Jim Gavin wins vote to become Fianna Fáil nominee for president

The former Dublin GAA boss won 41 votes, compared to the 29 won by MEP Billy Keleher 

Mr Gavin is said to have "spoken well" to members of the parliamentary party, with Mr Kelleher's speech also praised. Picture: PA

Jim Gavin will be the Fianna Fáil nominee for president, having won an internal party vote by 41 votes to 29 over MEP Billy Kelleher.

Mr Gavin is said to have "spoken well" to members of the parliamentary party, with Mr Kelleher's speech also praised.

The former Dublin Gaelic football boss will now enter into his first political campaign, having served as Chief Operations Officer for the Irish Aviation Authority.

Speaking after he secured the nomination, Mr Gavin said it was important that Fianna Fáil had a contest. He said his standing had not been impacted by the fact that 29 of the party's 70 parliamentary members had voted for Mr Kelleher.

"Out of respect to the parliamentary process, it was important for me to engage with the parliamentary party members, all 70 of them, over the last two weeks, and that took a lot of time," he said.

"And as you can see, I've won their nomination. And now it's about getting myself out there, meeting the communities. People know me already from sport, from my work in the North-East inner city, from my 20 years serving in Óglaigh na hÉireann. So people know me. 

"But obviously, I think over the next two months they're going to get to know me better."

Social issues

Mr Gavin's positions on social issues have been largely unknown since his entry into the race two weeks ago, but Mr Gavin said he voted yes in the referendums on marriage equality and abortion.

"I see myself as a centrist, you know, I'm a constitutional Republican. On Repeal the Eighth, it was a difficult moral decision for the country, but ultimately became about women's rights and what was right for women, and the right to choose.

"In terms of marriage equality, I'm all for equality. I think Ireland sent a very strong signal out in terms of our that we're a progressive nation and we're inclusive and we respect all, so I voted yes."

Mr Gavin is the third candidate to be on the ballot, with the election set to be held on Friday, October 24.

To run as a presidential candidate, a person must be an Irish citizen over the age of 35 and nominated by either 20 Irish parliamentarians or by four local authorities.

Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and Fine Gael command enough support in the Oireachtas to put forward their own candidates.

Former social protection minister Heather Humphreys is Fine Gael’s presidential nominee, while left-wing independent Catherine Connolly has secured the backing of a variety of opposition parties.

Sinn Féin has not yet decided whether it will field its own candidate or back an independent, such as Ms Connolly. The party said it will decide on September 20, four days before nominations for candidates close.

Earlier

Speaking on his way into Leinster House before the vote, Mr Gavin said: “I’ve had a great two weeks of visiting the party parliamentary members the length and breadth the country.

“I got great energy. I’m just looking forward this morning to putting my view towards the party.

“I think competition is good and I hope to talk to you afterwards.” 

Mr Kelleher, meanwhile, spoke to the media at length and said he was going to “present my credentials to my parliamentary colleagues”.

“Either way, I think the idea that we would have a good, robust debate within our party, I think, was a positive step,” he said.

“I like to see democracy playing out in all aspects, not just in terms of national politics, but within parties as well, that we have strong, robust interrogation of ideas of candidates, and then that the party would make a democratic decision.” 

When asked if he had sufficient backing to win, Mr Kelleher said he did not know as he had not “been asking people to come out publicly and endorse or otherwise”.

Mr Kelleher said his decision was “never about Micheál Martin”.

When asked if the Taoiseach’s position would be tenable if he won, Mr Kelleher stated that “it was never really about anything other than the process of how we select candidates”.

“Micheál Martin took a view as leader. He's entitled to take that view,” he continued.

“Certainly, from my perspective, I just wanted to get into the field to debate the issues, to discuss the issues with colleagues, and we will finally be doing that today in a formal parliamentary setting.

“But I think more broadly, when decisions are being made, the more people that are consulted, the broader the reach well then the better the standing that decision has.”