Seán Rainford

Over the last few days the Taoiseach and one of his Ministers have made speeches showing that they think of the President as a mere symbol; indeed the Minister said that the Constitution plainly prevented him from being anything more, The Constitution says no such thing:on the contrary, Article 12.8 obliges the President to On taking up his Office, that will dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland." I think it would be intolerable if a President were, for example, to behave with open history towards a government but I do not accept that (apart from the special presidential message to the Nation: Artcle 13.7) his right of free speech should be thought more limited than that of any other citizen, and as I have already written to you, he should feel free to take constructive initiatives of his own in the interest of the nation and society. The Presidency should be an office for an active, brave and imagirative man, not a socket for totem-pole. Yours etc., J.M. KELLY. University College, Dublin, 2.

See also John Maurice Kelly, on of the great authorities on Irish constitutional law, in letter pages of the Irish Times in 1966.

The Irish Presidency Explained YouTube video by Dr Alan Greene

A very good video on this by @alangreene.bsky.social
youtu.be/pqNw1y-DaU4?...

Opinion: Michael D Higgins has not overstepped the constitutional boundaries of the Presidency Seán Rainford and Dr Jamie McLoughlin examine what the Constitution says about a president’s authority to speak out.

Unlike the monarch/governor-general that came before, the President isn't the formal source of executive power (i.e. it's not "President Connolly's Government") so statements contrary to Government policy make zero difference to Government's ability to make policy.
www.thejournal.ie/readme/micha...

President Connolly and precedent That is the deal that candidates to the office sign up to

"The role, and indeed the lifestyle, of the president is a like-for-like replacement of the monarchy that preceded it."

No it's not, and a lot of the criticism of President Connolly/Higgins' commentary is based on this false assumption.
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/lett...

The Irish govt seeks to amend Art 3 and Art 8 of the ECHR as they apply to migration cases.

This insidious shift in policy is very concerning.

The ECHR protects everyone's fundamental human rights. It's also central to the Good Friday Agreement.

We can't allow human rights law to be watered down.

I guess it boils down to whether you think commenting on a foreign policy issue = making foreign policy.

Up is down, black is white, calling out assaults on international law is 'hugely problematic'.

"unlike our government, most Irish people are not emotionally calcified men operating in a bizarre echo chamber where cruelty is rebranded “making the hard decisions” and tugging the forelock to despicable bullies is “bravery”."

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And this is precisely why it would be terrible for us to join NATO. Every Irish government would fall in line with every harebrained Yank misadventure, bowing, scraping and tugging the forelock while declaring themselves delighted to be finally playing senior hurling.

An important article - in an era of asymmetric warfare and dramatic power imbalances on the world stage, Western democratic leaders, so often in public, will likely come to regret the degradation of the norm against Head of State/Govt assassination by other states much more than autocrats will...

International law isn't an optional add-on for small states, it's essential for their existence and security.

The triple lock is painted by its critics as a limitation of Irish sovereignty. But when the government has effectively ceded all foreign policy decision-making to imperial powers, the triple lock's role in maintaining Irish sovereignty is far clearer.

The importance of maintaining the triple lock could not be clearer.

Any government that can't call out clear violations of international law because they're afraid how the US will respond cannot be trusted with decisions about foreign deployment of troops.

It's as simple as that.

The Constitution commits Ireland to respecting international law - the Minister ought to know the first principles.

what does the Irish government understand international law to mean if the unprovoked US attacks on Venezuela and Iran – with the kidnapping of a head of state in one case and the murder of a head of state in the other – do not clearly violate it?

Powers of president require reform – Michael D Former President Michael D Higgins has called for a root and branch reform of the presidency.

Powers of president require reform – Michael D
www.advertiser.ie/galway/artic...

Kaja Kallas is a dangerous warmongerer who should never have been allowed anywhere near the senior foreign policy position in the EU. she rightly decries Russian imperial aggression, but will back any amount of imperial aggression by her allies as long as the bombs are eviscerating non-Europeans

Sky news: "we must assume that the Americans and Israelis have taken all calculations into account."

Why must we assume that?

The likely scenario is Ireland ends up joining "peacekeeping" missions abroad (with no UN mandate) led by NATO or a similar alliance without ever formally joining. Maybe you're fine with that but the triple lock prevents this happening.

“Neutrality remains one of the most widely supported pillars of Irish foreign policy, rooted in historical experience, post-colonial identity, and a long-standing preference for international mediation rather than military alignment.”
~Patricia MacBride

The Irish News

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In the alternative, a declaration that the plaintiff, having lawfully declared candidacy and having refused to participate in an unconstitutional process, is the only validly nominated candidate under Article 12.4.5, and is therefore duly elected without a vote, as no other valid nominations exist, and will hold the office until a constitutional referendum is held to make amendments to Article 12 and remove the undemocratic nomination process.

My favourite submission from recent years in Irish courts...why doesn't the High Court simply declare me to be the President?

Sorry lefties, it's a scientific fact that Ireland is insufficiently right wing | my latest for the Irish Times

Ireland isn't some unique specimen; if directly elected mayors (with substantive powers) can work in other places like 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, it can work here too. The problem is that central government (i.e. FF & FG) doesn't want it to work.

Is the role of directly elected mayor workable? What’s happened in Limerick suggests not Less than two years into his term as mayor, John Moran is feeling the pressure

The framing of this article and its headline is really frustrating. It really shows that the Centre doesn't want this experiment in local democracy to work.
www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...

Aside from the fact that this is extremely alarming why the fuck would part of our EU presidency brief include anything to do with NATO? We're not in NATO.

Irish politics shifted left. Why? Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan

The unchallenged idea that the more money you spend = the more left wing you are is idiotic.
www.irishtimes.com/podcasts/ins...

Limerick's Directly Elected Mayor says councillors doing 'all they can' to make job 'unbearable' John Moran was elected as the country’s first ever Directly Elected Mayor in 2024 in a bid to shake up powers in local councils.

My politics would not be particularly close to John Moran's but this tallies with every single thing I've heard about his tenure as Mayor. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors have been behaving incredibly immaturely and are terrified of a Mayor who is not at their beck and call

A Seismic Shift? Examining Trends In Irish Politics | National Conference 2026 YouTube video by Social Democrats

Good discussion on Irish politics from @social-democrats.bsky.social conference, partly discussing options for a left-only government after next election
youtu.be/22vmYLRuDe4?...

They spent months making up a Catherine Connolly in their heads and getting mad at her!!!

Should we let loose Satan's demonic hoards on the Earth to begin an orgy of blood, violence, and torture?

Supreme court: sorry that's a political question.