Presidential election: Laois County Council opts not to nominate Gareth Sheridan

Main Points

• Jim Gavin says Government performance on housing ‘not good enough’
• Gareth Sheridan has been nominated by Kerry County Council as a candidate in the presidential election, but Laois County Council voted against nominating him.
• Eleven councils are holding special meetings today to consider nominating a candidate in the presidential election.
• Roscommon Co Council decides after brief discussion not to make any nomination.
• A candidate needs to be formally nominated by four councils to become an official candidate.
• Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor has dropped his bid to contest the presidential election.
• Thirteen other councils will meet prospective candidates ahead of the deadline for nominations on September 24th.
• There are three confirmed presidential candidates; Jim Gavin (Fianna Fáil), Heather Humphreys (Fine Gael) and Catherine Connolly (Independent).
• Sinn Féin will announce next Saturday whether it will field a candidate.

Best reads

• Jim Gavin profile: Would ex- Dublin manager make a good president?
• Heather Humphreys profile: Fine Gael matriarch has broad appeal
• Who is Catherine Connolly? An outspoken left-wing campaigner
• Gareth Sheridan, the pharma millionaire running for president
• Maria Steen’s views on social issues could alienate potential allies

Fianna Fáil presidential candidate has said the Government’s performance on housing “is not good enough yet” and needs to improve, writes Pat Leahy.

Speaking at the party’s think-in in Cork after campaigning in the city earlier in the day. he said he would, if elected, speak out “without fear or favour” on issues such as housing and seek to follow the example of President Michael D Higgins.

Mr Gavin said he was aware of the constitutional restraints of the presidency but added that “for those who don’t have a voice, I think the president’s office is a way of speaking on behalf of that”.

He said housing is “a huge challenge”.

You can read the entire report here

Good evening folks, Emmet Malone here, I’ll be taking you through the rest of the presidential nominations news with reports from a number of meetings, including Dublin City Council still to come.

Roscommon councillors not nominating presidential candidate

Following a lengthy meeting on Monday, during which 15 would-be candidates for the presidency made their case, Roscommon County Council decided after brief discussion not to make any nomination, Patsy McGarry reports.

Among those who made five-minute presentations, with a further five minutes for questions, were artist Charlotte Keenan and Lucy-Anne O’Leary, who believed she would be “an excellent president”.

Sligo man and public servant Gearóid Duffy (61), Donegal man Keith McCrory, who has a degree in construction economics, and Nick Delehanty – who began by congratulating the council on boxer Aoife O’Rourke from Castlerea winning a gold medal at the World Championships – also made presentations.

Walter Ryan Purcell told councillors about his plans to nominate seven senior Cabinet Ministers to the Council of State should he be elected president, while electrical contractor William P Allen from Cork said neither he nor his wife would have a problem living in Áras an Uachtaráin. Dutchman and Irish citizen Gerben Uunk of the Party for Animal Welfare felt the presidency should be “a moral compass for our people”.

Meanwhile, having won a nomination in Kerry, and lost out on one in Laois, businessman Gareth Sheridan has confirmed he will not attend this evening’s special meeting of Dublin City Council.

The city’s councillors are expected to hear from several presidential hopefuls seeking a nomination to get on the ballot paper for the presidential election.

Mr Sheridan confirmed he would not be attending in correspondence today.

He wrote of his “deep regret” that he is withdrawing from the meeting but said: “Unfortunately, due to a number of council special meetings occurring on the same day with similar times, it has significantly impacted where I can be present.”

He wished the other candidates “the best of luck in putting themselves forward”.

Laois County Council decides not to nominate Sheridan to enter presidential election

Harry McGee reports: Laois County Council has decided by 11 votes to eight against nominating Gareth Sheridan as a candidate in the presidential election.

Five aspiring candidates have made presentations to Laois County Council and now the meeting has opened up the room to nominations.

Mr Sheridan has been nominated and seconded by three Independent councillors – Aisling Moran, Tommy Mulligan and James Kelly.

They have pleaded to party councillors not to block his candidacy.

“If this is blocked today. If Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will block this day they are going against the Constitution,” said Cllr Mulligan.

Cllr Moran argued that it would not be good to have a three-horse race. “We cannot have Leinster House decide who we have as next president. We have a right to choose a candidate.”

She pleaded with councillors to abstain so Mr Sheridan could get on the ballot paper.

“If you have confidence in your own candidates you will give him that opportunity.”

Marie Tuohy (Labour) said it would be “morally bankrupt” for the council if it blocked the candidate.

A presidential campaign video shared by Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin has raised some eyebrows, garnering reaction on social media.

The video shows the former Dublin GAA manager walking through a gate on a farm, before he moves through a field of cows.

Two things stood out to commentators: Mr Gavin appearing not to fully close the gate behind him after walking through it; and his choice of trousers.

“White trousers on a farm, that’s a rookie mistake I’m afraid. He’ll learn,” wrote one X user.

“Close the farm gate behind you Jim,” wrote another.

Coimisiún na Meán publishes election guidelines

Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland’s commission for regulating broadcasters, has published its guidelines today in advance of the upcoming election.

It confirmed last year’s decision to replace the broadcast moratorium with an “additional care requirement” during the “critical election period”.

The moratorium had prevented television and radio stations from broadcasting anything which could influence a vote from 2pm before polling day, until after polls close.

The critical election period will now be in place from 7am on the day before polling begins until polls close on voting day.

During this period, broadcasters are required to take a higher level of editorial care in their coverage of the election.

The commission also reminded broadcasters of the requirements to achieve a fair allocation of airtime, prohibition on political advertisements, and the need for policies and procedures for handling on-air contributions via social media to mitigate the risks of AI-generated deepfakes.

Taoiseach weighs in from Cork

Taoiseach Micheál Martin declined to comment on the withdrawal of Conor McGregor from the presidential race but said: “I had a good canvass this morning with [Fianna Fáil candidate] Jim Gavin in Cork and Douglas. We had a very good response.

“Many people, particularly from the military community and so on, appreciating, you know, his role in peacekeeping, and of course, a lot of banter about the place in terms of the state of Cork football versus Dublin football and a few Kerry people as well.

“So my message to Kerry people and people who would be concerned about that, that the safest thing to do is to elect Jim Gavin as president, so he won’t come back to haunt you!”

Mr Gavin – a former Defence Forces officer and senior executive of Irish Aviation Authority – is expected to attend the Fianna Fáil think-in in Cork later today.

Laois County Council will be another key target for Gareth Sheridan. It meets this afternoon and he is due to address the chamber along with other hopefuls meeting on Monday.

However, our political correspondent Harry McGee reports that indications from Fianna Fáil councillors over the weekend may see them move to block Mr Sheridan’s nomination, which leaves him no path to be endorsed by Laois councillors.

Disapproving councillors demand vote

Several councillors demanded a vote so their dissent could be recorded.

Cllr Norma Moriarty of Fianna Fáil said that she had serious reservations. “I want it to be noted that I do not approve of this candidate,” she said.

Earlier, Cllr Moriarty said Irish presidents from Douglas Hyde on had been accomplished in several areas and had the capacity to represent all and not just sectoral interests.

“Young for the sake of young does not qualify you,” Cllr Moriarty said, referring in her speech without naming him to the candidate likely to be nominated.

“Put people on the ballot that will be the best of us,” she urged.

Cllr Johnny Healy-Rae said the inclusive thing to do was to allow a candidate to get on the ballot paper.

His sister Cllr Maura Healy-Rae said it was unusual that Fianna Fáil in particular wanted to know who the person was before deciding on the process.

She found it “baffling the political parties want to have their own candidate and want to block any other candidate”.

Gareth Sheridan nominated by Kerry County Council

Gareth Sheridan has been nominated by Kerry County Council as a candidate in the presidential election.

Mr Sheridan was approved by the council after being nominated by two Independent councillors. No vote was taken as the council had already decided to approve a nomination.

Cllr Niall O’Callaghan said he was proposing Mr Sheridan, describing him as a deserving candidate – a young person experienced in business and in life.

The nomination was seconded by Cllr Martin Grady, who said Mr Sheridan was taking the role of president seriously and had come across well in the presentation last week as well as at an earlier meeting.

Ireland would benefit from Mr Sheridan’s US connections and he also wanted Irish emigrants to return home, Cllr Grady added.

“He has no ambition to become an antagonist to the Government but a protagonist for the people,” Cllr Grady said, quoting from Mr Sheridan’s address last week.

Kerry will nominate a candidate

Councillors in Kerry have defeated a proposal not to nominate a candidate, which means that councillors will take a vote on candidates.

A candidate is now assured to be nominated by Kerry County Council.

The vote was 18 to 14. All Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors voted for the proposal but were defeated by a combined vote of Independents, Sinn Féin and Labour.

While we wait on the first updates from this morning’s council meetings, here is Jack Horgan-Jones’ profile of Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin. This is the final part of a video series looking at the three candidates already confirmed to be on the presidency ballot papers next month.

Where will today’s special meetings be held?

Councillors from Laois, Longford, Kildare and Roscommon will hear from candidates this afternoon, with city councils in Galway, Cork and Dublin also convening today. Kerry and Galway City are up first at 11am.

In the second instalment of a video series by our political staff profiling who will be on ballot papers in October, Jack Horgan-Jones looks at the career of Independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly.

So, how does voting work?

To vote in a presidential election, you must be an Irish citizen, aged 18 or over, ordinarily resident in Ireland and registered to vote.

There are special arrangements for Irish officials on duty abroad (and their spouses or civil partners) who may register on the postal voters’ list.

You can use checktheregister.ie to see if you are currently registered to vote.

Nominations opened on Friday, September 5th, and are set to close Wednesday, September 24th.

Irish Times journalist Kate Byrne has a helpful explainer on how it all works.

Last week, Fintan O’Toole looked at the presidential election through the lenses of morale and morality.

His opinion piece reflects on collective values shared by the last three holders of the office – Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese and Michael D Higgins – and the political impact of Irish Catholicism. You can read it here.

Council votes so far: Fingal, Mayo and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

Fingal County Council voted not to endorse any candidate for the presidential election, by a large margin.

The council rejected a resolution on Friday night to give a nomination to entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan by 18 votes to seven, with five abstentions.

Fingal became the third of the 31 local authorities to decide not to endorse a candidate after Mayo and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown councils also decided to refrain.

Names already on the ballot paper

So far, three candidates are assured of enough support to have their names on the ballot paper in the presidential election taking place on October 24th.

Fine Gael has selected former minister Heather Humphreys as its candidate and Fianna Fáil has chosen former Dublin GAA football manager Jim Gavin, while the Labour Party is backing Independent TD Catherine Connolly.

But who are they and what do they stand for? We will be posting videos by our political staff throughout the morning, starting here with Ellen Coyne’s profile of Heather Humphreys.

Conor McGregor withdraws candidacy

Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor was among a number of prospective candidates due to address county councils on Monday but he withdrew from the process this morning.

In a post on X early on Monday, Mr McGregor said he was dropping his bid to contest the presidency.

A number of candidates, including Riverdance star Michael Flatley and former Met Éireann forecaster Joanna Donnelly have already pulled out of the race to the Áras.

Last week, Tánaiste Simon Harris said Mr McGregor “represents the very worst of us” and has “a negligible chance” of getting a nomination. “Conor McGregor is a person who has been found responsible for rape in a civil court in Ireland. That’s a statement of fact,” he said.

Who is seeking nomination?

Three of the most prominent Independent candidates – entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan, conservative commentator Maria Steen and social media activist Nick Delehanty – have been intensively lobbying councillors in target local authorities over the weekend.

Each needs to be formally nominated by four councils to become an official candidate in the election.

Our political correspondent Harry McGee’s presidential digest offers a detailed overview of what can be expected from council meetings ahead of the day’s proceedings.

‘Super primary’ day ahead

Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of the bids by a number of presidential hopefuls to secure a council nomination to be a presidential candidate. Today has been described as a “super primary” day, with 11 councils due to hold special meetings to consider nominating a candidate.

The councils will hear pitches from aspiring candidates hoping to gain a place on the presidential ticket. Most will vote after their meeting, although some, such as Kildare, will defer their votes until the following week.

Thirteen further councils have arranged for meetings to be held before the final deadline for nominations on September 24th.