Monaghan County Council has voted not to nominate any potential candidate in the Presidential Election.
The local authority was asked if they wanted to nominate a candidate and 15 of the 18 said they didn’t want to nominate any of the 10 presidential hopefuls that they heard at today’s special meeting.
One councillor didn’t indicate while the two councillors were not present at the time of the vote. Cllr Richard Truell and Cllr Bronagh McAree was not present at the time the vote was taken, while Cllr Seamus Treanor did not indicate to vote for or against the nomination.
Cllr Treanor who is an independent councillor did say that it was a bit disingenuous and that it was a bit of a charade, adding that it was a slight waste of time knowing that these nominations were going to be blocked and that the local authority was never going to put anyone forward.
Speaking on behalf on the Sinn Fein members, Cllr Pat Treanor said he acknowledged the people that have come before the council today. However he said Sinn Fein had announced that they were backing Catherine Connolly and this was a "gamechanger" adding that he believes this has really "lit up the campaign". Cllr Treanor said, "for this reason we will not be nominating anyone in this process."
While Cllr Aidan Campbell for Fine Gael said that, "we have an excellent candidate in Heather Humphreys and we will be supporting Heather in a bid to get a Monaghan person elected to the President. For this reason we will be not nominating anyone", adding that "we can stand by Heathers work ethic is backing her all the way. "
The nomination process for the Presidency of Ireland allows candidates to be nominated either, by 20 members of the Oireachtas, or by at least four local authorities.
The national deadline for nominations is 12 noon on Wednesday, the 24th of September. Ten prospective candidates had sought the support of Monaghan County Council for a nomination.
Keith McGrory, Tony Corrigan, Lorna McCormack, Seana Kerr, Lucy Ann O’Leary, Walter Ryan-Purcell, Aidan Harrington, Dr Cora Stack, Diarmuid Mulcahy and Peter Casey.
Keith McCrory was the only candidate to be in the chamber, the rest presented their speeches for a nomination online.
Keith McGrory: A quantity surveyor by profession, Mr McGrory has expressed interest in the role, focusing on national development and public service.
Tony Corrigan: Founder of the procurement technology company Orbidal, Mr Corrigan has been involved in Irish business and technology sectors. He believes abuse in society has got worst, as a President will speak up for abuse victims and their families.
Walter Ryan-Purcell: A former diplomat and academic, Mr Ryan-Purcell is focusing on strengthening Ireland's global relationships and promoting peace and diplomacy. The Cork man said he was very serious about this bid, adding that he intended to be a president with vision but a very working one. "I’ve been in business for 40 years and renewable industry and food industry and a working President on matters of national and public importance." The agricultural graduate and a marketing graduate has been a previous general election candidate and a previous MEP candidate in the past.
Dr Cora Stack: An award-winning academic, mathematician, and researcher, Dr Stack was honoured with the 2025 Ramanujan Memorial Award for Excellence in Academic Leadership, becoming the first Irish academic to receive this international recognition.
She is an advocate for education reform, legal and justice reform, " I would he the guardian of the constitution. I would stand against bullying, a voice for the vulnerable and a shield for the voiceless." She has for over three decades thought mathematics.
Diarmaid Mulcahy: Originally from Kerry and now based in Galway, Mr Mulcahy has a career spanning finance, seafood, community organisations, and Gaeltacht groups. He is fluent in Irish and has been involved with the Green Party National Council. A former regional manager of MABBs and worked in the seafood industry.
He said more local authority power was needed. "I would seek to be a voice for Ireland and I would be a unifier. A voice of peace and hope. I am very committed to our native language, if elected I would insure the Irish language is promoted at every opportunity. He believes housing should be a constitutional right."
Peter Casey: The Donegal based Derry born businessman, who was runner up to Michael D Higgins in the 2018 Presidential elections. The former Dragons Den panellist says his grandmother hails from Monaghan. "My main platform is to transfer significant powers of the presidency to county councillors, empowering them to shape national decisions directly." He said there is 949 councillors and this would give them a vote outside of party lines and this would assist the President. "I’m concerned for Ireland, we are over run by immigration. Uncontrolled migration from the EU is a major problem, Ireland is not full but we need to know who is coming into Ireland." Mr Casey addressed the council via online from Atlanta this morning, he said the president can make a huge difference.
Her said "the process getting on the ballot needs to be change, I’m passionate about Ireland, I’m passionate about protecting Ireland." Meanwhile, Cavan County Council has decided not to hold a special meeting to hear from potential presidential hopefuls.
