Fine Gael to reopen presidential nomination after Mairead McGuinness withdrawal
Former social protection minister Heather Humphreys is expected to announce her intention to seek Fine Gael's nomination this week for the presidential election. Picture: Gareth Chaney
Fine Gael is to open a second nomination process for the presidency, with two senior party members — who previously ruled out a run for the Áras — set to battle it out for the candidacy.
The sudden withdrawal of Mairead McGuinness on health grounds has left Fine Gael in disarray, but former social protection minister Heather Humphreys is expected to announce her intention to seek the nomination this week.
Ms Humphreys, who opted not to contest last year’s general election, said in May that she would not run for the Áras following her retirement to spend more time with her family.
However, in the last few days she has indicated she is considering joining the race, with sources saying she is in the process of building a campaign team.
There is a growing feeling among senior members of the party that if she puts her name forward, the Monaghan woman “has a very real chance” of winning the presidential election.
A potential run by Ms Humphreys has already received the backing of three independent ministers, with Michael Healy Rae saying he would back her "wholeheartedly", with Seán Canney saying he hoped Ms Humphreys would consider a run, while Noel Grealish said that she would be an "excellent" president.
Former GAA president and Ireland South MEP Seán Kelly is also reconsidering his position and could spark an internal vote.
Mr Kelly ruled himself out in July but, following the withdrawal of Ms McGuinness, he said over the weekend the "goalposts have now changed".
Within the party, there is a belief that Mr Kelly was “very interested” in pursuing the nomination last time around and would be once more.
However, some believe the time constraints could mean he stands aside for Ms Humphreys.
The party's executive committee will meet on Monday evening to set out the process for nominating a replacement for Ms McGuinness.
One member of the party's executive, Dublin MEP Regina Doherty, said if there were two candidates, the party should have a competition.
Ms Doherty told RTÉ's This Week while the timeframe was "tight" and Fine Gael is "under time pressure" she said the party was confident it could run a contest.
"Time is of the essence, lots of people are still on their holidays is what maybe makes it a little more difficult.
"We will deal with whatever is put in front of us. We will open the contest and we will see how many contenders there are and then decisions will be made based on timelines thereafter," she said.
Ms Doherty denied that the previous withdrawals of Mr Kelly and Ms Humphreys from the race would be a negative in the eyes of the public. She said those decisions had been made in a context which has now changed, a feeling which is echoed in Fine Gael.
"Heather Humphreys or Sean Kelly are not second choices," a party source said.
While Fine Gael sources say they would prefer longer to have a replacement in place, the party is ahead of both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, neither of which has confirmed if it will run a candidate at all.
The withdrawal of Ms McGuinness has “completely changed the landscape”, a Fianna Fáil source said, with one saying that Ms Humphreys would “be a different challenge altogether”.
A Fianna Fáil TD said, however, that they could not foresee a situation in which the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party supports a coalition “unity” candidate. Fianna Fáil is expected to name its candidate in September.
Within Sinn Féin, sources said, there is a growing belief that the party will support Galway West TD Catherine Connolly rather than run its own candidate.
Ms McGuinness’s withdrawal means Ms Connolly is the only candidate who at present has the requisite support to be on the ballot to succeed Michael D Higgins later this year.
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