A delegation of Irish Olympians and Paralympians were hosted at Aras an Uactharain on Friday to celebrate their brilliant achievements in Paris. During his two terms as president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins has been a great advocate of Irish sport. It appears there is some chance the next president of Ireland could be a former sportsperson.
According to a report in the Sunday Times this week, it appears Sinn Féín are considering fielding two sporting candidates in next year's presidential election.
Both come from the north; both have well-known GAA backgrounds. One is Jarlath Burns, the current GAA president. The other is John Finucane, an MP and a goalkeeper for Antrim in his day.
Burns would be a hugely popular choice. As GAA president, he performs a role not so removed from that as the president of Ireland. He's proved enormously popular.
Compared to some recent predecessors, Burns has electrified the role. He has used his privileged position from the Ard Chomhairle to speak on topics related to the GAA , and outside it. He's a powerful orator and communicator.
However, he still hasn't completed a year of his GAA presidency and it's hard to know how he - presuming he even wanted to - could campaign amidst the frenetic GAA championship, and all the other demands of the role.
John Finucane is the other candidate reportedly being considered for the post. The North Belfast MP is a well-known solicitor. The Lámh Derg goalkeeper was on Antrim's minor football team in 1997 and was around the Antrim senior panel throughout the noughties.
Back in 2019, Finucane had the unique experience of playing in the Antrim county final while serving as Lord Mayor of Belfast
His family have long campaigned for a public inquiry into the murder of their father Pat, who was murdered in the family kitchen by Loyalist paramilitaries back in 1989. This week, the British government finally granted the family their wish and agreed to hold that inquiry.
Finucane is currently listed at 14/1 to be next Ireland president.
