Gareth Sheridan’s arrival shakes up otherwise dull presidential campaign

Newcomer Gareth Sheridan has sparked rare excitement in a presidential race slowed by cost concerns, short campaign timelines, and strategy doubts

Gareth Sheridan at the Tullamore Show on Sunday with his wife Heidi and daughter Roe after he officially confirmed his intention to contest the forthcoming presidential election. Picture: Alf Harvey

The arrival of a new and unknown candidate in the presidential election has, for a brief moment, ignited what has been an unmercifully dull race.

The high level of coverage garnered by businessman Gareth Sheridan came from a combination of his newness to the public stage, his age and, if we're being frank, a media which wants the race to kick off while it stubbornly refuses.

One might think it would be sensible in a personality-driven race to take advantage of the fallow summer months news-wise and be in attendance at every agricultural show or public event you can find, but there is a wariness this time around due to a number of factors.

Firstly, the elephant in all of the rooms owned by large political parties — money. While the figure often bandied about for a presidential run is €250,000, one informed source said the real cost to political parties could be anywhere up to three times as much. 

While none of the major political entities is broke, running three elections last year has drained the coffers somewhat. According to election spending reports published recently, Fianna Fáil had just €470,000 in cash at the end of the year. The party has this year run a "superdraw" raffle, understood to have brought in about €600,000. For Fine Gael, it had €1.7m on hand at the same time. 

Both parties paled in comparison to Sinn Féin, which finished the year with €4.6m in cash.

While the chance to dominate the airwaves and column inches might be tempting, moving a candidate across the country requires time and resources, which teams are loathe to do.

Secondly, there is the acknowledgment the campaign itself will be short, but gruelling. Fine Gael's candidate, former European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness acknowledged this in her letter of acceptance for the nomination, when she told supporters: "I do hope that you manage to get to enjoy some down time with family and friends before September."

While the race is currently being held at walking pace, it will turn into a full-on sprint come September, and burning out your team, candidate and the public before the real business begins is a short-sighted plan with so much left to play for.

Thirdly, the field is not yet clear, so it's not obvious where either of the two confirmed candidates — Ms McGuinness and Galway TD Catherine Connolly — should be pitching themselves. 

While Sinn Féin is expected to make a decision at some point in August, Fianna Fáil members are not expecting a candidate to be confirmed until its think-in in Cork next month.

Unless, of course, the party opts not to run a candidate and allows Mr Sheridan become something of a proxy candidate, similar to how it approached Sean Gallagher's run in 2011. While the idea has been floated online, many in Fianna Fáil were quick to pour cold water on it, saying Mr Sheridan's association with independent senator Sharon Keogan would be one stumbling block, given her frequent criticism of the Government, as would Mr Sheridan's previous low profile and lack of public service.

But, beyond that, there is only a handful within the party who do not believe it should have its own candidate.

"We're the biggest party in the Oireachtas, we have to compete," said one TD.

While some drew a straight line between Mr Sheridan's emergence this week and Fianna Fáil's lack of a candidate, it does not appear that straightforward.