BERTIE AHERN HAS said he spent two years preparing for the presidential election and had a campaign “ready to go” before he ruled himself out due to a lack of support from the Fianna Fáil leadership. 

In a video message released to supporters early this month, the former taoiseach said that while he believes he would have made a good president, he did not have the backing of Micheál Martin.

He went on to suggest that Martin was “anti-me” due to his handling of his economy and the Mahon Tribunal. 

On RTÉ’s Drivetime programme this afternoon, Ahern was asked if anyone from Fianna Fáil had reached out to him since he made that announcement earlier this month. 

“No, no. Not one,” he said. 

“It’s no good crying over spilled milk… but I had a campaign ready. I had groups throughout the country, and we’d probably 200 or 300 people dedicated to the campaign. We were ready to go.”

The former Fianna Fáil leader said he also had the support of “probably 20-25 people” within the parliamentary party. 

After speaking on the programme about the new Troubles legacy deal between Ireland and the UK, Ahern said: “Just after we talked about legacy issues, I thought some of my legacy issues 30 years ago might get a change of heart, but anyway, you live and you learn.

“I just have to get on with it. I could tell you the pack of lies, but I was very disappointed.”

Ahern resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2012 after the Mahon Tribunal published its final report. He stepped down as Taoiseach in 2008 and as a TD in 2011. He made the move before Martin sought to expel him from the party.

The tribunal (officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments) found that Ahern did not truthfully account for payments of IR£165,000 made to accounts connected to him.

The report did not make findings of corruption against Ahern, but proved hugely damaging to his reputation. He rejected its findings and always denied doing anything illegal.

Former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin is running for the presidency as Fianna Fáil’s candidate having received the backing of Martin. 

Asked if he would be backing Gavin, Ahern said he knew him very well and wished him well, “but I have to say, we’ll wait until we see the full team”.

When pressed on whether this meant he would be voting for another candidate, he said: “I don’t think I’ll be throwing too much weight behind anyone, quite frankly.

“But I know Jim very well. I also know Heather Humphreys very well, so we’ll see. I’ll keep my vote to the sanctity of the polling booth.”

He said one of the reasons he didn’t run independent, “even though I had people all over the country asking me”, is because he is a Fianna Fáil person. 

Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher contested the race against Gavin, but eventually missed out in the party’s secret ballot by 41 votes to 29. 

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When asked if he felt Kelleher would have made a better candidate, Ahern said the MEP was standing to make a point that there should have been a process, “and that’s what Billy achieved”.

“As I understand it, I spent two years preparing for it. Jim Gavin came in in late July, Billy Kelleher came in in late August, so maybe the lesson for future people – it won’t be for me – is that you should wait maybe until September before you decide about thinking about the presidency, because if you think about it and plan too early… you’ll probably get the same answer as I did, which is nothing.”

The number of votes Kelleher received provoked discussion within the party about whether Gavin’s potential loss at the ballot box might be the first chink in the armour of Martin’s leadership.

This question was also put to Ahern this afternoon. 

“That’s all a matter for the parliamentary party. I wouldn’t dare get involved in that,” he said. 

“I might have lots of opinions, but it’s all a matter for the parliamentary party, and to be honest with you, as you see, my opinion doesn’t matter too much in the leadership of Fianna Fáil.”

As it stands, three candidates will be on the ballot paper on 24 October: Gavin for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys and Independent Catherine Connolly. 

Independents Gavin Sheridan and Maria Steen are still attempting to get their names on the paper through the council route, though Steen now has support of over 10 Oireachtas members.