Miriam Lord: Why I am running for President
Plus: ‘Make Ireland late again’ – Why I’m running for office of Uachtaráin na hÉireann
Photographic Genius Award: Fianna Fail’s Waterford TD Mary Butler got 31 colleagues, mostly TDs, to pose together for a photograph on Merrion Square to signal support for the No campaign in the abortion referendum. Photograph: Fianna Fáil
Politician of the season
Simon Harris won plaudits from all sides of the Yes campaign for his handling of the abortion referendum campaign. The Minister for Health showed a steely determination in debates and a cool mastery of plain facts as opposed to dubious assertions. He refused to be drawn into slagging matches or sidetracked by social media attacks.
In the biggest and most significant political story of the year, the electorate voted by an unexpectedly huge margin to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. Harris’s surefooted and confident approach to the campaign contributed to it.