One in five people are more likely to vote Sinn Fein with Mary Lou McDonald as leader.
The latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll reveals 12% are less likely to vote Sinn Fein with the new President at the helm while 61% say it will make no difference.
Ms. McDonald is most likely to gain support from younger voters with 27% of under 34s saying they'd vote for the party under her leadership - this drops to 17% among the 50 to 64s and 19 percent in the over 65s.
The poll also reveals nearly 80 %of voters think we should stay in the EU even if Brexit results in a hard border.
While just one in ten believe Ireland would be better off leaving.
Sentiment to stay in the EU was least strong among Sinn Fein voters even though two thirds said they would prefer to remain even with a hard border.
Former UK Independence party leader Nigel Farage will speak at a conference in Dublin next week discussing the potential for an Irish Exit from the EU.
1,200 people aged over 18 were interviewed face to face at 120 sampling points in all constituences on Monday and Tuesday of this week (source: The Irish Times, Sat 27th Jan 2018)
