The Presidential campaign, held before the forthcoming
Good Friday Agreement of 1998, would become dominated by Northern Ireland issues and questions about candidates' views on
Irish Republicanism. McAleese enjoyed the full backing of the powerful Fianna Fáil electoral machine, and she emphasised her north–south background amid fragile peace prospects, while Banotti stressed her parliamentary experience and family legacy (Banotti was the grand-niece of
Michael Collins). Roche campaigned on her international humanitarian credentials. Scallon ran a grassroots "people's campaign" spotlighting family values, and Nally's platform centred on victims’ rights and policing reform. Adi Roche entered the race in good standing on the back of her charitable work, and initially polled extremely well at 38%, She ultimately placed fourth out of five candidates. In later years, Roche described the experience as traumatising and politically vicious, noting it had a long-lasting impact on her self-confidence. Her brother was formally exonerated and issued a State apology in 2022 after a government review found his dismissal had been legally flawed and procedurally unjust. Likewise, Mary McAleese was also peppered with questions relating to possible links to Irish republicanism. Questions about Mary McAleese's attitude to Sinn Féin first emerged when the
Sunday Business Post of 12 October 1997 published leaked
Department of Foreign Affairs memos suggesting she had expressed pleasure at Sinn Féin's electoral performance and would not back a presidential contest without a Sinn Féin–SDLP pact. The memos were quickly seized upon by rival candidate Derek Nally, who accused McAleese of operating "a different set of moral assumptions" compared to "most Irish people", and demanded she explain whether she had ever voted for or supported Sinn Féin. Further speculation mounted following 16 October, when President of
Sinn Féin Gerry Adams stated his preferred candidate was McAleese. On
RTÉ's
Questions and Answers, journalist
Geraldine Kennedy pressed her directly, asking "Did you ever vote for Sinn Féin?". McAleese strenuously denied the accuracy of the leaked documents, issuing a statement through her campaign that she had never voted for Sinn Féin and repudiating any implication of republican sympathy. She subsequently challenged the department official responsible for the leak to legal action, though no lawsuit ensued. The
Irish Times editorial later urged her to provide "the frankest explanation" of her views on Sinn Féin and the broader peace process if confidence in her fitness for office was to be restored. Despite the intensity of the controversy, no evidence emerged to substantiate the allegations. During the campaign, Derek Nally, a former garda and long-standing critic of police brutality, claimed that a group of former gardaí had threatened his life. He called on these individuals to identify themselves, stating: "I want to be able to identify the people who are making the threats and identify my possible assassins". The threat, discussed on RTÉ's
Prime Time, allegedly came from those angered by Nally's past whistleblowing against the so-called "heavy gang" within the Garda Síochána in the 1970s. He insisted the group's motives were linked to his efforts back then to expose prisoner mistreatment and misconduct, which he had brought to the attention of then-Minister for Justice
Paddy Cooney. Nally also drew parallels with alleged smear attempts against fellow candidate Adi Roche, suggesting there was a campaign by ex-gardaí to undermine certain candidates. However, both the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors denied any knowledge of such a plot.
Opinion polls ==Result==