#irish-presidential-election

#irish-presidential-election

A former government minister, a former sports coach and an independent leftwing politician are to contest Ireland's presidential election. The three-way race was confirmed on Wednesday when the nomination window closed without any political outsiders getting on the ballot. Heather Humphreys, a former cabinet minister, will run for the ruling centre-right Fine Gael party. Jim Gavin, who managed Dublin's Gaelic football team, will represent its centrist coalition partner, Fianna Fail.

With candidate selection marred by in-fighting, the election has become as much about internal party politics as the race for the Áras itself When they wake up on the October Bank Holiday Monday, when the votes have been counted and the 10th President of Ireland is known, either Mícheál Martin or Simon Harris - or both - will have a serious political headache.

If Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald ­enters the race, our poll suggests it would become an even tighter four-horse race, with Connolly ­suffering most damage - but it would still leave nearly a third of people in the undecided camp. These unenthusiastic voters hold the key to Áras an Uachtaráin and a wise candidate would be offering them something to latch on to.

As politicians seem so slow out of the blocks in this race, maybe it's time to look elsewhere for our next president - even Michael O'Leary would be a welcome injection of energy

Gareth Sheridan, a 35-year-old businessman from Dublin, has officially announced his candidacy for the presidency of Ireland as an Independent candidate.