There was no exceptional candidate in a presidential field with three waffling Dragons. If this was a worthwhile exercise in democracy, we’re in trouble, writes Michael Clifford.

A Fine Gael minister has gone against his own party to publicly back Joan Freeman in the presidential race.

Michael D Higgins has been earning €247,000 for the last seven years and receiving his €19,000 lecturer’s pension, writes Victoria White

Here's your morning bulletin.

Michael D mastered the speech of protest the better to deliver it from the palace balcony, writes Gerard Howlin

With the incumbent President Michael D Higgins so far ahead in the race, it was only a matter of time before things became somewhat farcical.

The mock Presidential election and a student council ballot were run together, by second-year pupils at the school.

HADN’T anticipated taking much comfort from this tepid shower of a presidential campaign but that’s what has happened. Peter Casey is the man responsible for it, writes Alison O’Connor. 

Journalists should remember that it’s part of the job to treat everyone equally in this campaign, writes Alison O’Connor

Joan Freeman laughs at the notion that her husband Pat mightn’t fancy the idea of an ex-boyfriend giving her a loan, writes Catherine Shanahan.

Presidential elections now come with two great myths attached to them, writes Terry Prone. 

We have “failed utterly” to break the cycle of poverty, according to the outgoing chief executive of Barnardos children’s charity, Fergus Finlay.

President Michael D Higgins is expected to make a statement outlining his campaign intentions when his nomination papers for the race for the park are submitted later this month.

Pieta House founder Joan Freeman believes the country is ready for a different type of presidency.

Trump will dismiss any opposition as petty spite, and tell the world that the true Irish loved him, writes Fergus Finlay

The double standards and discomfort of Michael D Higgins’ self-appointed adherents is comedy gold, writes Gerard Howlin

So we’re going to have an election for the office of the presidency. That’s very good news. As of now, it’s likely to be a two-candidate race, with a strong possibility of a third (maybe even a fourth) comingthrough the local authority route. That’s better.

Where were the organisations that get state money to promote the interests of older people? writes Terry Prone. 

A Cabinet minister has broken ranks by calling for a presidential election this year.

Poor Gerard Craughwell. Those Fianna Fáil feckers. How could they do it to him?

Okay folks, it’s showtime! The late PJ Mara’s open invitation to electioneer and party would have nothing on President Michael D Higgins, writes Gerard Howlin.

The great thing about the old days was that we had the Catholic Church to deliver reproof, punishment and banishment, writes Terry Prone

Almost half of voters want to see President Higgins honour his promise of serving just one term.

There has been a broad welcome by business groups towards a Government report on tackling the high cost of employer and public liability insurance.

I can’t remember the first time I heard Bob Dylan or Van Morrison or even Lightnin’ Hopkins, but I remember the first time I heard Dolores O’Riordan, writes Michael Clifford.

Several people are considering contesting the presidency but need to declare their intentions in the coming weeks, Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath says.

Sean Gallagher waited a long time for his case to conclude, with his life, no doubt, in some ways on hold, writes Alison O’Connor.

He may live in the nearest thing we have to a palace, yet, in his annual Christmas message from the grandeur of Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday, President Higgins exuded more empathy and personal connection with Ireland’s homeless than many of our senior politicians.

There is no desire for another bruising election, writes Political Editor Daniel McConnell

It may, right now, seem a bit inconsequential, but we are going to choose a President

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil should rotate power in the next Government but should not form a ‘grand coalition’, junior Finance Minister Michael D’Arcy has said.

Michael D Higgins may run for a second term as President, despite claiming he would only serve one term.

Since becoming Irish President in 2011, Limerick-born Michael D Higgins has proven a popular head of state. 

Sure would you look at his happy face.

Future stars of stage and screen gathered gongs and shared the red carpet with celebrities at a student theatre event in Dublin.

Ireland AM was inundated with tea cosies after announcing their Great Big Tea Cosy contest this spring. Competitors were asked to knit or crochet a tea cosy.

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald is considering contesting the presidential election next year, according to senior Fine Gael sources.

Colm O’Regan reckons if you have any kind of assets worth more than a fiddler’s fart, get your will done.

A potent mix of human rights, civil liberties, culture and history strongly dominated President Michael D Higgins’s four-day official visit to Cuba this week.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day for Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins.