Ex-Taoiseach Enda Kenny has stated he won’t be contesting on behalf of Fine Gael in the forthcoming presidential election next year, after President Michael D Higgins ended his 14-year term at Áras an Uachtaráin. Speaking at the revered Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, County Wexford, Kenny mentioned a previous conversation with Mr. Higgins, in which he confessed his fondness for visiting the Áras.
Interviewer Marie-Louise O’Donnell suggested he’d be an ideal fit for the position, but the 73-year-old retired statesman firmly responded, “I’m not planning to apply to be a resident there. So, it’s a no.” Mairead McGuinness, an ex-European Commissioner, is reportedly the favoured candidate for Fine Gael in the anticipated October 2025 election.
Rumours are also circulating that Tánaiste Micheál Martin might pursue the Fianna Fáil nomination for the position. The terms of the presidents cap at two, each lasting 7 years. Mr Higgins clinched his second term in 2018 with over 55 per cent of the total vote.
In a comprehensive dialogue in New Ross, Mr Kenny borrowed from a speech by former U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, in 1962 to emphasise the role of politics in society and the inclusion of citizens. In an era of uncertainty marked by misinformation and an overload of information, he stressed the importance of political engagement by the populace, more than ever.