Michelle O'Neill most popular leader in Ireland – poll

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill is now the most popular leader in Ireland, according to the findings of a new poll.

The latest Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll revealed the new Northern Ireland First Minister has an approval rating of 55 per cent, putting a notable gap between herself and second-placed Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin.

The results show Ms O'Neill also fared much better in the court of public opinion than her party leader, Mary Lou McDonald, who had an approval rating of 39 per cent, placing her fifth behind Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns and Fine Gael's Leo Varadkar (both on 41 per cent).

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste both saw increases in their approval ratings, rising by 3 and 4 percentage points respectively.

In terms of general party support, Sinn Féin remains the most popular party on 27 per cent, despite a 2 percentage point decline since the previous poll.

Fine Gael are in second on 20 per cent, followed closely by Fianna Fáil on 18 per cent, both of which picked up one of Sinn Féin's dropped percentage points.

Independents/Other claimed 17 per cent of the share, with the rest scattered in single-digits among the Social Democrats (7 per cent), Labour, the Green Party (both 4 per cent), Solidarity-People Before Profit, and Aontú (both 2 per cent).

The poll also showed there remains a high level of uncertainty among voters ahead of Friday's referendums, with over a third of those polled stating they do not know whether they will vote yes or no on the two proposed amendments to the Constitution.

The research, carried out on Friday, also posed questions about the ongoing controversy at RTÉ, with half of respondents stating they have no confidence in Minister for Media Catherine Martin over her handling of the matter.