The Candidate

We're joined on this episode of The Candidate podcast by Theresa Reidy, political scientist at University College Cork; Barry Colfer, director of research at the Institute of International and European Affairs; and Muiris O'Cearbhaill, reporter with The Journal. Our guests take a step from the past few weeks to look at what the results of the elections mean for Ireland, and what it says about the state of European politics in 2024.

Dublin is the smallest of Ireland's three European constituencies, with 23 candidates running for four seats. Political Editor Christina Finn examines how this election could unfold in the capital with Gary Murphy, professor of politics at Dublin City University, Liz Carolan of TheBriefing.ie, The Journal's Deputy Editor Christine Bohan, and Muiris O'Cearbhaill, reporter with The Journal.

Midlands-North-West is the largest of Ireland's three European constituencies. 27 candidates are vying for five seats, hoping to win the votes of people across 11 counties. It's a diverse area where would-be MEPs have to field a wide range of issues on the doorsteps, and is a crucial battleground to win the agricultural vote. It's the latest constituency to be profiled by the new season of The Candidate podcast, helping to make sense of the European elections and giving you a comprehensive view of the big issues and the candidates in each area. Political Editor Christina Finn examines how this election could unfold in Midlands-North-West with Johnny Fallon, political commentator and strategy director with Carr Communications; Stella Meehan, editor of Agriland.ie; Jane Matthews, Political Reporter with The Journal, and Muiris O'Cearbhaill, reporter with The Journal.

Ahead of the crucial European election in June, we're profiling each constituency - who are the main contenders, and what are the big issues coming up on the doorstep? First up, we're heading to Ireland South with WLRFM's Damien Tiernan, UCC's Theresa Reidy, and our own reporters Rónán Duffy and Muiris O'Cearbhaill.

Our final episode brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to Green Party leader Eamon Ryan. Here, we give you a chance to find out more about what Ryan's party stands for before we go to the polls tomorrow. For this episode of The Candidate podcast, our Political Correspondent Christina Finn sat down with Eamon Ryan and discussed his hopes for a greener government this year.

Our latest episode brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald. Here, we give you a chance to find out more about what McDonald's party stands for before we go to the polls on Saturday. For this episode of The Candidate podcast, our Political Correspondent Christina Finn sat down with the Sinn Féin leader and discussed the murder of Paul Quinn, the reference to "shadowy figures" behind her party and what she really thinks about the Special Criminal Court.

Our latest episode brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, leader of Fine Gael. Here, we give you a chance to find out more about what Varadkar's party stands for before we go to the polls on Saturday. For this episode of The Candidate podcast, our Political Correspondent Christina Finn sat down with the Taoiseach and discussed housing, childcare and his regrets over the cervical check crisis.

Our latest episode brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to Catherine Murphy, joint leader of the Social Democrats. Here, we give you a chance to find out more about what Murphy's party stands for before we go to the polls on Saturday. For this episode of The Candidate podcast, our Assistant News Editor Laura Byrne sat down with Murphy and discussed housing, childcare and how she believes young people will turn out in this election.

Our latest episode brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to People Before Profit's Richard Boyd Barrett, giving you a chance to find out more about what his party stands for before we go to the polls on Saturday. For this episode of The Candidate podcast, Political Correspondent Christina Finn sat down with Barrett and discussed the housing crisis, land hoarding, banks and his dabbing dance moves in the Dáil.

Our latest episode brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, giving you a chance to find out more about what his party stands for before we go to the polls on Saturday. For this episode of The Candidate podcast, Political Correspondent Christina Finn sat down with Tóibín and discussed social issues, hospital exclusion zones and Sinn Féin.

Our latest episode brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to Labour leader Brendan Howlin, giving you a chance to find out more about what they stand for before we go to the polls in just under two weeks time. For our second The Candidate podcast, Political Correspondent Christina Finn sat down with Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin. We got lots of questions about housing, taxation, Labour's role in the austerity years, and whether the party will consider an alliance with Sinn Féin.

Election day fast approaches and so the campaign trail is heating up. In this episode, we bring TheJournal.ie readers closer to the party leaders, giving you a chance to find out more about what they stand for before we go to the polls in just over two weeks time. For our first The Candidate podcast, Political Correspondent Christina Finn sat down with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin. We wanted to make sure that your questions were put to the Fianna Fáil leader, so we asked you to send us on a WhatsApp recording of yourself asking the question. We were inundated with questions about issues that matter to you, from the cost of rent and childcare, no hope of buying a home, animal welfare issues, fixing the health service and the big question the nation wants to know: has he ever tried a spice bag?

US citizens go to the polls on Tuesday for midterm elections. Like with most things US politics, interest levels in the votes has heightened to unprecedented levels across the globe because of the Trump factor. As the system can get a little confusing, we asked NUI Galway law lecturer, political columnist and Bostonian Larry Donnelly into studio to explain why this set of elections has garnered so much attention. Presented by Sinéad O'Carroll and with contributions from reporter Gráinne Ní Aodha, this special episode of The Candidate crunches the numbers, explores the most interesting Senate and gubernatorial races, looks at the possible outcomes of a loss of the House (for Republicans and for the US President himself) and predicts how Irish-Americans will vote on 6 November. Produced by Aoife Barry and Nicky Ryan. Edited by Andrew Roberts and Nicky Ryan. Recorded with the help of Headstuff. Music via Wikimedia Commons.

The Candidate brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to the presidential hopefuls. For our sixth The Candidate podcast, we bring you our news editor and presenter Sinéad O'Carroll talking to Joan Freeman. We talked to the Pieta House founder about the Iona Institute, her loan from Des Walsh, and what she thinks life is like for men in Ireland today. Images from RollingNews.ie. Music by Incompetech. Recorded at the DIT Aungier St studios.

The Candidate brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to the presidential hopefuls. For our fifth The Candidate podcast, we bring you our news editor and presenter Sinéad O'Carroll talking to President Michael D Higgins. We talked to the incumbent about whether he is a millionaire, his thoughts on Peter Casey's comments on his dogs, and what he really makes of the furore over presidential expenses. Images from RollingNews.ie. Music by Incompetech. Recorded at the DIT Aungier St studios.

The Candidate brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to the presidential hopefuls. For our third The Candidate podcast, we bring you our reporter and presenter Sinéad O'Carroll talking to Sean Gallagher. We talked to the businessman about his thoughts on Peter Casey's comments about Travellers, his feelings about the Eighth Amendment, and what he makes of Take Back The City. Images from RollingNews.ie. Music by Incompetech. Recorded with the help of Headstuff.

The Candidate brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to the presidential hopefuls. For our third The Candidate podcast, we bring you our reporter and presenter Sinéad O'Carroll talking to Peter Casey. We talked to the businessman about why he wants to run for the Áras, his thoughts on modern-day America and racism, and gender quotas. Images from RollingNews.ie. Music by Incompetech. Recorded with the help of DIT Aungier St

The Candidate brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to the presidential hopefuls. For our second The Candidate podcast, we bring you our reporter and presenter Sinéad O'Carroll talking to Liadh Ní Riada. We talked to the MEP about her thoughts on the HPV vaccine and cancer, the impact of Brexit on Ireland, and the Irish language. Images from RollingNews.ie. Music by Incompetech. Recorded with the help of DIT Aungier St http://jrnl.ie/4292151

The Candidate brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to the presidential hopefuls. For our first The Candidate podcast, we bring you our reporter and presenter Sinéad O'Carroll talking to Gavin Duffy. We talked to the Dragon about the pain he feels about causing serious injuries to a woman in a car crash when he was a young man, his criticisms of the media and how he is sorry that there are three television stars in the race to the Áras. Images from RollingNews.ie. Music by Incompetech. Recorded at DIT Aungier St studios. http://jrnl.ie/4289080

TheJournal.ie launches its new podcast: The Candidate The Candidate brings TheJournal.ie readers closer to the presidential candidates, thanks to six in-depth interviews. Read more here: http://jrnl.ie/4289080