Race for the ARAS 2025

[Tubberman]

Sean Kelly has confirmed he's looking for the FG nomination.
Loads of people were telling him how disappointed they were that he had withdrawn earlier.

[Snapchap]

Voted to let migrants drown. Not long ago said the DUP deserves praise and labels any reference to Irish Unity as "divisive".

🤢🤮

[gallsman]

Yeah she's capable, likeable, relatable, and being an Ulster Protestant adds something new, the unionist parties might be more receptive to her.

She's already a Fine Gaelic member. Tee hee hee.

[Armagh18]

Yeah she's capable, likeable, relatable, and being an Ulster Protestant adds something new, the unionist parties might be more receptive to her.

She's already a Fine Gaelic member. Tee hee hee.

[marty34]

Humphreys and Kelly now in for it.

After saying they're both not running.

Power hungry - can't get enough of it.

Battle lines drawn now.

[Tubberman]

Humphreys and Kelly now in for it.

After saying they're both not running.

Power hungry - can't get enough of it.

Battle lines drawn now.

Sure you could say that about any candidate

[Baile Brigín 2]

Gemma O'Doherty backer Catherine Connolly once again spewing 1980s leftie jargon.
She's never as keen to criticise Putin or Assad.

https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/08/16/catherine-connolly-says-we-cannot-trust-the-us-england-and-france/

Except for the bits where she explicitly does that in the article.

She supported a Gemma nomination long before Gemma went off the rails. She fooled a lot of people back when she was a journalist.

The whole article was a bit odd.

[Baile Brigín 2]

Fine Gael have a terrible record in Presidential elections. Humphreys is probably their best bet though.

Never won it. Ever.

[Franko]

When can I vote in any NI elections? Surely the c******ts haven't barred me.

Completely different as you well know...

If you guys want to saddle us with Sinn Fein heads, then surely we have the right to respond. 

That's probably the main reservation people would have. Unionists probably wouldn't vote, and 90% of nationalists would vote for SF candidate.

So the main reason people in the 26 would have for not giving the vote to those in the 6C is because they would vote for the 'wrong' person?

And without even a smirk, these people would call themselves democrats

We're a relatively mature democracy, whereas the North is still stuck in tribal politics, not sure what benefit it would be to merge the two.

  

"A relatively mature democracy"

Your two main parties, who should be on opposing sides of the political spectrum are doing a chuckle brothers 'to me - to you' with the highest office of state

Mature democracy me hole

It's a joke

[Tubberman]

When can I vote in any NI elections? Surely the c******ts haven't barred me.

Completely different as you well know...

If you guys want to saddle us with Sinn Fein heads, then surely we have the right to respond. 

That's probably the main reservation people would have. Unionists probably wouldn't vote, and 90% of nationalists would vote for SF candidate.

So the main reason people in the 26 would have for not giving the vote to those in the 6C is because they would vote for the 'wrong' person?

And without even a smirk, these people would call themselves democrats

We're a relatively mature democracy, whereas the North is still stuck in tribal politics, not sure what benefit it would be to merge the two.

  

"A relatively mature democracy"

Your two main parties, who should be on opposing sides of the political spectrum are doing a chuckle brothers 'to me - to you' with the highest office of state

Mature democracy me hole

It's a joke

FF and FG should be opposite sides of the political spectrum? How do you figure that?

[Rossfan]

Ah Tubber it's just the Shinnerbots having their usual meltdown about 26 Co elections.

[Franko]

When can I vote in any NI elections? Surely the c******ts haven't barred me.

Completely different as you well know...

If you guys want to saddle us with Sinn Fein heads, then surely we have the right to respond. 

That's probably the main reservation people would have. Unionists probably wouldn't vote, and 90% of nationalists would vote for SF candidate.

So the main reason people in the 26 would have for not giving the vote to those in the 6C is because they would vote for the 'wrong' person?

And without even a smirk, these people would call themselves democrats

We're a relatively mature democracy, whereas the North is still stuck in tribal politics, not sure what benefit it would be to merge the two.

  

"A relatively mature democracy"

Your two main parties, who should be on opposing sides of the political spectrum are doing a chuckle brothers 'to me - to you' with the highest office of state

Mature democracy me hole

It's a joke

FF and FG should be opposite sides of the political spectrum? How do you figure that?

OK, for the slow learners at the back, they have historically been on opposite sides

Now they give the pretence of having some opposing views to maximise the vote, then subsequently concoct cosy carve-ups to hold onto power between them

Actually, come to think about it - there's an argument that the north's political system is better, because at least there are some legislation/rules around the carve-up

'Mature democracy'   

The levels of delusion required to come out with this genuinely made me laugh out loud when I read it

[Franko]

Ah Tubber it's just the Shinnerbots having their usual meltdown about 26 Co elections.

Shinnerbot

A phrase used when no substantive argument is able to be made and so over-done that it has lost all meaning

It's Ireland's version of antisemite

Something the drunk guy sleeping in the corner slurs when everyone else is trying to have a bit of a discussion

[Dag Dog]

Gemma O'Doherty backer Catherine Connolly once again spewing 1980s leftie jargon.
She's never as keen to criticise Putin or Assad.

https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/08/16/catherine-connolly-says-we-cannot-trust-the-us-england-and-france/

Except for the bits where she explicitly does that in the article.

She supported a Gemma nomination long before Gemma went off the rails. She fooled a lot of people back when she was a journalist.

By that stage Gemma was already venting conspiracy theories about the state killing Veronica Guerin.
Connolly is close buds of Mick Wallace and Clare Daly. She is drawn to whack jobs, not repelled by them.

[Tubberman]

When can I vote in any NI elections? Surely the c******ts haven't barred me.

Completely different as you well know...

If you guys want to saddle us with Sinn Fein heads, then surely we have the right to respond. 

That's probably the main reservation people would have. Unionists probably wouldn't vote, and 90% of nationalists would vote for SF candidate.

So the main reason people in the 26 would have for not giving the vote to those in the 6C is because they would vote for the 'wrong' person?

And without even a smirk, these people would call themselves democrats

We're a relatively mature democracy, whereas the North is still stuck in tribal politics, not sure what benefit it would be to merge the two.

  

"A relatively mature democracy"

Your two main parties, who should be on opposing sides of the political spectrum are doing a chuckle brothers 'to me - to you' with the highest office of state

Mature democracy me hole

It's a joke

FF and FG should be opposite sides of the political spectrum? How do you figure that?

OK, for the slow learners at the back, they have historically been on opposite sides

Now they give the pretence of having some opposing views to maximise the vote, then subsequently concoct cosy carve-ups to hold onto power between them

Actually, come to think about it - there's an argument that the north's political system is better, because at least there are some legislation/rules around the carve-up

'Mature democracy'   

The levels of delusion required to come out with this genuinely made me laugh out loud when I read it

Listen up like a good lad, historically they were on opposite sides of the civil war (or to be more accurate, the parties derived from opposite sides of the civil war).

They were not, and are not, on opposite sides of the political spectrum.