To try and get a sense of what people are feeling towards the Presidential election around the campus, The University Times spoke to three students, among them a voter for Heather Humphreys, one for Catherine Connolly and one undecided. We asked them all the same questions.
Undecided voter, Jack Kavanagh, in response to most questions stated, “I don’t know anything”. Reflecting more on the campaigns resulted in a potential failure to communicate with students and/or voters outside of Dublin. Canvassing in Dublin has been a focal point of both of the campaigns.
Heather Humphreys voter Alastair McAndrew, when questioned on his support for Humphreys’ campaign, stated how “she won’t say anything too controversial”.
“She won’t keep you up at night shouting at the TV”. McAndrew believes Catherine Connolly’s statements regarding Germany would be unproductive and “wouldn’t want to cause division with our European allies”.
During Catherine Connolly’s campaign and career she has made a point to be very outspoken on issues such as Palestine and the Occupied Territories Bill, which would block trade between Ireland and any exports that have originated from the Occupied Territories.
Catherine Connolly supporter, Fionn Keane O’Hagan spoke about Connolly’s “vital opinions about the government” and how she is a “dignified woman, and would make an excellent stateswomen”. Keane O’Hagan would go on to explain that “the role of president has changed a lot over the years”, and is not a purely ceremonial role in our modern age.
McAndrew, when asked why Catherine Connolly would not get his vote, admitted that “She’s [Connolly] a very dignified person” adding, “I just disagree with Catherine on some things, but I don’t think either of them are bad people”. This tone of this opinion on the opposition was not shared by Keane O’Hagan, who commented on how Humphreys has “alienated the working class” and how “she’s also been a part of [sic] the Government that, in my opinion, has been pushing the worst thing of the housing crises, as well as a healthcare crisis”. They would go on to concede that controversy surrounding Humphreys regarding her family’s involvement with the Orange Order “has been overblown”. As opposed to McAndrew, while supporting Humphreys’ comment that “her dad was in the Orange order, and they don’t like Irish people, and I’m going to look in the mirror and be Irish, so that’s a little problematic”.
The students that were interviewed were also asked to share their opinions on the withdrawal of Jim Gavin from the race. Overall there was a general consensus that running Jim Gavin was not a good choice for Fianna Fáil. With McAndrew stating “It represents the worst in Irish politics, it stinks of jobs for the boys” and “I think it’s a damning condemnation of Fianna Fáil”. Keane O’Hagan continued that “I think there would be calls for anger amongst the grass roots of Fianna Fáil”.
Gavin had only become a member of the party with his selection as the party’s candidate. Reportedly, Fianna Fáil TDs have spoken out against the internal selection process stating that there was a lot of push for Gavin’s nomination from the party’s leadership. In the wake of the withdrawal of Jim Gavin and the controversy surrounding it, support for the party and confidence in party leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin has dropped significantly.
Next, responders were asked about the nomination process and their opinions on there only being two candidates on the ballot. They agreed that the system itself was not broken but was not perfect either. Kavanagh stated “I don’t really have a problem with it, it stopped Conor McGregor getting on the ballot”. McAndrew commented “I think it is fair” and Keane O’Hagan, “It works fine until it doesn’t”.
Agreement also arose around not letting the more extreme candidates from getting on the ballot. Such as, Connor McGregor, or Maria Steen. Speaking of Steen in particular, McAndrew said that: “[Maria Steen,] in my opinion, represents the very worst of old Ireland… and hopefully that doesn’t come back into modern Ireland”. McAndrew also said how the nomination system “[is] fair but problematic… as it means that candidates have to take very broad positions on things to cover a lot of ground”.
All three agreed that the nature of the nomination process results in a very small pool of candidates being created. Kavanagh added, “If one doesn’t particularly fall within your political opinion you’re kind of screwed”. The nomination process narrows down who can actually run for President, limiting people with extreme views but also greatly thinning the candidate pool.
Due to it being only a two horse race for the Áras, the candidates have to appeal to a very wide audience, or as McAndrew put it “It makes it very difficult for campaigns to actually get a very distinct perspective for themselves”.
In regards to the nomination process itself Keane O’Hagan suggested “Maybe instead of four councils maybe 20 councillors, so we don’t end up in a position where the far right don’t feel hard done by, which would anger them further…Instead of letting them get humbled on the national stage”. They all agreed that the nomination process has stopped platforming those with more regressive views, such as those held by Steen and McGregor.
The tensions and controversy surrounding this particular election are certainly a deviation from the typical run up. Up until Mary Robinson, who was elected as the seventh President of Ireland in 1990, all previous presidents had been members of Fianna Fáil. In modern history there has been more variation as opposed to the inevitable Fianna Fáil president. Could this be the first Fine Gael president, or will it be the second independent to move into the Áras?
Seemingly, opinion seems to be scattered across campus, with contingents supporting Connolly or Humphreys. At time of writing, Connolly has a commanding lead in national opinion polls, however, an election outcome is never certain until the last ballot has been counted.
