Higgins is pretty old too

It’s ironic how you say this however, you have a pic of Morgan Freeman who actually plays God in the film where the picture was taken!!!

Yeah also a point worth nothing is that 28% of 908 people is as about as many as were on my bus to work this morning….I think the figure would be far lower when it comes time to vote and those rational people have logged on. Also, he has skeletons in his closet…I’m sure he’d asking himself right now

@Ben. A profound lack of understanding there regarding polls and how they operate, their effectiveness etc etc.

I understand how polls work…I was making a point about their frequency and the questionable reliability of data they generate depending on cross sections used…you thought I actually don’t understand how a poll works?? Thank you for your lesson sir, thank you!

G Gaybo
U Unbelievable
B Bizarre
U Unprecedented

FF’s return to power doesn’t seem that far fetched if they can get Gaybo in to the Aras. Willie o’Dea for Taoiseach – 2016 and Sean Fitzpatrick to be a paid Govt. adviser this time.

Just out of interest Gavan, how old is that picture of Gay? It looks nothing like the man pictured on The Indo today, http://www.independent.ie/national-news/gay-rants-at-mad-people-in-eu-running-the-country-2845390.html

@Cpm: This photo, according to the archive, is from August 2009. (We didn’t use a photo of him from last night because we’d already used one from last night in today’s poll.)

Higgins is too old too

Yeah, but if Gaybo’s too old, so is Higgins…

Higgins is 70, Byrne is 77. At the end of a seven-year term, Higgins would be as old as Byrne is at the start of one.

Higgins health is not in question, Gaybo’s is. He was burnt from working a few hours a week 12 years ago. You do not get second winds at the age of 77.

Ah now Seamus, don’t be confusing Fianna Failers with facts!

Personally think they’re both too old actually…
I mean, the Áras isn’t a retirement home!
That’s all I’m saying, they’re BOTH too old.

PS Not to be pedantic, but Micky D is 71

I second the snickers.

Yep, true

If we can’t get a good candidate, it should be shelved. The poll should have an option none of the candidates. If the majority tick that box, then Mary mcaleese should stay for another 2 years. I know this is fantasy but so is electing people who are not representative.

We are Willy, we are indeed

care to make a few suggestions?

Roy Keane boy! I’d love to see him addressing the UN telling it like it is. Imagine the uproar.

I agree mr. Made. How about Joseph o Connor, the writer?

Ha! Roy Keane, he’d probably walk out before the swearing in ceremony blaming the state of the lawns and the lack of political footballs to kick around, still at least he’d have more kop on than most of the candidates left in the race. Plenty of room to walk the dog in nearby park as well. Downside, if anything goes wrong you’d probably have Alex Ferguson advising him. Then again…..

Seriously id vote for the ghost of De Valera before him.

No, it’s democracy

Just a slight correction Paul…

In 2004 all the parties in Dail Eireann said they would support McAleese if she declared herself as an Independent, hence she dropped her FF colours, also same said parties instructed all the councils around the country to block anyone else from entering the race.

Eamon Ryan dipped his toes into the waters but withdrew as quick as he put them in so the incumbent could run unopposed.

There were a few people, including myself who tried to get into the race via the council route, only one council (Galway City) bucked the trend (party orders) and said they would support Dana.

So as you can see, some people did try to bother to get nominated but were blocked, some claim that was democracy at work… I refute that claim.

We will be the laughing stock

We already are!

While I did not run any model simulations and did not check your figures, so given you the benefit of the doubt, on the current figures you are probably correct! but my point is that given the number of improbabilities in the data it is impossible to predict anything. Because three of the candidates are at present not running it is dangerous to forecast anything on these findings, while the research is based on good standards the overall conclusions that can be drawn are at the least “sceptical”. As an example if Crowley enters the race, the data cannot predict “the actual response” among FF voters and the FF Hierarchy, therefore will FF withdraw their support for Byrne if Crowley runs, if Crowley was not allowed to run for his party would that cause a backlash among Crowley supporters against Byrne, even if Byrne decided not to run and backed Crowley would that cause a backlash among Byrne supporters for him supporting FF, then where would Byrnes support go? So in reality what is been done is the cross tabulation of actual data (the declared runners findings) with probable data ( the declared runners plus the undeclared runners data) which is to say the least not a good idea !

Gavan, this country is a bloody joke!

Because that’s how we get presidents like Mary Robinson instead of presidents like Brian Lenihan.

Agreed. We could have ended up with Brian Lenihan senior, a man who made a fortune in the 60′s and 70′s selling army commissions to those who slipped him an envelope, one of a long string of corruption in his political career, thankfully we got Robinson who for whatever her faults maybe was certainly honest and motivated for the good of Ireland rather than a personal swansong Presidency. The P.R. system has proven its effectiveness.

The man has said that he doesn’t want to go round on a bus pre election, when going round meeting people all over the country & world is a job requirement!! I can’t make sense of it at all … does he understand the job he’s thinking of applying for!?

At the moment I think there is a lot of stand-offishness(hey i just invented a word) from Gay Byrne, but if he does run he will take it in the most earnest and sincere manner, I agree if he doesnt want the work involved he shouldnt run, but I think if he commits he will be very dedicated

Gay himself said that he doesn’t know if he has the energy to go around the country on the campaign trail so how is he supposed to go around the world representing the country? He also said that he would like to keep on broadcasting, what’s that about? He is either going to do the job of President or not. This isn’t a part time job where you can do the odd nixer or tell an ambassador that you can’t see them because you have a gig on. Gay isn’t taking this seriously so why should anyone else!

Because he’s an idiot, that’s why. Fact!

Wow, it really is true, unless you talk about hating the church, Fianna Fail, or what ever else is cool to hate this week, your guaranteed to get disliked. Ignorance at its best.

He is an anachronism
He is haughey / fianna fail fan
He is the living embodiment of patronising
He is (was) an entertainer
He has an irrational view of EU, informed by his own property investment meltdown
He is beyond retirement age
He is a bit opinionated
He is too light weight intellectually
He is a bit silly

Shall I go on

A good communicator??? Yeah she communicated well when she told the father of a down syndrome child that she should get a job instead of claiming benefits.

I’m reminded of her night on Tonight with Vinnie B, where Hanafin managed to make Joan Burton look competent.

As bizarre a comment as the one I saw about Mary describing her as “Competent and motivated for the national good”. I don’t think even Mary’s daddy would say that about her.

What will do for Mary was how she took here Mother on jaunts all over the world at the expense of decent Irish tax payers and we all hope her Mammy recovered after falling in Leinster Hse, she got a nice payout.

There would be a wonderful and frank clearing up of the questions around FF’s finances when that thief/traitor Haughey was leading them. Mary was treasurer at that stage.

She appointed a friend of Brian Cowen to a Quango board on the last day of her reign.

Hanafin knows that she will be shredded if she runs for President. Mary is very “religious”, it is quiet apt to point out that like many of the Bishops and Priests of the Catholic Church, if she had spent less pontificating and more time pondering on and exhibiting Christian decency and consideration then she and Ireland would be better off.

Who the hell is Mary Byrne? Is she Gaybos sister? wife even? We need a progressive person to be president not some clapped out tv presenter whose heyday was back in the 70′s.