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The 2025 Irish presidential election is due to take place by 11 November 2025. [1] [b] The election will determine the tenth President of Ireland. The incumbent president, Michael D. Higgins, is term-limited, having served the maximum two terms permitted under the Constitution of Ireland.
Presidential elections are conducted in line with Article 12 of the Constitution [4] and under the Presidential Elections Act 1993. [5] The president is elected through instant-runoff voting (described in the constitution as proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote). [6] All Irish citizens entered on the current electoral register are eligible to vote. [4] The 2025 election will be the first presidential election since the 2023 establishment of the Electoral Commission.
The term of the incumbent, Michael D. Higgins, ends on 11 November 2025. Assuming Higgins does not die or leave office before then, the Constitution requires the election to be not more than 60 days before 11 November. The date of the election will be fixed by ministerial order of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Candidates may only be nominated after the making of the presidential election order, which will also specify a closing date for nominations.
| Year | Ministerial order | Close of nominations | Election date | Inauguration | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 15 September | 30 September | Thursday, 30 October | 11 November | [7] |
| 2004 | 13 September | 1 October | Friday, 22 October [c] | 11 November | [8] |
| 2011 | 30 August | 28 September | Thursday, 27 October | 11 November | [9] |
| 2018 | 28 August | 26 September | Friday, 26 October | 11 November | [10] |
To stand for election as president of Ireland, candidates must:
If a member of the Oireachtas or a County or City council nominate more than one candidate, only the first nomination paper received from them will be deemed valid. [5] Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011, there is a spending limit by each candidate of €750,000. [11] Candidates who are elected or who reach 12.5% of the vote on their elimination are entitled to a reimbursement of expenses up to €200,000. [12]
In March, the Fine Gael leader, Simon Harris, confirmed that the party would nominate a candidate to contest the election. [13] Candidates require the nomination of 20 members of the parliamentary party, 25 party councillors, and 5 members of the executive council. Fine Gael opened nominations for selection as the party candidate on 7 July.
Among those who had declined to run from Fine Gael at that time were Frances Fitzgerald, [14] [15] [16] Enda Kenny, [17] Heather Humphreys [18] and Leo Varadkar. [19]
The nomination period initially closed at 4 pm on 15 July. Mairead McGuinness, former European commissioner and MEP, was the only candidate nominated. She was expected to be ratified at an event in September. [20] [21] However, she withdrew on 14 August, following medical advice. [22]
Following the withdrawal of McGuinness, Fine Gael reopened the nomination process on 18 August 2025. Heather Humphreys and Seán Kelly confirmed that they would seek the nomination. [23] [24]
In July 2025, Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, stated that the party would not run a candidate unless that candidate "would command a very broad consensus or would have a realistic opportunity of getting a significant vote". [25]
Much media speculation has been surrounding Bertie Ahern's potential campaign, [26] [27] [28] with most party supporters surveyed supporting his possible candidacy announcement. [29] [30] On 30 August, Ahern stated that he had not ruled himself out, and that he was disappointed with the Fianna Fáil leadership for failing to express support for him. [31] Other figures who had been speculated for Fianna Fáil selection included Packie Bonner, [32] Geraldine Byrne Nason, [33] Colum Eastwood, [34] [35] Pat "the Cope" Gallagher, [36] [37] Mary Hanafin, [38] [39] Deirdre Heenan, [40] Daniel Mulhall, [41] Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, [42] Pádraig Ó Céidigh, [43] Éamon Ó Cuív, [44] Síofra O'Leary, [45] Peter Power, [46] Louise Richardson [47] and Niall Quinn. [48] [49] Those who ruled themselves out included Micheál Martin, [50] Barry Andrews [51] and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.
On the week of 28 August, both Billy Kelleher, an MEP for South, and Jim Gavin, former manager of the Dublin county football team, announced they would seek the Fianna Fáil nomination. [52] [53] [54] On 30 August, Micheál Martin confirmed his endorsement of Gavin. [55] On 31 August, Mary Hanafin said she would "no longer" be seeking the nomination. Hanafin criticised Fianna Fáil's selection process, stating she felt there was a lack of communication with those interested in contesting. [56] Colum Eastwood also ruled himself out on 31 August. [57]
On 12 July 2025, the leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald stated that the party was considering its options on the presidential election and would arrive at a decision in the coming weeks. John Finucane, Rose Conway-Walsh and McDonald are considered possible Sinn Féin candidates. [58] [59] In March 2025, McDonald had stated that she would not be the Sinn Féin nominee. [60] However, in July she stated the party was "not ruling anything out", including herself as a candidate. [61] [62] [63]
Those who declined to run on behalf of Sinn Féin included Jarlath Burns (not a party member), Gerry Adams and Michelle O'Neill. [64] [65] [66] [67]
On 27 August, Sinn Féin stated that they will have made their final decision regarding the election by 20 September. [68]
In April 2025 Aontú party leader Peadar Tóibín stated that the party would seek to nominate a candidate. [69] [70] In July, Tóibín said Aontú would seek to create a "selection block" or a "nominating caucus" with other small parties and independents who would pick a candidate to represent them using a PR-STV vote. [71] [72] Tóibín has stated he himself will not be the candidate. [70]
Throughout 2025, left-wing parties discussed running a jointly nominated candidate, with talks involving Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, the Greens, and People Before Profit. According to Paul Murphy, however, the viability of a unified bid depended on whether Sinn Féin opt to back a consensus choice or field its own candidate. [73] Amongst those considered as the candidate for the joint ticket were Frances Black, Noeline Blackwell (former CEO of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre), [74] Claire Hanna, [75] and Fintan O'Toole. [76] Eamon Ryan, [77] [78] Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, [33] [79] and Róisín Shortall all declared early on that they would not enter the running. [80]
Frances Black and Catherine Connolly were considered the two main contenders for the ticket; however, on 24 June, Black ruled herself out of contention. [81]
On 11 July 2025, Catherine Connolly confirmed she would be running for president. [82] The Social Democrats (with 12 Oireachtas members) released a statement later that day stating they would be supporting Connolly. [83] People Before Profit (with 2 TDs), 100% Redress TD Charles Ward, independent TDs Séamus Healy and Brian Stanley and independent senator Eileen Flynn have also confirmed they will support Connolly; including her self-nomination, bringing Connolly to 19 of the 20 nominations required. [84] [85]
On 31 July, following consultation with its membership, the Labour Party decided to support Connolly's candidacy. The support of Labour's 13 Oireachtas members cemented Connolly's nomination. [86] Before backing Connolly, Labour had considered Ivana Bacik, [87] Fergus Finlay, [88] Brendan Howlin [89] and Michael J. Ryan [90] as candidates. Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin had previously ruled himself out of the selection. [91] On 27 August Alan Kelly stated he would not be nominating Connolly due to concerns about her policies on international relations, despite Connolly having received Labour's backing. [92]
In December 2023 it was reported that Conor McGregor, a mixed martial artist, was considering running in the election. [93] [94] As to why he would run, McGregor said, "Among many other things, the allocation of our nation's funds has been nothing short of criminal, and without an iota of consideration for the public's thinking. ... Our people feel ignored. Unheard. Until of course election time. Then the waffle begins." [93] A poll that month found that eight per cent of people polled would vote for McGregor for office, while 89 per cent said they would not. [95] On 17 March 2025, McGregor visited the White House in Washington DC at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump, for a Saint Patrick's Day event. During the visit, McGregor claimed that Ireland was "on the cusp of losing its Irishness" due to an "illegal immigration racket." His comments were widely condemned in Ireland. [96] During the visit, he announced his intention to stand as an independent candidate in the election. [97] Although McGregor's candidacy made international headlines, domestic Irish news sources noted it is extremely unlikely that McGregor will gain access to the ballot. [98] [99] McGregor came to realise as much, and in August 2025 began to threaten he would legally challenge the process by which someone can become a presidential candidate outlined in the Irish constitution. [100]
In March 2025, Peter Casey, a businessman who polled second in the 2018 presidential election, announced his intention to contest the election. [101] Former Riverdance star Michael Flatley announced on 25 July that he would seek to gain the required nominations to enter the race. [102] On 9 August, businessman Gareth Sheridan confirmed previous reporting that he would be seeking to gain nominations. [103] Senator Aubrey McCarthy said on 20 August that he would "seriously consider" running for president, including the possibility of being the de facto Fianna Fáil or Sinn Féin candidate. [104] On 26 August, Nick Delehanty, a businessman, launched his campaign, seeking the nomination of local authorities. [105]
On 29 August Harry McGee of The Irish Times reported that neither Flatley nor McGregor had made any effort to contact any county council about securing a nomination and that McGregor was merely "cosplaying" as a presidential candidate online. [106]
Among independents and non-party figures, those who declined to run included senators Tom Clonan [107] and Sharon Keogan, [108] broadcaster Olivia O'Leary, [109] Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, [110] Seán Gallagher [111] and Michael McDowell. [112] Mick Wallace said he would not run if Catherine Connolly were on the ballot, later endorsing her when she launched. [113] [114] Both Fianna Fáil and Labour were interested in contacting broadcaster Joe Duffy to stand, but Duffy declined. [115] On 18 August, former Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan announced he would not be running, despite previous consideration and some favorable polling. [116]
A number of individuals have declared their intention to seek the necessary nominations to run in the election, and a number of political parties have declared their intention to nominate a candidate. The period for nomination of candidates has not yet opened.
The following candidates have enough pledged nominations from Oireachtas members to stand for election. [117]
| Party | Presidential candidate | Campaign | Supported by | Sources | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Catherine Connolly
|  (campaign) |
| [118] [84] [119] [85] [86] | ||
The following candidates have not yet acquired enough declared support for a nomination.
| Party | Presidential candidate | Campaign | Supported by | Sources | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Peter Casey
| [120] [121] | ||||
| Independent | Nick Delehanty
| [122] | ||||
| Fianna Fáil | Jim Gavin
| [53] [123] | ||||
| Fine Gael | Heather Humphreys
| [124] | ||||
| Fianna Fáil | Billy Kelleher
| [52] | ||||
| Fine Gael | Seán Kelly
| [125] | ||||
| Independent | Gareth Sheridan |  sheridanforpresident |
| [103] | ||
| Independent | Maria Steen |
| [128] | |||
| Party | Presidential candidate | Entry Date | Exit Date | Notes | Sources | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael | Mairead McGuinness
| 15 July 2025 | 14 August 2025 | Withdrew following medical advice. | [129] [22] | ||
In June 2025, RTÉ announced that it will host a number of programmes in the lead up to the election; Katie Hannon will be the presenter. [130]
| Last date of polling | Polling firm | Bertie Ahern | Mary Lou McDonald | Heather Humphreys | Catherine Connolly | Tony Holohan | Mairead McGuinness | Other | None of the above/Unsure | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 August 2025 | Ireland Thinks/The Sunday Indo [131] | 14% | 14% | 19% | 18% | — | — | 8%A | 28% | ||
| 14 August 2025 | Fine Gael's Mairead McGuinness withdraws from presidential race. | ||||||||||
| 31 July 2025 | Amárach Research [132] | 15% | 20% | — | 22% | 15% | 29% | — | — | ||
| 17 July 2025 | Daily Irish Mail/Amárach Research [133] | — | 45% | — | — | — | 55% | — | — | ||
A: Gareth Sheridan: 3%
Michael D. Higgins, the current President was inaugurated for his second term on the 11 November 2018. This means that the next presidential election is scheduled to take place on or up to 60 days before 11 November 2025.
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