Seán Gallagher says he makes ‘no excuses’ for his reduced vote

Defeated presidential candidate Seán Gallagher has not ruled out a future involvement in politics, though he conceded his campaign and his messages had failed to connect with voters in this election.

Mr Gallagher acknowledged he had been hurt by the result of the election, but said “nobody has died”, and he believed he was right to put himself forward for a second tilt at the presidency.

Seven years ago, having been pipped at the post by President Michael D Higgins after a dramatic late turnaround in the campaign, many felt Mr Gallagher had unfinished business with the presidency. There was little of that sense around this weekend past.

Asked by reporters if he would run again in the future for the Áras, Mr Gallagher said: “We’ll deal with this one for the moment before we think about going beyond 2018.”

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He added: “I think I’ll decide that I won’t make any decisions today.

“But I remain as committed to the country as ever. I won’t make any decision now but I do know truthfully Ireland is going to face a lot of challenges in the future.

“If I can use my skills and abilities I will, but how, I don’t know,” Mr Gallagher told reporters at the count centre at Dublin Castle.

Mr Gallagher won 29 per cent of the first preference vote in 2011, having led in opinion polls over the final weekend of the campaign. That lead slipped and disappeared over the final days of the campaign after the controversy ignited by the Frontline presidential debate, but the former Dragons’ Den panellist still ended up with more than half a million votes.

When the counting on Saturday last was completed, however, he won just 6 per cent of the vote, or less than 100,000 votes. Political sources across all parties were sceptical of a return to politics by Mr Gallagher in the future.

As the result were being counted, Mr Gallagher said he “would have loved to have gotten a better result”.

Short campaign

However, he said, “that’s the nature of elections and the people have spoken”. He said the short campaign made it “hard to build momentum” and said the small number of debates made it hard for challengers to make their case. However, he said, he was making “no excuses”.

He told RTÉ television it would have been very difficult for any candidate to break through the level of support for the incumbent, Mr Higgins.

He acknowledged the participation of three Dragons’ Den panellists may have resulted in public cynicism and split the vote. Mr Gallagher said he was the first person from a business background who had put himself forward and he “genuinely” wanted to see people with new skills and mindsets getting involved.

Brexit and other issues had made this campaign different from the one in 2011, he said, and there had been an increase in the protest or anti-establishment vote.

The highlight of the campaign for him had been his personal campaign launch in his home village in Cavan, while the low point was “hearing the result”.

“Once you participate, you have to give it your best. After that it’s in the lap of the gods or, in this case, in the hands of the people,” he said.