The Candidate

First, it was Covid restrictions that called off Micheál Martin's visit to the White House for St Patrick's Day in 2021. Then, during his second chance, he ended up actually catching Covid on the trip. Will it be third time lucky, or, after last week's Oval Office scenes, will this be one of the biggest tests of his political career? Will Trump unleash some pent-up anger directed at Ireland, or wi...

News about the National Gallery's never-used x-ray scanner worth €125,000 sparked 'fury' across the country... apparently. Did it really? If it did, how can that fury be used constructively? If it didn't, have we become numb to this type of wasted cash — or was this simply not that big of a deal? On this week's episode, Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews, Rónán Duffy, and Sinéad O'Carroll examine the...

Europe is in disarray, to say the least, over Trump's rumblings about distancing the United States from all us on this side of the Atlantic, and his new spat with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It will leave a massive hole in European defence if that happens, and that means Ireland is facing renewed attention over its military spend (or lack thereof). Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Róná...

Housing remains the single biggest issue for the Irish public. People want to see the crisis brought to an end or, at the very least, real action being taken. Any missteps are amplified. We saw that this week with talk of scrapping Rent Pressure Zones and the controversy around housing figures provided during the general election. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy loo...

It's almost March, and you know what that means: all political attention turns to one particular bowl of shamrock. Trump's second-term actions so far leave Ireland faced with a renewed dilemma: go ahead with the traditional St Patrick's Day trip to Washington in the name of using it to make our case on the world stage, or face the new realities of politics in 2025 and call off the Trump meeting. T...

With the help of a column in the Sunday Times, Leo Varadkar has casually lobbed a grenade at the new Dáil: are the positions of some new junior minsters constitutionally sound? It now looks like likely that their status could be tested in the courts, and for the first time. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews have a look at this, as well as who exactly has been appointed to head up...

What a week. An unprecedented start to the Dáil term. A temporary and perhaps uneasy truce over speaking rights that allowed the government to get off the ground. The Opposition putting forward a rare, united front. Again, this is week one; there are five years left to go. Fully remote this week due to Storm Éowyn, with the occasional atmospheric wind gust in the background, the team look back on...

The process of voting in a new taoiseach is usually a fairly routine affair. The opposition parties have their say, the government parties and their supporters have theirs, the vote is ultimately passed by the party with the most seats, and then it's time for a day out in the Áras. All very tidy. Instead, Leinster House has been plunged into unprecedented chaos and remains suspended into tomorrow...

Something we're enthusiastic about: we're back for a new season! Something we're not enthusiastic about: the new Programme for Government. Our team — Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews — examine the 162-page document which outlines the government's plan for the next five years. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Regional Independents Group list their priorities across all areas of the...

... well, we're afraid you'll have to wait until our producer/barman counts the votes in accordance with PR-STV and reveals the winner at the end of the episode. The team — Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Sinéad O'Carroll — break out the non-alcoholic mulled wine and alcoholic mystery red cocktails and decide on the winners of The Candidate's 2024 Politics Awards. From Whoopsie...

We're now stuck in government formation purgatory amd struggling to keep track of which group-of-the-day is vying for a seat at the Cabinet table. There's also murmurings of who the next Ceann Comhairle could be (spoiler, it could be the same person as the previous two Dáil terms). But, on top of all of this, we have the Social Democrats facing their first real post-election headache. A link betwe...

The general election is... over? And it's clear that the team have gone a little stir-crazy after a few too many hours in count centres. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Sinéad O'Carroll sit down to look at the case of Stephen Donnelly, and how the Cabinet minister ended up losing his seat — there were some early warning signs that Fianna Fáil feared he was in trouble, and possibly because of...

The media scrums in the RDS were growing bigger and bigger as the count went on... and then Gerald Hutch arrived. The gangland figure's failed election bid drew huge attention from national and international press, but has he achieved his ultimate aim? Could his unexpectedly strong performance shine a light on Dublin's north inner city and the reasons why people voted for him? With Christine Bohan...

It's all systems go: the votes have been cast, the exit polls revealed, the ballots separated, and the counting is now underway. A picture of general election 2024 is starting to come together piece-by-piece. Christine Bohan and Christina Finn (the latter joining us from a car park outside the Wicklow count centre) chat about the big talking points so far, and ask: is it really viable anymore for...

Just days to go now, and we've had our first real talking point of the campaign — but also another lacklustre debate. Sinéad O'Carroll, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews chat on today's episode about the final stretch and what could really make a difference in the minds of undecided voters. Or maybe, instead of undecided voters, do we need to focus on the undecided coalition partners? Hosted on Ac...

Heading into this election, it was disaster after disaster for Sinn Féin. The timing couldn't been worse. It wasn't going to be theirs for the taking, but literally anyone else. But is the party now having a normal election campaign? Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and (another new character unlocked) Muiris O'Cearbhaill examine how the coming days might pan out for Sinn Féin, and w...

A low-key, cranky election campaign manifested as a low-key, cranky election debate last night. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy sit down to unpack last night's 10-way special on RTÉ's Upfront. Did anyone really come out on top in the end, or did the main party leaders let themselves down in the end? We also examine Fine Gael's John McGahon problem, and look at the fe...

We're now almost a week into the election campaign, and the children are fighting. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have traded a series of jabs that might across as surprising to hear from two parties who are currently in government together and may likely have to work together again in future. Is it all a show? Is it believable? Also, how important will appearances on podcasts be for candidates? Hosted...

Show us someone who had 'jiving' on their 2024 general election bingo card, and we'll show you a liar. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy look at how the campaign trail is progressing so far, and the need for politicians to pivot into the world of content creation (to very mixed results). We also hear about what Micheál Martin had to say about housing when Christina sat...

Finally. Finally! Candidates are already out on the doorsteps and some politicians packing up their office in Leinster House. Now, the government has announced — in unexpectedly messy fashion — the date of the next general election. The Dáil will be dissolved on Friday, and the public will go to the polls on 29 November. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy look at how th...

The US presidential election is all but lost for Kamala Harris. Donald Trump is preparing his return to power. The results are still coming in, but we're bringing you a quick bonus episode with two sleep-deprived reporters to examine how the night unfolded and what comes next. Christine Bohan and Rónán Duffy begin the postmortem on the Democrat's failed campaign, and look at what Trump's victory m...

It's one of the biggest issues facing families across Ireland, and yet it never ranks highly in the list of people's political priorities. Could childcare still be the issue that wins or loses this election? On the latest episode of The Candidate podcast — which now takes a weekly look behind the scenes and beyond the headlines to focus on what’s really happening in Irish politics right now — Chri...

We're all caught up in the pre-election doldrums, but is one party's ship in particular trouble? On the latest episode of The Candidate podcast — which now takes a weekly look behind the scenes and beyond the headlines to focus on what’s really happening in Irish politics right now — Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy examine how Fine Gael is continuing to lose TD afte...

It's a strange, strange week in Irish politics (and still with no election date in sight). On the latest episode of The Candidate podcast — which now takes a weekly look behind the scenes and beyond the headlines to focus on what’s really happening in Irish politics right now — Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Rónán Duffy turn their attention to the Occupied Territories Bill. It has been knock...

Simon Harris is on a flying visit to Washington DC. He isn't under the same pressure that Leo Varadkar faced during a US visit earlier this year but the big question is similar: will he bring up the US's arming of Israel? In this episode, Jane Matthews, Rónán Duffy and Christine Bohan are joined by The Journal's political editor Christina Finn in Washington, where we look at how the Taoiseach will...