Can an avowed Catholic become Ireland’s new president?
Can a candidate who upholds Catholic teaching on issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, and same-sex marriage be elected president in secular 21st-century Ireland?
Maria Steen speaks at the launch of the All Ireland Rosary Rally 2025 on March 1, 2025. Screenshot from @AllIrelandRosaryRally
Maria Steen, a barrister with a background in architecture, is hoping to put that question to the test when the country goes to the polls Oct. 24 to elect a successor to President Michael Higgins, who is stepping down at the age of 84 after serving the maximum two, seven-year terms.
Who is Steen? And what odds must she overcome to take up the largely ceremonial but high-profile role of Ireland’s head of state?
The Pillar takes a look.
Who is Maria Steen?
Maria Steen is not well known outside of Ireland, but she is a familiar figure within it. That’s because of her prominent role in three recent referendum debates.
The first was the 2015 same-sex marriage referendum, in which she spoke on the “No” side in a televised debate shortly before Ireland voted by 62.07% to 37.93% legalize same-sex marriage.
She also made the case for a “No” vote in television debates ahead of the 2018 abortion referendum, when Irish citizens voted by 66.40% to 33.60% to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the country’s constitution, which upheld the right to life of unborn children.
Before the 2024 constitutional referendums on the definition of family, she took on the then-Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Micheál Martin in a debate. She emerged on the winning side when citizens rejected the amendments by a margin of 67.69% to 32.31%.
In televised discussions, Steen typically appears poised, articulate, and in command of the facts.
Steen is closely associated with the Iona Institute, a think tank founded by the Catholic journalist David Quinn in 2006. The organization has served as a lightning rod during Ireland’s stormy 21st-century social and moral debates. Critics decry it as “fundamentalist,” while supporters argue that it speaks up for a silent majority with Catholic sensibilities.
But Steen is a well-connected figure in her own right. She is the niece of the former Irish senator Joan Freeman, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 Irish presidential election, and the attorney and ex-television presenter Theresa Lowe. She is married to Neil Steen, a senior legal figure, and has five children, whom she homeschools.
She is a notable supporter of Catholic causes. In March, she reflected on the importance of the rosary in modern Ireland at the launch of the 2025 All Ireland Rosary Rally.
She said: “If we’re to play our part in the cosmic struggle between good and evil, we cannot surrender. We must fight. We must be warriors of the Church Militant.”
What are the odds?
Since the office of President of Ireland was established in 1937, most of its occupants have been baptized Catholics.
Of Ireland’s nine presidents, two belonged to the Church of Ireland, a member church of the Anglican Communion. They were the first president Douglas Hyde, who held office from 1938 to 1945, and the fourth president Erskine Hamilton Childers (1973-1974).
The seven baptized Catholic presidents have taken contrasting approaches toward the Church. Catholic dominance of the presidential office is not surprising in a country where 69% of the population still identified as Catholic in the most recent census in 2022.
Patrick Hillery, president from 1976 to 1990, was described after his death in 2008 as an “old-fashioned Catholic” who preserved the Church’s influence over Ireland’s schools.
Mary McAleese, president from 1997 to 2011, was once seen as close to the bishops, but pointedly received communion in Dublin’s Church of Ireland cathedral after her election, in a gesture seen as demonstrating her independence. After stepping down as president, she became a vocal critic of the Catholic Church, which she has called “an empire of misogyny,” and a critic of Pope Francis, who she labelled “a conservative leader.”
Outgoing President Michael Higgins, a poet, has described himself as “spiritual” rather than religious and expressed esteem for Pope Francis, calling him “an indispensable voice of humanity and clarity.”
There are therefore many ways of being a Catholic president in Ireland. But Maria Steen arguably would be distinctive as her faith plays a prominent role in her identity in an era in which that is not the case for many of her compatriots.
Steen announced that she was considering a presidential run in August, intending to stand as a non-party candidate.
Her decision not to align with any of the country’s main political parties makes her route to the presidency arduous. Successful Irish presidential candidates are typically nominated by major parties such as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, even if they later technically run as independents, with no party affiliation on the ballot.
Steen has said she intends to position herself as “an alternative to establishment candidates,” at a time of high public disillusionment with Ireland’s political class.
To qualify for the presidential ballot, Steen must win the backing of either 20 members of the Oireachtas, Ireland’s bicameral legislature, or four local councils. That’s a hard task for an independent candidate.
The current favorites for the presidency are the former Gaelic football coach Jim Gavin, backed by Fianna Fáil, and the Fine Gael politician Heather Humphreys. The initial crowded candidate pool includes the former UFC champion Conor McGregor.
At the time of writing, Irish media report that Steen’s chances of qualifying are narrowing as she struggles to make the step from 10 to 20 supporters in the Oireachtas.
Her candidacy has generated positive comments from unlikely sources. In a Sept. 8 column, the prominent secular liberal journalist Fintan O’Toole argued that October’s presidential election needed “a serious conservative Catholic.”
While stressing that he wouldn’t vote for Steen, he wrote: “If the Republic still has a soul, it hovers somewhere around the president. So the question to be asked as we face into the election is whether or not traditional Catholicism has any claims on that soul. Surely, at the very least, it has the right to be heard.”
He added: “I profoundly disagree with Steen about most things, but she performed a vital democratic function in the equal marriage, abortion, and care referendums by being an able, articulate, and patently sincere advocate for the conservative side. She would be a strong and stimulating presence in the presidential debates.”
Steen has until Sept. 24 to gather the necessary support to appear on the ballot to become Ireland’s 10th president.
The result will be seen as a litmus test for whether there is still a place for an avowed Catholic in the highest offices of modern Ireland.
