Fianna Fáil’s 71 parliamentary party members will decide on Tuesday between Mr Kelleher and former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, who has been endorsed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and currently has 31 declared votes.

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

Veteran journalist and broadcaster baffled by Fianna Fáil heavyweights backing for Jim Gavin.

The Fianna Fáil leader said it was “about the presidency, it’s not about Fianna Fáil” as he argued against criticism of the selection process.

Following Seán Kelly's decision to drop out of contention, Ms Humphreys was the only candidate to reach that threshold by the time the nomination window closed today.

In a statement, Mr Kelly said it became clear to him that he would not reach the required 20 nominations from within the parliamentary party.

Defying the wishes of Taoiseach and party leader Micheál Martin, Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher is seeking the Fianna Fáil nomination to run for president. Donal O’Keeffe spoke with the Glanmire man.

Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, told The Echo he believed the party leadership had allowed a vacuum to grow around the party’s intentions for next month’s presidential election.

Micheál Martin  said he believed Mr Gavin has “all the right values” to take up the role, calling him an “extraordinary, accomplished person”.

Cork Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has previously formally declared his intention to seek backing, and former taoiseach, Bertie Ahern has refused to rule himself out of the race.

At lunchtime on Friday, Mr Kelleher told The Echo he had informed Taoiseach Micheál Martin that he would be seeking the party nomination.

Sources close to Mr Kelleher told The Echo this morning that he had been contacting his parliamentary colleagues in a bid to garner support.

Mr Martin was speaking to The Echo following a call by his party’s Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher that the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meet urgently to discuss the issue.

The former GAA president told The Echo there were two weeks to go until the nominations close, and he would take current speculation “with a grain of salt”.

Mr Holohan said he had a responsibility and a duty to think of his family who he said may have been exposed to what he described as unfair criticism due to his past professional life.

The party is set to reopen its internal party process to pick a candidate for the presidential election after the shock decision by Ms McGuinness to withdraw her candidacy for health reasons.

Ms Connolly, an Independent TD for Galway, was originally a member of the Labour Party, but left in 2007 in a dispute over candidate selection.

To run for president, candidates must be Irish citizens over the age of 35, but there are only extremely limited routes for potential candidates to get their names on the ballot paper.

The choreographer’s barrister made the announcement during a High Court case he has taken in relation to works carried out at his mansion in Co Cork, the Castlehyde.

So far, the presidential campaign could not be said to have caught fire in the public imagination, with only two candidates currently almost certain to run.

The Taoiseach’s name had been consistently mentioned in recent weeks as a possible candidate for Fianna Fáil, which has yet to nominate a candidate to contest the election.

“Somebody has to speak for the Irish people, I’m not sure we need another politician,” he said.

The overwhelming mood among Cork Fine Gael TDs and councillors ahead of the upcoming presidential election is optimistic.

Ms Connolly announced on Friday that she would be formally launching her campaign next week for the presidency, saying she has support from the Social Democrats, People Before Profit, and Solidarity, as well as a number of senators and others.

Mr Kelly said he has ‘responsible jobs in Europe as part of the Fine Gael delegation’ and he enjoys his work now and wants to continue.