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LAST UPDATE | 1 Sep
THE RACE FOR the Áras appears to have begun to take shape today, finally.
Fine Gael saw a major shake-up this afternoon, with MEP Seán Kelly withdrawing from the race after failing to secure the nominations required for the party’s selection process.
His exit leaves former Cabinet Minister Heather Humphreys as the presumptive nominee, giving Fine Gael a clear path forward.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil appears to be coalescing around former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin, who has received endorsements from Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and all eight senior Cabinet ministers.
Despite this strong backing, Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher remains in the running, vowing to seek the party’s nomination and highlighting a still-uncertain contest within Fianna Fáil.
Sinn Féin has yet to decide whether it will back Catherine Connolly, the Galway West TD who remains the only candidate formally on the ballot, or run a party candidate of its own.
And it was also revealed this evening that Bob Geldof (yes, THAT Bob Geldof) was considered by Fianna Fail.
Heather Humphreys will now be the Fine Gael candidate for the presidency, after her only rival, Ireland South MEP Seán Kelly, announced his withdrawal from the contest today.
Kelly said that receiving the Fine Gael nomination would have been the greatest honour of his life and thanked those who had supported his bid for the nomination, but conceded that it was not enough to get him over the line.
“While I am of the view that a contest would be good and healthy for the party and was looking forward to one, unfortunately, after nearly two weeks of engagement, it is clear to me now that I will not be able to gather the required 20 nominations from the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party to contest the selection process,” Kelly said.
“I have therefore, reluctantly, decided to withdraw my name from the process.”
Reflecting further on his withdrawal on RTÉ Radio One, Kelly remarked of the party support that never materialised: “I thought I got very good vibes, but it didn’t work out.”
Kelly’s withdrawal paves a clear path for Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.
In Fianna Fáil’s camp, Jim Gavin looks certain to be the party’s presidential candidate after securing the backing of the Minister for Justice.
Jim O’Callaghan’s endorsement means all eight of the party’s senior Cabinet ministers are behind the former Dublin GAA manager.
It comes after Taoiseach Micheál Martin publicly confirmed his support for Gavin on Saturday.
Despite this, there is still the potential for a contest with Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher, who is also seeking Fianna Fáil’s nomination in the race for the Áras.
The Fianna Fáil parliamentary party is due to meet on 9 September to choose who it will put forward on the ballot paper.
Contenders will need to have five nominations to be considered a potential candidate. The nominations will close on Friday evening.
Speaking on Cork’s 96FM this morning, Kelleher said he hasn’t taken it personally that the Taoiseach and party leader has rowed in behind Gavin.
Asked if it was politically embarrassing for him, he said: “Not at all. I wouldn’t accept that.
“The fact of the matter is Micheál Martin made a decision. They obviously had been in discussions with Jim Gavin for some period of time.”
Pressed on whether he felt he had been stabbed in the back, Kelleher said he had “never looked at politics that way” and had had great support from people who have been “very good to me”.
One person who is no longer seeking the party’s backing for a presidential bid is Mary Hanafin, who confirmed that she was out of the running yesterday.
She criticised the party’s handling of the matter of its candidate and said that while Micheál Martin had not discouraged her from running, there was not adequate communication on the party’s processes in deciding who it would run.
The main party of opposition remains on the fence as to whether it will back Connolly or run a Sinn Féin candidate of its own.
Despite party leader Mary Lou McDonald saying six months ago that she would not be her party’s presidential candidate, just weeks out from the election, she has been reluctant to give a definitive answer on whether she’ll run.
This morning, McDonald told reporters that Sinn Fein is continuing to work through its internal processes to determine its election plan. “We have gone through a very, fairly painstaking process, and it will conclude now shortly. Our parliamentary party will meet for their away day on the eighth of September.
“That’ll be the final round of consultation with the parliamentary party. Then we’ll finish out the wider conversation. I’ll bring a proposal then to the Ard Chomhairle, so we’re nearly there.”
Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty was evasive on who the party may back for the election, avoiding ruling out himself or his party leader McDonald, or northern leader Michelle O’Neill, during an interview with Drivetime on RTÉ Radio One this evening.
“Nothing is off the table and nothing’s on the table. We’re not saying that it’s me, Mary Lou, or Michelle, or anybody else,” Doherty said.
However, Doherty did say that the “key” issue for any candidate the party may support is whether they will “articulate and advocate” for a united Ireland.
So far, Catherine Connolly remains the only confirmed candidate on the ballot.
The Galway West TD, who has the support of the left: Labour Party, Social Democrats and People Before Profit, launched her campaign in July. Since then, she has faced some difficult questions on her political past.
On Sunday, she fielded questions on radio on her nomination of journalist-turned-right-wing activist Gemma O’Doherty for the 2018 presidential election, her visit to Syria under the Assad regime, her relationship with politicians Clare Daly and Mick Wallace, as well as whether she would call for sanctions on Russia as it continues its war on Ukraine.
For her part, Connolly criticised the framing of questions directed at her by the media throughout the course of her campaign.
Connolly reiterated that she had been in Syria on a fact-finding mission and had “absolutely no respect” for a support of the Assad regime with whom she met during the visit.
Another name was revealed to be circling among Fianna Fáil today – Bob Geldof.
The Boomtown Rats singer and honorary British knighthood recipient confirmed that he is considering entering the race for the Áras, saying that he is “flattered” at speculation linking him to the presidency, according to the Irish Independent.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach also confirmed this evening that contact was made by Fianna Fáil “on behalf of Bob Geldof”.
“The Taoiseach rang him on Friday as a courtesy and they had a very serious and good engagement regarding the presidency,” the spokesperson said.
They added that the Taoiseach told Geldof that he was not in a position to nominate him, as he had made a commitment to Jim Gavin.
Geldof was previously approached to run for president in 2008, but he turned it down as he feared he would “let people down”.
This time around, however, the singer seemed more unsure.
“I am flattered by even being suggested to be the next president of our country, or that people believe me capable of executing the job,” he told the Independent.
“That being said, would I actually want the job? I don’t know.”
There are a number of Independents rumoured to be planning to throw their hat in the ring. Those who have formally declared their campaigns are Nick Delehanty, Gareth Sheridan and Maria Steen.
A qualified barrister and now stay-at-home mother, Steen is a member of the socially conservative Catholic advocacy group the Iona Institute.
Delehanty is the owner of a doggy day care business. He is also an online campaigner and former lawyer.
Sheridan is an entrepreneur. He is the former CEO of US-based company Nutriband, which describes itself as a “values-based company” that manufactures abuse deterrent transdermal patches aimed specifically at opioid and fentanyl abuse.
Additional reporting by Andrew Walsh and Eoghan Dalton
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