Mary Lou McDonald: Sinn Fein leader not running for Irish presidency

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her name "will not go forward" as the party's nominee for president.

Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland ahead of her party's annual think-in, Ms McDonald said she had to "lead from the front" in holding the current Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition to account.

She said the party had tested "every proposition" in relation to a candidate.

Asked if Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill would be the candidate, Ms McDonald said the party's process was still under way.

"My preference is that we call this right and, at the risk of sounding repetitive, we have options," she said.

Outlining her reasons for not running for president, Mary Lou McDonald said her efforts had to remain on holding the Irish government to account as the leader of the opposition in the Dail.

"I have a real sense of the importance of this time in Irish political and indeed in Irish historical life," she said.

"I believe that whoever is the Uachtaran (president) following the election will likely be the Uachtaran in office as we move into referendums and Irish reunification and all of the politics and the interaction that needs to happen around that, and I think the Uachtaran will play a very, very important role at a time of huge opportunity and transition in Irish life and for that reason I've considered very carefully what we as a party do, but also what I do myself personally.

"I'm mindful also that there is a real need to get Fianna Fail and Fine Gael out of office, out of government, and also to keep them out of the Aras (the president's official residence at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin).

"But, for me, at this point in time, my effort has to be in respect of holding this government to account day and daily, building with my Sinn Fein colleagues, and with colleagues beyond Sinn Fein, a real alternative as to when the next general election occurs.

"So for those reasons, I've informed some of my colleagues over the weekend, and I'll be talking to others obviously here in Dun Laoghaire today (at a party think-in event), and my name will not go forward for that reason.

"I've been greatly encouraged by the number of people who have spoken to me and encouraged some to go forward for this office. Others very clearly saying 'stay the course, stay the course'. But my strong instinct is that obviously the office of Uachtaran na hEireann (President of Ireland) is an incredibly important one.

"It's important that we get the right person into that office, but it is so important that we have a government that can really respond to the day-to-day needs of our people."