In Pictures: Politics frames the debate as Ireland holds five ballots in 2024
PA Reporter
·3-min read
Voters in Ireland were more than usually busy in 2024, casting their ballot in five different polls – for two referenda in March, local and European ballots in June and a general election in November.
The country’s political comings and goings were further punctuated by an emotional announcement in March from former premier Leo Varadkar that he was resigning as taoiseach and Fine Gael leader. He was succeeded the following month in both roles by Simon Harris.
But the year had so much more to offer than just politics, and PA news agency photographers were on hand to capture some of the highlights.
Hundreds of people took part in the annual New Year’s Day charity swim on Bray seafront in Co Wicklow (Brian Lawless/PA)
A dog called Buster joined protesters from the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign on a march in O’Connell Street, Dublin, in January (Brian Lawless/PA)
Former taoiseach John Bruton died aged 76 following a long illness in February (Damien Storan/PA)
Sleet and snow led to travel disruption in parts of Ireland in early March (Brian Lawless/PA)
Leo Varadkar made a visit to the US for St Patrick’s Day in the same month he announced he was stepping down as taoiseach and resigning as leader of Fine Gael (Niall Carson/PA)
Simon Harris left the Dail after a vote by Irish parliamentarians electing him as the youngest taoiseach in the country’s history in April (Niall Carson/PA)
Thousands of people gathered for the Bealtaine Fire Festival at the Hill of Uisneach in Co Westmeath in May (Niall Carson/PA)
Count staff sorted ballots at Nemo Rangers GAA club in Cork during the European elections in June (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Natasha O’Brien, who was assaulted by a serving Irish soldier, told a rally in Dublin in June that she would keep up pressure on politicians to tackle violence against women (Gareth Chaney/PA)
Football fans gathered outside Croke Park in July before the All-Ireland Football final between Armagh and Galway (Brian Lawless/PA)
A mural of athlete Rhasidat Adeleke was created in Waterford after she made history becoming the first Irish woman to run in an Olympic sprint final during the Paris Olympics (Brian Lawless/PA)
The Ploughing Championships in Co Laois in September saw visitors and competitors basking in temperatures above 20C (Niall Carson/PA)
Actor Colin Farrell ran the Irish Life Dublin Marathon in October to raise money for people living with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare genetic skin condition (Damien Storan/PA)
Politicians Micheal Martin, left to right, Mary Lou McDonald and Simon Harris took part in a final TV leaders’ debate on November 26, days before the General Election (Niall Carson/PA)
A woman cast her vote at Deaf Village Ireland in Dublin as voters went to the polls in the General Election on November 29 (Niall Carson/PA)
Garda graduates celebrate at the Garda College graduation ceremony at McCan Barracks in Templemore, Co Tipperary, on December 12 (Brian Lawless/PA)
After earning $43 million in 2024, Sophie Rain will surpass that this year amid fierce ethical debates about her child-like looks and controversial pals
Special Counsel Jack Smith found that Donald Trump’s team took his own MAGA faithful for easily manipulated fools when he and several co-conspirators carried out an “unprecedented criminal effort” to overturn the 2020 election. Smith detailed his conclusion in a report released Tuesday, which explains his decision to indict Trump on four counts for plotting to obstruct the certification of the presidential race he lost to Joe Biden. Smith wrote that Trump’s team “deceived” a group of MAGA hardli
After a battle in Russia's snowy western region of Kursk this week, Ukrainian special forces scoured the bodies of more than a dozen slain North Korean enemy soldiers. But it is among mounting evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures as they support Russia's three-year war with Ukraine. "Self-detonation and suicides: that's the reality about North Korea," said Kim, a 32-year-old former North Korean soldier who defected to the South in 2022, requesting he only be identified by his surname due to fears of reprisals against his family left in the North.
After Michelle Obama’s office confirmed that the former First Lady will not be present at Donald Trump’s inauguration, many people have speculated about the reason for her absence. A source close to the “Becoming” author says she simply does not want to be “pretend” with someone she feels is a threat to American democracy. “There’s no overstating her feelings about Trump. She’s not one to ...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars he made from his anti-vax crusade, Donald Trump’s transition team has admitted to the Daily Beast. Trump’s pick for health secretary previously said his career as the founder, chairman, and general counsel of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense was “unpaid” and “the opposite of a profit motive.” In personal financial disclosure forms required for all presidential candidates, Kennedy initially reported that he had earne
First lady Jill Biden expressed her disappointment with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a new interview with The Washington Post, providing rare public comments about the fractured relationship between her husband, Joe Biden, and Pelosi following the president’s departure from the 2024 race.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ live-in nanny, Maria, has been working for the family for many years and is well aware of the strict rules she needs to follow in her job.
