Candidates vie for nominations but City Council unlikely to oblige

At least a dozen people have put their names forward to be Cork City Council’s nomination for the presidential election, The Echo has learned. However, as parties have their own candidates or are yet to reveal their plans, it is unlikely that the council will nominate anyone.

With polling day for the election of Michael D Higgins’s successor confirmed for October 24, the deadline for nominations is September 24. 

To get on the ballot, candidates need the nominations of four of Ireland’s 31 local authorities, or a minimum of 20 Oireachtas members.

So far, Galway East Independent TD Catherine Connolly has secured sufficient votes from People Before Profit, Social Democrats, Labour, and Independent Oireachtas members, while Fine Gael has declared former minister Heather Humphreys its candidate.

Fianna Fáil’s 71 parliamentary party members will decide on Tuesday between Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher and former Dublin manager Jim Gavin.

Sinn Féin is expected to announce on September 20 whether it intends to run its own candidate or support someone else.

Several other potential candidates have declared interest in seeking a nomination, and councils meet in the coming weeks to decide whether to nominate candidates. Cork City Council holds a special meeting on September 15, before which it will ask prospective nominees to make their case in five-minute presentations. A dozen people are understood to already be seeking the council’s nomination.

Councillors will then vote on whether to nominate someone. However, the whips of the three largest parties in the council told The Echo their councillors will not be voting to nominate a candidate, making a Cork City Council nominee extremely unlikely.