And in dark corners of Westminster's pubs, senior Labour figures are starting to question if Sir Keir will still be PM by the time the nation next goes to the polls. 'It sounds mad, but he might not survive as leader until the next election', one says. 'Then the question is, who comes next — Wes Streeting or Angela Rayner?' Both are said to be quietly sounding out supporters. Sir Keir's poll ratings have plummeted, Britain's borders are out of control, and Nigel Farage's Reform UK party are thrashing him at the ballot box. It is an astonishing fall from grace for a man who crushed the Tories and delivered a Labour landslide victory just 12 months ago. So how did things get so bad for Starmer so quickly? Labour's first year in office has been one of dizzying U-turns and political missteps. The freebies scandal made party bigwigs look greedy. Starmer 'loses control' as over 1,000 migrants cross Channel in biggest daily total of 2025 – as French cops watch on The decision to strip millions of pensioners of their winter fuel allowance just before Christmas made Labour look cruel. That eye-watering £40billion of tax hikes in the Budget made them look reckless. Then came the screeching U-turns. Winter fuel cuts were dumped after a bloodbath in the local elections A grooming gangs national inquiry was ordered only after months of public fury. 5 5 Now Keir has been forced into yet another crushing climbdown again, on welfare cuts. It was an astonishing mutiny, led by rebels who had spent months secretly working on their plot to wreck plans to cut £5billion from the welfare budget. They blindsided No10 with the scale of their revolt. Cabinet ministers were sent out to turn the thumbscrews and sell the reforms. But most efforts were 'half-hearted', insiders say. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall was letting it be known the scale of the cuts had been forced on her by the Chancellor. Sharpening their knives Rachel Reeves hit the phones to darkly warn rebels that it was effectively a confidence vote in Keir Starmer and his authority would be shredded if they defeated him. But her threats fell on deaf ears. The rebels won and the cuts were massively watered down. The Chancellor was sidelined from negotiations with rebels, which were led by Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Chief Whip Alan Campbell. Labour MPs say it is Reeves' credibility that has been shredded. A growing number want her sacked. The whole saga has massively damaged Sir Keir's authority. It has become open season on the PM. Labour MPs complain they never see him in the tearoom and that he doesn't turn up to vote very often. Sir Keir has embraced a reputation for being ruthless when he needs to be. But now he is seen not as not just ruthless — but disloyal. He has sacked senior aides. This includes his first Chief of Staff Sue Gray, but also other more popular staffers. One long-standing aide was called in for a meeting, fired, and returned to his desk to find his belongings had already been packed up into a cardboard box. 'It is brutal,' another staffer said. 'Keir shows no loyalty.' Now there is growing talk the PM's most powerful adviser, Morgan McSweeney, could go. A growing army of Labour MPs — including some loyal Starmerites — are sharpening their knives for him. 5 One says: 'He is a gifted campaigner, but is he the right person to be Chief of Staff? Keir needs to change the team around him.' One rumour circulating among a small but well-connected group of Labour figures suggests that Morgan wants to leave his role as Chief of Staff and return to Labour HQ to lead the campaign and election strategy — the fight to beat Reform in 2029. Liz Lloyd — Tony Blair's old deputy Chief of Staff and Starmer's current director of policy — is being touted as a possible replacement, according to the rumour. But senior figures in No10 shot this down and insisted Morgan isn't going anywhere. Keir Starmer and his team know the first year has been stormy. They are now talking about entering 'phase 2' of government. More volatile than ever Hard decisions have been made, now it's time to spend the (borrowed) cash, build more homes, fill in more potholes, create more NHS appointments and get the nation feeling happier, richer and more upbeat again. As one aide explains it: 'It is about making people feel optimistic — about this country's future and their own.' But voters are more volatile than ever before and old party allegiances have shattered. Conservative, Labour, Reform. It is easy to find voters who have put Xs by each of these parties in the past few years. But if Sir Keir Starmer wants to keep his voters, then he must give them something to vote for. Tackling crime and bringing our borders back under control will be crucial. There are early signs the NHS is improving. But if the health service wants our billions, it must learn not just to see patients quicker, but to treat them better — with dignity and care. On defence, the PM has admirably doubled down on support for Ukraine and increased defence spending. He must hold firm. It is not too late for the PM to turn things around. But Sir Keir must have the bravery to start making the case for big reform — or he risks sliding into yet more turmoil.
