Leitrim County Council votes against backing Maria Steen for the Áras

A proposal to back Maria Steen was defeated today during a meeting of Leitrim County Council. Following presentations made by thirteen presidential hopefuls last week, Cllr Mary Bohan, Cllr Irene Guckian-Rabbitte, and Cllr Justin Warnock put forward a motion to nominate Maria Steen as a candidate for the Election for the Office of President of Ireland.

Maria Steen is a barrister, described as a conservative campaigner, and a member of the Catholic advocacy group the Iona Institute. She represented the Iona Institute during debates in advance of previous referenda held in Ireland, including the 2015 vote on marriage equality and the 2018 vote to repeal the eighth amendment, campaigning for a no vote in both cases.

On her decision to propose Steen’s nomination, Cllr Bohan said, “I’ve listened to Maria Steen on a number of debates, she understands the role of president.” Referring to Steen’s presentation to Leitrim County Council last week, she added, “When she talked, she was very clear of the role and even more so clear on the limitations of the role, which wasn’t the case for many of the other candidates.”

Cllr Bohan further argued that it would be remiss to deny the public an opportunity to vote for Steen. “At the end of the day it’s the public who are going to decide and I don’t want to take any part in denying people that opportunity,” she said.

Councillors Justin Warnock and Irene Guckian-Rabbitte seconded her proposal.

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Cllr Róisín Kenny spoke against backing Steen, saying her decision came after much consideration. 

She argued that Steen’s ties with the Iona Institute and her “very conservative views” were reminiscent of a time when the Catholic Church had a strong hold over Ireland. 

“I do believe our nation has moved towards a more inclusive and diverse country. The president should be someone who represents all of our people,” Cllr Kenny said.

She added that councillors of Leitrim County Council represent everyone regardless of gender, religion, race, or sexual orientation, and the president should do the same. “For that reason I cannot in good conscience support Maria Steen,” she said, confirming her full support for Catherine Connolly.

Cllr Eddie Mitchell agreed with Kenny’s position, saying Steen was “established through the Iona Institute” and that there should be a clear separation between church and state.

Cllr Bohan refuted these comments, stating, “It’s got to the stage where we accept all religions and none but it seems to me that if you have anything to do with the church you’re nearly treated like a criminal.” She added that diversity is respected in Leitrim and “always has been.”

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A vote was then taken, with seven councillors in favour of backing Steen, nine against, one abstention, and one absence.

Those who voted in favour were Cllr Bohan, Cllr Paddy Farrell, Cllr James Gilmartin, Cllr Guckian-Rabbitte, Cllr Sean McGowan, Cllr Paddy O’Rourke, and Cllr Warnock.

Those who voted against were Cllr Brendan Barry, Cllr Pádraig Fallon, Cllr Cormac Flynn, Cllr Kenny, Cllr Enda McGloin, Cllr Mitchell, Cllr Gary Prior, Cllr Maeve Reynolds, and Cllr Ita Reynolds-Flynn.

Cllr Felim Gurn abstained, and Cllr Enda Stenson was absent.

Responding to the defeat, Cllr Bohan said she was “very disappointed” and that “we certainly didn’t see democracy in action in this chamber today.”

“It is extremely disappointing that we couldn't have the foresight just to put a candidate on the ballot paper and let the people decide,” she added. “We’ve denied the public that opportunity and it looks like we’ll just have party candidates.”

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