Mary Lou McDonald

Government plan is ‘total arrogance’ on the back of a ‘grubby deal’, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald says

Women junior Ministers were placed in the front row at the Leinster House photocall but it fooled no one, as just six of the 23 appointees are women

It is the less predictable events that will present the biggest problems for the Coalition

Committee to consider wording of a new amendment to Dáil rules to break gridlock over ongoing row around Regional Independent Group

Reports of a major clear-out were greatly exaggerated. The party’s frontbench looks very familiar

A number of senior TDs will remain in their existing portfolios

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said there were the same number of Ministers with the name James as there were women

Cabinet criticised as ‘very male’ with only three women as full ministers, down one from last time

Simon Harris becomes Minister for Foreign Affairs as Jim O'Callaghan takes justice portfolio

Chaotic scenes in the chamber unfold around coalition of Tweedledum, Tweedledee and Tweedledeal

Election of new taoiseach and government proves impossible as Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy forced to suspend the House repeatedly

Government-supporting Independents to speak from Dáil opposition benches during election of taoiseach

Successful applicants will supply their pouch for a one-year period with the option to extend by a further year

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said tribunal findings were ‘very clear’

As Sinn Féin heads into next Dáil, it faces a crucial moment in its quest for growth, power and delivering on its mission of seismic change

McDonald, Michelle O’Neill and Gerry Adams took turns carrying strategist and negotiator’s coffin to Belfast cemetery

Sinn Féin leader aims to advance the goal of Irish unity while in opposition

Year ahead promises no shortage of intrigue and challenge for the political classes as they look to digest a new reality brought about by the year of elections

After a year of two lost referendums, a taoiseach’s resignation and huge losses for government partners the Greens, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are returning to power

A year of change heralds a future of more of the same

Tony Blair had it right when he said manifestos and campaign promises are ‘a guide to winning but they’re an unsuitable guide to governing, except in describing what you hope will happen’

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil ‘on track’ to strike government deal by January 22nd

A political year of shocks and surprises somehow ended up as it began: with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in cahoots. The politician of the year may have had something to do with it

The family and care referendums were soundly rejected, Leo Varadkar most unexpectedly stepped down, and there was a decided turnaround in parties’ fortunes

The Independent Wexford TD says she will carry out the role ‘without fear or favour’

Martin and Harris got on each other’s nerves during the election campaign, but they now need to put their differences aside

Richard McGreevy (28) was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in March

In the News podcast: What went wrong for Sinn Féin in the November 2024 election and what does this mean for Mary Lou McDonald’s future at the party’s helm?

Jim O’Callaghan talks up Independents option while Bacik expected to speak separately with Martin and Harris this week

In Dublin’s north inner city support for the veteran criminal known as the Monk shows how ‘disaffected’ locals are

Concerns that Sinn Féin’s electoral setback will destabilise Stormont miss the point. The party is at greater risk of endlessly shirking difficult decisions

Democracy is on a downward arc globally, and we can see the warning signs here in the treatment by some media of Gerry Hutch’s candidacy as a joke. We learned nothing from the ascent of Donald Trump

It seems unlikely that the party can rebuild its old electoral coalition

Mary Lou McDonald still commands a huge swell of support within the ranks of the party

Final count finished in Cavan-Monaghan with the make up of the 34th Dáil now complete

Close-fought races and the tantalising prospect of power brought relief for the victorious but crushing lows for those rejected by the electorate

Brian Stanley says he and his campaigners ‘defied the odds’ by getting over the line as an Independent candidate

Fianna Fáil leader says he sees clear path to government while Fine Gael leader expresses confidence that his party will play significant role in Coalition formation talks

Simon Harris’s encounter with care worker Charlotte Fallon stood out as a pivotal moment in a campaign for which the political parties seemed oddly unprepared

Election 2024: Everything will be revealed over the course of this weekend. But in the meantime, we learned a few things during this bumpy campaign