The political year got off to a tumultuous start, but the rest of 2025 didn’t quite live up to its early billing.
A cheeky Government proposal to bestow enhanced speaking rights upon those Independent TDs (without shiny new ministerial jobs) who signed up to support the Coalition “trew tick or tin” caused ructions in the opening weeks of the new Dáil.
It sparked rolling protests by a surprisingly united alliance of the left already fuming over controversial TD Michael Lowry’s leading role in delivering an access-to-power deal for the Regional Independents group and the HealyRae-gional Independents.
New Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy experienced a torrid time in the chair, surviving a confidence vote, a mutinous Opposition and an abandoned first attempt to formally appoint Micheál Martin as Taoiseach.
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Storm Éowyn, meanwhile, wreaked havoc around the country on January 23rd. The following day, Martin was finally elected Taoiseach for a second time. Éowyn’s arrival made no impact – the Opposition had blown the roof off the Dáil way before then.
Race for the Áras
Tantrums and hissy fits notwithstanding, politicians – egged on by an equally obsessed media – were already speculating over who might or might not get the nod to run for the presidency. With the popular Michael D Higgins preparing to leave Áras an Uachtaráin at the end of the year after 14 years in office, the hunt for his successor was already under way.
Anyone who thought they were someone contemplated a tilt. Anybody who might be somebody was held up as a possible contender.
It was great fun picking out names and throwing them out there.
In the spirit of our have-a-go-democracy, there were those who suggested themselves, primarily for publicity purposes.
And there were those who were “humbled” and “honoured” by all the many people who begged them to put their names forward but then decided with a heavy heart, upon much reflection, airtime and column inches, to remain a legend in their own head space.
There were some early attempts by non-aligned aspirants to secure a nomination by securing the backing of county councils. But the big parties didn’t support potential rivals.
Maria Steen, the experienced and media-savvy conservative Catholic commentator, didn’t bother with the county council slog. A frenetic last-minute, high-profile campaign by her failed to bag the support of the required 20 Oireachtas members.
But her expensive designer handbag – some presumed it had to be Christian Dior, but it was apparently a Hermès – provided some wonderful diversion.
And after all the hullabaloo, there were only two candidates in the end.
Well, technically three, because the name of Fianna Fáil’s hapless choice remained on the ballot paper after his campaign collapsed and he withdrew from the race.
Former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin was hand-selected by party leader Micheál Martin and enthusiastically endorsed by his deputy leader, the former minister for finance and current Minister for Public Expenditure, Jack Chambers of Commerce.
Since the October implosion, poor Jack has taken a vow of silence. Micheál has been apologising ever since, but with decreasing degrees of humility and increasing degrees of irritability.
Heather Humphreys stepped in for Fine Gael when the party front-runner Mairead McGuinness was forced to withdraw on health grounds.
Heather, never the best media performer, had a difficult campaign.
Independent Left TD Catherine Connolly declared early, supported by the parties of the left. When heavyweight Sinn Féin came on board late in the day with wholehearted support, her already buoyant campaign took flight.
One thing was missing from Catherine’s candidacy – something which was a feature of Maria Steen’s whisker-close failure and the approach of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael: entitlement.
It was there in the “how dare they” tone of Steen’s many disappointed admirers. And it was there in the proprietorial attitude of the two Government parties.
For Fine Gael, it was about righting 80 years of injustice and gifting the people of Ireland (and the Blueshirts) their first Fine Gael president.
For Fianna Fáil, it was about restoring the natural order as the party still believes it to be – a Fianna Fáil president.
They don’t care that nobody cares.
Catherine Connolly, the 10th President of Ireland, was none of the above.
Mr Donohoe goes to Washington
Paschal Donohoe, the dimples of the Dáil, resigned as minister for finance and stepped down from his Dublin Central seat in December to take up a new job as managing director of the World Bank.
Having delivered 10 budgets over the last decade as either minister for finance or public expenditure, the Fine Gael stalwart’s shock departure led to a mini-Cabinet reshuffle and the decision by his close colleague Tánaiste Simon Harris to take over in finance, which was another shock.
Paschal’s exit further erodes the party’s cadre of senior, experienced politicians. If Fine Gael is anything to go by, politics is a young person’s game now.
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who turns 47 this month, resigned from office in April 2024 and published his memoir in September.
At 25, Labour’s Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central) is the Dáil’s youngest deputy and the first TD born in the 21st century.
In the last Dáil, another TD from the rebel county was baby of the House. Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor (Cork East) has since grown to become one of Micheál Martin’s biggest critics.
However, the party is also doing its bit – by a long margin – to redress the age balance. Limerick’s Willie O’Dea (73) is Father of the House, a title accorded for years of unbroken Dáil membership as opposed to age. At 76, Donegal’s Pat the Cope Gallagher has that particular honour.
Willie and Pat and a third colleague, former Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl (65), issued a stinging joint statement after an internal review into the presidential election shambles was belatedly published, rejecting the party’s current “top-down autocratic style of politics”.
They’ll be keeping a beady eye on the leadership in the coming year.
Martin and McGregor visit the Oval Office on St Patrick’s week
In March, the Taoiseach endured the annual St Patrick’s week trip to the White House, sitting in the Oval Office and nodding vacantly while Donald Trump blathered on at him. He escaped without being directly insulted by the US president or his creepy sycophants, which, in that mad world, was a result.
To add insult to injury, the preening Conor McGregor turned up a few days later on St Patrick’s Day when he was warmly welcomed by Trump, who thinks McGregor is a great guy.
While in Washington, the ageing MMA fighter, who hasn’t won a bout since January 2020 and last fought in July 2021, said the Irish Government was one of “zero action with zero accountability”.
On the subject of accountability, at the time of his visit to the Oval Office, McGregor was in the process of appealing a High Court civil jury finding that he assaulted claimant Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
In July, a three-judge court dismissed his appeal on all grounds and in December the Supreme Court decided against allowing a further one.
In September, McGregor devastated his few Irish and many US devotees with a bombshell statement.
“Following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy from this presidential race,” he tweeted. “This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one at this moment in time.”
Government’s housing headaches continue
Housing, health and the rising cost of living remained the two biggest issues on the political agenda.
James Browne, thrust into the Department of Housing in his first senior ministerial job, got cracking in April. He was determined to tackle the housing crisis with an all-action, kicking-down-the-doors, shovels-in-the-ground approach.
He announced a new Housing Activation Office (HAO) with the bonus possible appointment of a kick-ass hotshot housing tsar, seconded straight from the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), to shake things up.
The ensuing uproar over Brendan McDonagh’s existing salary (€430,000) scuppered Browne’s big-name hire as Fine Gael complained about a lack of consultation and the public asked why couldn’t the Minister and his entire department devoted to the provision of housing do the job?
The Nama boss sensibly made his excuses and bowed out.
HAO now Browne’s vow?
There may yet be redemption for the housing Minister, who is pushing the Government’s belated but welcome drive to push through vital infrastructure projects while also promising to streamline the planning process.
“Infrastructure” was word of the second half of the Dáil year. Shovel ready is no good any more. It’s shovels in the ground or nothing now.
Infrastructure is now part of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
Unfortunately, its arrival in Merrion Street was less than encouraging. When the fancy new sign for the enlarged department went up, it was wrongly spelled as “Infastructure”.
On the plus sign, the manufacturer corrected the error free of charge.
Predictions for 2026
Four more years! Four more years!
With a healthy majority thanks to the bought-in ballast of Michael Lowry’s trew-tick-and-tin band of Independents, the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Coalition should have a decent period of time to get a grip on the issues of most concern to voters.
But what predictions can be made? Looking into the crystal ball, here is a vision of 2026:
With two early byelections in the offing, humbled no-hopers will follow the trend set in the presidential election by ruling themselves out as candidates, despite people imploring them to run. It could work wonders for the profile.
Should a leading candidate end up in a fiasco of a campaign, that aspiring TD will be described as “Havin’ a Gavin” before sensationally dropping out of the race.
With Prudent Paschal ensconced in his big job in the World Bank, his successor, the self-described Sensible Simon, knows he must produce the goods having appointed himself to one of the most demanding and most important roles in government.
Looking to a recent winner, what would Catherine Connolly do? The online video of her football keepie-uppie skills went viral and did her campaign the power of good.
Social media savvy Simon, who says he will not be sweet-talked into loosening the purse strings by ministerial colleagues, is musing about introducing targeted tax cuts for workers in the next budgets. Instead of keeping up existing rates, Simon says there will be “delivery downies”.
The Government’s big infrastructure drive hits a major roadblock in the courts when its plan to streamline and speed up the judicial review process is thrown out following a judicial review.
Micheál Martin announces he is stepping down before Ireland’s EU presidency begins in the second half of the year. However, he will remain in place as Taoiseach and enjoy his time as cock-of-the-walk in Europe during most of the presidency.
Such is the depth of talent in the Fianna Fáil ranks there will have to be an exhaustive election process. It could take months until anyone suitable is found.
Finally, the Oireachtas authorities commission a new electric bus to replace the clapped out vehicle which has served all parties – primarily Fianna Fáil in the last year – when people have to be thrown under it for the sake of political expediency.
“The emissions produced by the existing bus have been shocking. But after many years of heavy service, it owes us nothing,” said a spokesman.
