SPECIAL OLYMPICS Europe managing director Mary Davis has secured her first formal local authority nomination for the presidential election from Galway County Council.
Ms Davis’s nomination was moved at a meeting of the council yesterday by Independent councillor Jim Cuddy and seconded by Fianna Fáil councillor Tomás Mannion.
Fine Gael whip Cllr Jarlath McDonagh said his party members could not support her nomination as they were running their own candidate, Gay Mitchell.
However, in a vote, three Fine Gael councillors voted in favour of Ms Davis. Five Fine Gael councillors and Independent councillor Michael “Stroke” Fahy abstained. No councillors voted against the motion.
Ms Davis was one of six Independents to address the council, along with Seán Gallagher, Dr Pat Jones, Richard McSweeney, Dermot Mulqueen and Gary Smiley. Each speaker was given 10 minutes to present a case.
However, the vote was for Ms Davis’s candidacy, as this was the only motion received in time for the meeting’s deadline.
Under the Constitution, an Independent candidate in the presidential election must be nominated by either 20 members of the Oireachtas or four county or city councils.
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan set October 27th as the election date earlier this week, and it is expected that a number of local authorities approached by Independent candidates will vote over the next fortnight.
Wicklow and Monaghan local authorities are due to vote on the presidential candidacy early next week, while Mayo County Council is due to consider it on September 12th. Ms Davis has already made presentations to Wicklow and Monaghan councillors.
Ms Davis said she was “delighted” to receive the first formal endorsement in the west of Ireland, given she is from Mayo.
“The Special Olympics have a very strong programme here in Galway and I know a lot of the volunteers – and my two brothers were pupils at and played football for St Jarlath’s College in Tuam,” she said. Ms Davis said she was “confident” she would win sufficient backing for her presidential bid. The president and managing director of Special Olympics Europe and Eurasia has appealed for support across the political spectrum.
Fianna Fáil is not running a candidate.
Mr Gallagher, a businessman, hopes to secure the backing of Leitrim County Council on Monday. Mr Gallagher received a mixed reaction to his presentation to Waterford City Council on Thursday night. He told reporters his past membership of Fianna Fáil had not damaged his campaign.
The council is expected to vote on his nomination this month, and Mr Gallagher said he had pledges from local authorities in Clare, Donegal, Longford and Sligo.
Actor Martin Sheen has publicly backed Labour Party candidate Michael D Higgins. Mr Sheen, who studied as a mature student at NUI Galway and based himself in Barna for a year, received a Facebook followers’ appeal to run for the presidency, but declined.
Presidential Run: Numbers needed
TO BE able to run for the presidency, a potential candidate needs the support of 20 Oireachtas members or four county councils.
Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil are the only political parties large enough to muster the required support in the Oireachtas without outside help. Fine Gael’s candidate is MEP Gay Mitchell, while former minister Michael D Higgins is standing for Labour. Fianna Fáil, for strategic reasons, is not running a candidate.
Independent members of the Oireachtas and members of other parties may yet nominate another candidate by pooling their votes. But the most likely way for unaligned candidates to enter the race is by securing the required support of four local authorities.
A number of would-be candidates have been touring the country in the past four months to address local authorities and have secured the support of individual councils. Dragon’s Den panellist Seán Gallagher has the support of five councils – Roscommon, Longford, Leitrim, Clare and Donegal. Special Olympics founder Mary Davis had the support of four before yesterday – Mayo, Limerick county, Louth and Monaghan.
Because the writ for the election had not been moved, these were merely indications of support rather than formal nominations. However, since Minister for Environment Phil Hogan moved the writ for the election last Tuesday, it is now open to councils to formally nominate people.
To do so, a motion must be put to the council, proposed by a member and circulated to colleagues at least three days before the meeting. The nomination only becomes valid after it is lodged with the returning officer for the election.
Leitrim County Council, which has already indicated its support for Mr Gallagher, will consider a motion confirming this backing when it meets on Monday. Also on Monday, Meath County Council will consider a similar motion. Councils in south Tipperary, Wicklow and Cork city meet on the same day, but no motions have been tabled in these areas.
The closing date for nominations is September 28th, and polling takes place on October 27th. - PAUL CULLEN
