Arcadia Ireland

Did you even know that the Irish presidential election was happening tomorrow? I imagine that those of you in the Parliamentary Internship Programme might be aware but others may not have known one thing about it. I don’t like to assume but I barely heard much about this myself until about 3 weeks ago! Could be different reasons for this, maybe I’m not as connected as I should be or maybe its because there hasn’t been much talk until recently. The past seven years have passed so quickly but also the run up to the election in Ireland certainly doesn’t have the same hype as what you are familiar with. There aren’t Presidential Primaries and Caucuses for a start but also the role of president is very different in Ireland.

To become president in Ireland one must be a minimum age of 21 years (14 years younger than the minimum age requirement in the States). In Ireland, the president is Ireland’s head of state, a largely ceremonial role, but which nevertheless wields the power to refer government bills to the supreme court if he or she deems them unconstitutional.

We mentioned this in orientation but that’s a while ago…Our current president is Michael D Higgins and has served as the ninth president of Ireland since 2011. In July of this year he confirmed that he wishes to serve a second seven-year term when his time is up this autumn. I feel that Michael D Higgins will be a hard man to beat. Polls in recent weeks have found Higgins commanding support of anything between 66 and 71 per cent of the vote. (Independent Newspaper). Mr Higgins has enjoyed a positive seven-year term. He has overseen a period of important centenaries in Ireland, such as the 1916 Easter Rising, and was commended for marking them appropriately.

In 2014, he paid the first Irish state visit to the UK, during which he stayed with the Queen at Windsor Castle, and addressed both houses of parliament, in an important step for improving relations between the neighbouring countries.

He has also been president during a period of great social change in Ireland, namely with the landmark referendums on marriage equality and abortion.

Having kept an eye on the debates the past few nights I feel a little torn in how I will vote tomorrow. Part of me is happy to see someone with a solid background in mental health put herself forward for the role of president. Joan Freeman, founder of Pieta house (self-harm and suicide intervention charity) promises that as a future president would place strong emphasis on wellness of the people of Ireland. She has visited schools where some of the young children attending are part of the homeless crisis in Ireland. She believes that what she has witnessed as driven her further to encourage other schools and other community organisations to maintain well-being among the population despite these problems. She seems genuine and I believe her. Then the other part of me feels why fix it when it isn’t broken? Michael D Higgins speaks so well, and I feel proud to be Irish when he presents himself at an important event. He recently visited a woman who was terminally ill and who was a victim of the cervical cancer scandal. He appeared to show empathy and understanding and seems like the type of man who would know the right thing to say to this woman or one of her 5 children. He is a published poet and is articulate when speaking at some of the most important and often difficult subject matters. He is human though and not without his flaws.

Information on all of the other candidates can be found here Here

Do keep an eye on the news over the weekend to see the result Irish Times, Irish Independent and RTE News