Recently retired RTÉ broadcaster Joe Duffy has said he will not be seeking a nomination to run in the forthcoming presidential election.
In a post to his X account on Saturday afternoon, Mr Duffy “wanted to make it absolutely clear” that he was “not seeking a nomination from any politicians, local or national, for the office of @PresidentIRL”.
The move followed speculation that the popular media personality might join the race following his departure from the national airwaves last month.
The former Liveline host signed off his post by saying, “I will not be adding anything further,” and tagging the main news agencies, including The Irish Times, which ran a story on Saturday speculating as to his potential participation, among others.
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President Michael D Higgins will leave office on November 8th, 2025, and the election to replace him is expected to take place in late October.
While no political party or group has formally selected a candidate, former EU commissioner Mairéad McGuinness and sitting MEP Seán Kelly are expected to seek nominations from Fine Gael.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has not said whether Fianna Fáil will select someone to run for the role, while the Social Democrats and People Before Profit-Solidarity have both spoken in favour of supporting a united left-wing candidate.
In order to run for president in Ireland, a candidate must be an Irish citizen aged 35 or older. They must receive the support of at least 20 members of the Oireachtas or the backing of at least four local authorities.
So far, lawyer Nick Delehanty; MMA fighter Conor McGregor, businessman Peter Casey; former junior minister Peter Power; MEP Seán Kelly; MEP Mairéad McGuinness; and former minister Mary Hanafin have indicated they intend to run.
