The Fianna Fáil leadership remains strongly opposed to the possibility of former taoiseach Bertie Ahern becoming the party’s candidate for president, according to several senior sources familiar with Micheál Martin’s thinking.
Meanwhile, they said, the former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin is being viewed as a serious prospect.
A meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting is expected to be scheduled for the middle of next week, at which point Mr Martin will set out his thinking about the party’s options.
However, it is unlikely that a candidate will be selected until later in September, insiders said.
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Senior sources familiar with discussions on the issue said the view of the party leadership – understood to be shared by Mr Martin, key aides, several Ministers and TDs – is that former taoiseach Mr Ahern should not be the party’s candidate in the election, which is likely to be scheduled for late October.
Mr Ahern, who is currently in Croatia for meetings with senior figures in the region, was unavailable for comment.
There is now a general acceptance in Fianna Fáil that the party will run a candidate. This marks a change since the start of the summer when senior party figures insisted Fianna Fáil was undecided about contesting the election.
A series of elected representatives have voiced their belief in recent weeks that the party should run a candidate, which is a view now accepted by most senior party figures. One backbencher said there is a “yearning” among their colleagues for a Fianna Fáil contestant in the field.
Mr Martin is understood to be continuing to take soundings and talk to potential candidates, though former Air Corps officer and Dublin football manager Jim Gavin is favoured by some as someone with wide appeal. Mr Gavin could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Sources said the party is some way off a decision, though they played down the prospects of law professor Síofra O’Leary, former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, being tapped for the role.
None of the names previously touted as potential Fianna Fáil candidates, including former ministers Mary Hanafin and Éamon Ó Cuív, ex-SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and the Northern Ireland academic Deirdre Heenan, are likely to be favoured by the leadership, sources said.
But there was some enthusiasm for Mr Gavin among TDs on Monday, with one minister speculating that his position in Dublin would give him a geographic advantage. Mr Gavin, who headed an internal GAA Football Review Committee, is also credited with the new rules which have revived Gaelic football this year.
Sinn Féin, meanwhile, continues to keep its intentions to itself. The party said there is no meeting of the ruling ardchomhairle scheduled yet and there is no expectation of a decision on a candidate this week.
The view in Sinn Féin is that it is “eminently sensible” to hold off until September and leave less time for a prospective candidate to be exposed to media scrutiny. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald again declined to confirm or deny her possible candidacy at the weekend, telling the BBC that “all options are on the table”.
The coming weeks are also likely to see the focus shift to local authorities, where independent candidates may seek nominations.
Businessman Gareth Sheridan’s campaign has claimed it has active interest from 12 local authorities that are open to hearing from independent candidates.
A spokesman for Mr Sheridan’s campaign said councils have indicated they would be open to hearing pitches from prospective candidates, most likely between September 8th and 20th. The spokesman said most local authorities will not have exact dates until the date of the presidential election is announced.
