Efforts to draft the former EU Commissioner, Mr Ray MacSharry, as a presidential candidate for Fianna Fail have intensified as the Queen's University law lecturer, Prof Mary McAleese, confirmed that she was entering the race for a nomination.
Fianna Fail sources last night indicated that further pressure was being exerted in an attempt to persuade Mr MacSharry to allow his name to be put forward at Wednesday's parliamentary party meeting.
It has emerged that the name of the Minister for Defence, Mr Andrews, will not be proposed on the grounds that Fianna Fail would not win a by-election in Dun Laoghaire if he succeeded in winning the presidential election on October 30th.
Meanwhile, well-placed sources said that the Labour leadership was interested in securing the agreement of Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness - who chaired the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation - to allow her name to go forward as a candidate.
Following discussions with Fianna Fail deputies, Prof McAleese said she would be proposed at the parliamentary party when it meets to formally select a candidate.
She said she also had discussions with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in Government Buildings on Tuesday, and was led to believe that "the issue is still open".
Declining to name her proposer, she said it was impossible at this stage to ascertain the extent of support for her in the parliamentary party.
Sources in Fianna Fail last night insisted that the former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, still had the bulk of party support.
However, Prof McAleese said the parliamentary party's choice would be made on the basis of the Government's numerical strength in the Dail; the "winability" of the Fianna Fail candidate; and the image the party wanted to portray going into the next century.
Fianna Fail was conscious of its image "given where they have come from and the mire of allegations they still have to cope with".
"They may very well welcome the opportunity to present a radical shift by going for a non-party person," she said.
If elected, Prof McAleese said she would have a "three-strand" role. One aspect of the office covered diplomacy - "an ambassador of Ireland" - while her legal competence equipped her for the "protective role" involved in ensuring that the will of the people was properly embodied in Government legislation.
"As President, I would have a caring, outreach role. The role is not to wait around for respect and deference but to go out and offer love, affection and particularly affirmation of every single individual in the State.
"The President has no favourites and it is to that element I would bring practical skills," she added.
Her suitability for the office was also enhanced by her understanding of the North - "the running sore that has balefully affected" so many lives.
"While politicians are wheeling and dealing, I would like the opportunity to be healing. I come from the nationalist stable, with the humility to say to unionists that there is no agenda beyond pure friendship and genuine affection and a wish to talk to them as friends and enjoy the cultural richness they bring to this island."
Born in Belfast in 1951, Prof McAleese graduated in 1973 from Queen's University with an honours law degree. A qualified barrister at both the Northern Ireland Bar and the Republic of Ireland Bar, she spent 10 years lecturing in Trinity College, having succeeded the President, Mrs Robinson, as Reid professor of criminal law, criminology and penology.
She became the first woman pro-vice-chancellor of Queen's University in 1994, and is also director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at the university.
The Taoiseach had discussions yesterday about the Presidency with the Derry-born singer, Dana, but there is no prospect of her securing the necessary support.