![\"Presidential](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/4824693_15_articleinline_IMG_2192.jpg\" "\\"Presidential")
Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly appearing on How to Gael podcast with hosts S\u00edomha N\u00ed Ruairc and Louise Cantillon<\/p>\nThe US presidential election last year was dubbed by some as \u201cthe first podcast election\u201d. Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris used podcasts as key campaign tools. Trump appeared on 14 major shows, according to Forbes, from The Joe Rogan Experience, the biggest podcast in the world, to Logan Paul’s show, which commands a vast young male audience \u2014 appearances that clocked up tens of millions of views.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harris hit the likes of Call Her Daddy, the second biggest podcast around, aiming for more diverse audiences. What effect did these appearances have on the overall election? Some Democrats might still be scratching their heads wondering what if Harris had gone on Rogan\u2019s show (\u201cscheduling conflicts\u201d apparently put paid to any appearance and arguments are swirling again since the release of her book on the campaign, 107 Days).<\/p>\n
Will a similar dynamic play out closer to home next weekend? In the two-horse race for the \u00c1ras, one candidate has embraced podcasts, while the other is nowhere to be seen \u2014 or heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By my reckoning, Catherine Connolly has clocked up roughly eight hours of interviews across seven shows in recent weeks: How to Gael, Ready to be Real with S\u00edle Seoige, The Simpler Life with James and William, Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning, Blindboy, Catch Up with Louise McSharry, and Rebel Matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the process, she\u2019s reached a wide range of audiences, from millennials to Irish language enthusiasts to republicans in Belfast who want a vote in the next general election in seven years.<\/p>\n
These shows are not confrontational \u2014 McSharry says as much before her chat with Connolly: \u201cIt’s never aggressive. I want people to feel comfortable in the podcast. It is a conversation, really, more than an interview.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly appearing on How to Gael podcast with hosts S\u00edomha N\u00ed Ruairc and Louise Cantillon<\/p>\n
Perhaps all are sympathetic or outwardly supportive of Connolly \u2014 Rebel Matters: \u201cWithout further ado, let’s get stuck into this conversation with hopefully the Uachtar\u00e1n na h\u00c9ireann Catherine Connolly\u201d;\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joe Brolly: \u201cI think we\u2019d all be very proud of Catherine. We’re in very safe hands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both McSharry and How to Gael explain they did reach out to all candidates \u2014 McSharry was due to interview Jim Gavin before he pulled out of the election \u2014 but as Louise Cantillon explains on the latter: \u201cCatherine was the only one to accept our invite.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s curious that Fine Gael\u2019s candidate, Heather Humphreys, has eschewed the podcast circuit during the campaign. Her party leader, Simon Harris, has utilised them over the years, appearing on the likes of The Laughs of Your Life with Doireann Garrihy, The 2 Johnnies, and The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy. Again, hardly confrontational fare.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Humphreys’ team said in an email that “we do have podcast appearances in the schedule” for the final week of the campaign, though didn’t go into specifics.<\/p>\n
The growth of podcasting in Ireland\u2019s own news ecosystem might explain why politicians should be leaning into the format. Reuters\u2019 2025 Digital News Report found 12% of Irish adults get news from podcasts each week; McSharry explains to Connolly some of her listeners have tuned out of the news in general and rely on her to give them their digest of the week that was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a media landscape where attention is scarce and scepticism high, that trust is currency.<\/p>\n