Heather Humphreys: I don’t regret running for president. I do regret the sectarian undercurrent it exposed

One of the big questions of our time is how a new Ireland can deepen its core values while genuinely accommodating northern unionists.True integration means we can’t expect northern unionists – or new migrant communities – to simply blend into the existing nationalist framework. If we are serious about building an Ireland of equal belonging, we must be willing to name the prejudice that still exists and answer it with confidence, honesty and courage.A year ago, I stepped forward to run for the highest office in this land. I did it out of a deep love for this Republic and as an Irish woman committed to uniting this island.But my campaign exposed an undercurrent of something we can’t ignore. A minority tried to weaponise my identity as a Presbyterian woman raised on a rural Border farm. My family and I were subjected to toxic, targeted sectarian abuse.READ MOREWe experienced malicious online smears, videos generating tens of thousands of views. It was implied that my tradition was somehow inherently un-Irish or incompatible with modern civic life. My family have been in this country for hundreds of years – longer than the United States has existed – yet I was depicted as a lesser Irish person because of my cultural background and religion. My Irishness and commitment to this country were questioned because of my background. Even though we are all Irish citizens and hold Irish passports, I was left with painful questions about whether there is a hierarchy of Irishness.If someone is not fluent in the Irish language, or comes from a particular faith tradition or cultural background, are they less Irish?Like many of you, I truly believed our country had moved past that kind of tribal prejudice. It sent a deeply troubling signal to Protestant, unionist and loyalist communities across this island. They were forced to look at the Republic and ask themselves if there is a place for them here, or whether the “new Ireland” remains riddled with the prejudices of the old.Heather Humphreys before speaking to Fine Gael supporters at an October 2025 event. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins Photos How do we respond to this ugly modern strain of sectarianism? First, we break the culture of silence and denial. We must call it out immediately and without qualification.Second, social media platforms must be held accountable for vitriol amplified by a digital ecosystem that profits off polarisation and lies.The full weight of Irish and European digital regulation must be deployed against platforms that host targeted sectarian abuse against public figures and their families.And third, we must work on deepening education and understanding.I was heartened to see the participation of bands from the Ulster Scots and unionist tradition in the recent Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast, which was universally lauded as a fantastic success.Of course, Ulster Scots bands have long performed at both the Annual Picnic in my home village of Drum and the local St Patrick’s Day Parade in Cootehill. Yet there were sections of the Irish media who sought to portray them as something sinister during last year’s campaign. When I found myself trying to explain a cultural event in Drum, which has been part of life in Monaghan for decades, I found there was a lack of understanding of these cultural nuances. In fact, when you go beyond the Border counties, there is little to no understanding at all.The truth is, a lot of people in the Republic aren’t particularly engaged with the North. They’re worried about the normal day-to-day realities of life – getting the children ready for school or the price of petrol. The vast majority aren’t spending their days contemplating when a Border poll might happen or what a so-called united Ireland might look like.[ Andy Burnham is right. Holding a poll to test the waters on unity should be off the tableOpens in new window ]There is a lack of awareness and understanding when it comes to the nuances of unionism, loyalism, Orange lodges and marching bands.My former Department of Social Protection did some analysis on the cost of bringing Northern Ireland’s social welfare payments in line with the rates in the Republic – it was estimated at potentially up to €22 billion per year.This is just one of many other issues that will need to be addressed.What happens with our two health systems? What will happen to An Garda Síochána and the PSNI? The Tricolour is my flag, but it’s not the flag of the one million people in Northern Ireland who identify as British.These are some of the big issues that need to be resolved and none of them are easy.If some people can’t get their heads around a picnic in Drum with a few accordion bands, then what chance do we stand when it comes to bigger, thornier questions?Holding a referendum is easy but that will not address the real issues.Some people have asked me if I regret running in the presidential election. I do not. But I do regret the hurt it caused to many people who perhaps thought we had moved on further than we have.I hope it will serve as a wake-up call for the broader constitutional conversation. If we ever want to achieve a genuinely united island, we must respect all traditions.If a person from the Ulster Scots tradition running for the presidency is publicly subjected to blatant sectarian abuse, then we will struggle to convince unionists in Ulster that their identity will be respected and protected in a shared future.Our response to sectarianism cannot be fear or retreat; instead, it must be a radical renewal of our commitment to education, mutual understanding and deep institutional respect for the multifaceted traditions of this island.I was in public life for over 22 years. I won every election I ever contested, bar one. I am first and foremost a democrat, and President Catherine Connolly achieved a decisive victory.I don’t believe that the underbelly of naked and nasty sectarianism changed the outcome of last year’s election. However, I do believe the election highlighted issues that we must address if we are ever to achieve a united island.This island has given the world extraordinary voices. Oscar Wilde, WB Yeats, CS Lewis, Seamus Heaney – but also the music of countless traditional musicians, marching bands and musical talent that has travelled far beyond our shores. Irish, Anglo-Irish, Ulster Scots – our history and heritage, our cultural legacy so deeply intertwined but also each so worthy. And now, new voices, new traditions.“A cultural heritage that belongs to no single tradition. A cultural future that certainly does not.” Those are not my words, but the words of Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at the Belfast Fleadh.And so also are the words of Jack Lynch when he addressed Ulster unionists on RTÉ on July 11th, 1970:“There is no real invader here. We are all Irish in all our different kinds of ways. Let us not appeal to past gods as if past generations had said the last word about Ireland. We have the opportunity to say for our generation what’s in our hearts and minds.”We must continue to build an Ireland that is confident in its culture, honest about its history and brave enough to make room for every tradition on this island.Heather Humphreys is a former Fine Gael politician and Government minister for ten years across five departments, who ran in the 2025 presidential election