Independent Galway West TD Catherine Connolly announced today, Wednesday, July 16, that she has secured the nominations to run for President of Ireland in this year's election.
Connolly, 68, made her announcement on RTÉ's Irish language radio channel Raidió na Gaeltachta on Wednesday morning.
To get on the ballot for Ireland's Presidential election, a candidate must be an Irish citizen who is 35 or older.
Further, candidates must be nominated either by at least 20 members of the Oireachtas; at least four local authorities; or former or retiring Presidents can nominate themselves.
Connolly has received the backing of 20 members of the Oireachtas, with the Social Democrats, People Before Profit, and a number of Independents supporting her. The Labour Party is also “very seriously” considering backing her.
"I am honoured to announce that I have secured the support of my colleagues to run for the office of Uachtarán na hÉireann, the Presidency of Ireland," Connolly said on social media on Wednesday.
"The Presidential election is a rare opportunity to elect a voice for the people, someone that is committed to promoting the common good," she added.
"To win, we need a people's movement across the country, bringing our message of hope to every community and every corner of the country."
Connolly has been a TD for Galway West since 2016. She exited Ireland's Labour Party in 2006 and has been an Independent ever since.
She previously sat on the Public Accounts Committee and was Chair of the Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands. From 2020 through 2024, she served as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, or deputy chair, of Dáil Éireann; she was the first woman to hold the role.
I am honoured to announce that I have secured the support of my colleagues to run for the office of Uachtarán na hÉireann, the Presidency of Ireland.
If you wish to support this campaign, join our mailing list, and join the movement at: https://t.co/b8JT5WFvg2 pic.twitter.com/61QI4Z28ow
— Catherine Connolly (@catherinegalway) July 16, 2025
"We can make this country better"
"It's an important day for me and I am finally confirming that I am standing for the Presidency of Ireland," Connolly told reporters outside Leinster House on Wednesday.
"I stand here, not as a politician seeking office, but as a citizen, to serve as the President of Ireland with the help of the people and the votes of Ireland.
"And I do so with humility and with hope.
"I do so with the deep conviction that, together, we can make this country better and that we can make this country live up to its name of a republic and show that there's a different way."
Connolly admitted that it took her "quite a long time" to come to the decision to officially run.
"It wasn't something I did overnight," she said. "Indeed, it was a tortuous decision, for many reasons - my own personality included and my own background - and it's taken many months.
"I finally reached that decision last week, and I'm confirming it today."
"These problems are not inevitable"
She continued: "I'm standing to enable people, to empower people, to find their own voices. To stand up and be counted, to say, 'there is a different way.'
"We must deal with climate change. We must be a voice for peace. We have to stop the normalization of war and violence. We have to stop the normalization of homelessness.
"We have to say that these problems are not inevitable; they are man-made, policy-driven, and we can have a different type of country and a different type of world.
"That it was motivates me, and I understand that is what motivates all of those around me. We don't have to agree on everything, but we agree on core values. And we want a country that reflects those core values, not just in words, not just in policies, but in deeds."
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Second candidate
Connolly's confirmation comes the day after Mairead McGuinness was nominated as Fine Gael's candidate for this year's election. Her name was the only one put forward for the party's nominations, which closed on Tuesday afternoon.
McGuinness’s name will go forward for ratification at a Fine Gael party event in September, which will be the start of the Fine Gael Presidential Election campaign.
Other potential candidates
Sinn Féin TD Mary Lou McDonald, the head of her party, made headlines last week when she refused to rule herself out of the running. Similarly, last month, Sinn Féin's Vice President, First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill, also did not rule herself out.
Fianna Fáil, the largest party in the Dáil, has not yet clarified if it will run a candidate.
"We'll make a decision on whether we'll have a candidate or not in the early autumn," Fianna Fail TD Jack Chambers told RTE Radio One's News at One on Tuesday.
"That's a matter for our parliamentary party to discuss at that point."
Micheál Martin, Ireland's current Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil, has been floated as a potential candidate, though Chambers said on Tuesday he feels that Martin would prefer to stay in his current role.
Former Fianna Fáil TD Mary Hanafin has also reportedly expressed her interest in the party's nomination.
Elsewhere, Conor McGregor this week again called upon his supporters to vote for him, though it is unlikely he will clear any of the thresholds to land on the ballot.
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