Louise Burne: Jim Gavin must develop sharp elbows to liven up candidacy

Irish presidential candidate Fianna Fail's Jim Gavin meets local workers whilst canvassing in Dalkey in Dun Laoghaire, Rathdown county southeast of Dublin. Picture date: Thursday September 25, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Several things are required if you want to survive a presidential election — good publicity, popularity, promises you can keep, and a pair of sharp elbows.

Fianna Fáil’s Jim Gavin certainly has the first two. The verdict is out on the promises. One thing he certainly does not seem to have is sharp elbows.

If he has, he has not shown them. He will need to if he wants to come across as less bland than the image he is currently portraying.

As the first full day of campaigning in the 2025 presidential election kicked off, Mr Gavin spent the day hopping on and off the Dart to visit some of the most affluent areas in South County Dublin.

As he made his way up the streets of Dalkey, he made a promise that he hopes he will be able to follow through on.

Rosemary O’Halloran and Catherine Carley were situated outside Benito’s on the main street of Dalkey village, selling raffle tickets for the Blackrock Hospice.

As he made his way out of the popular local restaurant after meeting the TidyTown’s group, Mr Gavin stopped to buy “six strips” of tickets, putting €20 in the collection box.

The Fianna Fáil TD for Dún Laoghaire, Cormac Devlin, gave them his Dáil office phone number in case he won a prize. Dublin MEP Barry Andrews joked that they should give the number to Áras an Uachtaráin.

“Next year’s hospice fundraising day will be in the Áras, 2026. I guarantee it,” Mr Gavin told them.

We will see on October 24 if he can keep this promise.

But Mr Gavin must develop those sharp elbows and try to make himself a bit more exciting if he is to stand a chance.

During a press conference with the media, frustrated journalists asked the same questions repeatedly as he rolled out prepared answers.

It did not matter if the answer fit the question. He used the same expressions he has been using since the day he became the Fianna Fáil election candidate.

“Are you going to answer a single question today?” this weary Irish Examiner reporter asked.

Mr Gavin repeated that his campaign will be “energetic”, and he wants to get “out amongst the people”.

Rough and tumble

He did not want to answer questions about anyone else; he was there to talk about his own campaign.

At one point, he was asked about comments made by his opponent, Catherine Connolly, during which she suggested that Germany was rearming itself in a way that was reminiscent of the 1930s.

Most politicians would have grasped this opportunity to tear into their opponent, injecting themselves into the headlines. Not Jim Gavin. The answer did not appear to be in the script.

“I'm not going to comment about other candidates. My focus is on what I can bring,” he said.

With the first of the election debates coming up next Monday night on Virgin Media, he will be torn to shreds if he does not get involved in the rough and tumble.

It was clear from his interactions with people in Dalkey that Mr Gavin is a nice man. He nodded empathetically as the owner of Photogenic told him of the car that drove through the photography studio’s front window.

He knelt to pet the dogs that passed by with their owners. He sat down in cafés to talk to locals having their cups of coffee. Unfortunately, being a nice guy sometimes is not enough.

Back outside Benito’s, Ms Halloran predicted he would do “very well because of the GAA”.

A man who secures Dublin six All-Ireland medals in seven years surely has a bit of fight and excitement in him? He needs to make sure it is seen before it is too late.