Presidential election: Tommy Tiernan emerges as popular candidate alongside McGuinness and McDowell

Eva Osborne

Tommy Tiernan came out ahead of Bertie Ahern in a poll asking Irish people who they would vote for in the Irish presidential election, with Mairead McGuinness and Michael McDowell taking first and second place respectively.

According to the Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll, prospective Fine Gael candidate Mairead McGuinness would have the vote of 34.8 per cent of Irish people for the role.

The public will head to the polls to vote in the next presidential election on or up to 60 days before November 11th, 2025, as Michael D Higgins' second term in the role comes to an end.

The poll saw a list of 14 potential presidential candidates put to the public with the question: "Which of the following would you vote for in an Irish Presidential election in 2025?"

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was in a tight race for the third place spot, and led Tommy Tiernan through 10 rounds of voting before he was ultimately surpassed by the comedian.

After Ahern in fourth place, Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald came fifth out of the 14 potential candidates, taking 12.8 per cent of the vote.

Frances Fitzgerald had 10.4 per cent of the vote, Róisín Shortall had 9.3 per cent, and Heather Humphreys had 6.6 per cent.

At the lower end of the scale, former GAA president Seán Kelly sat on 5.5 per cent, Jarlath Burns on 4 per cent, and Frances Black on 3.7 per cent.

Former People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith took 3.2 per cent of the vote, with John Finucane on 2 per cent, and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú was at the bottom on 1.7 per cent.