Eastwood rules himself out of Irish presidential race

The Foyle MP had previously expressed concern that that Irish unity was not a priority for candidates

Former Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood has ruled himself out of the Irish presidential election race.

BBC News NI understands the Foyle MP will not be seeking an nomination to enter the contest.

He had considered standing as an independent candidate after being approached to put his name forward.

Eastwood was hoping to secure support from a number of parties, but after consulting with colleagues over the summer he has decided that it is "not the right time for him".

Earlier this month Eastwood told BBC News NI's Red Lines podcast he was concerned Irish unity was not a priority for the candidates announced at the time.

Analysis: Presidential race is now taking shape

Colum Eastwood was always facing an uphill battle to get his name on the presidential ballot paper.

He put his name in the mix at a time when others were running away from the contest leaving the field empty.

But the race is now taking shape, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael close to selecting candidates.

Sinn Féin is also now more likely than not to enter the contest.

That all means there will little room for independents to get nominated or mount a serious challenge.

But we may have to wait before we see the final line up as the election is not expected to take place until near the end of October.

Former GAA manager in the hunt

On Saturday, the taoiseach (Irish prime minister) endorsed former Dublin Gaelic football manager Jim Gavin as the Fianna Fáil candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

Micheál Martin said Mr Gavin was "the person I think best placed to represent the Irish people as president".

He added that "Fianna Fáil has nominated people who never had experience as a TD or a minister, Mary McAleese, Douglas Hyde," in keeping with the tradition of trying to position the presidency "above the partisan political realm".

In his letter to party members, Mr Gavin said, if elected as president, he would be "an active and positive one based on reaching out to every community at home as well as promoting and representing Ireland's values abroad, facilitating the use of the Áras [presidential residence] for the people and promoting Ireland's language, culture, education and enterprise to the wider world".

Dublin manager Jim Gavin celebrates with goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton after beating Kerry to win the 2019 All-Ireland final at Croke Park.

Mr Gavin, who previously served in the Irish Defence Forces, was manager of the Dublin team from 2012-2019, when Dublin won six All Ireland Senior Football Championship titles.

He stepped down as the manager of the Dublin senior football team in November 2019, just over one month after leading the side to a record breaking fifth All-Ireland title in a row with a replay victory over Kerry at Croke Park.

On Saturday, academic Deirdre Heenan ruled herself out of the race.

She had been tipped as a potential Fianna Fáil candidate.

Posting on X, she said: "I've greatly appreciated the goodwill, support & encouragement regarding recent speculation around my potential candidacy for president of Ireland.

"I've decided that for now, my priority will remain on my role at Ulster University working to advocate for better healthcare in Northern Ireland."

MEP Séan Kelly and former government minister Heather Humphreys are seeking the Fine Gael nomination, while independent politician Catherine Connolly is also running.

Entrepreneur Peter Casey, who was born in Londonderry, came second in 2018 with 23.1% of the first preference vote in 2018 and is seeking the nomination once again.

Some celebrity candidates have also said they are interested in running, with Riverdance star Michael Flatley and MMA fighter Conor McGregor both seeking backers for their respective campaigns.

How do you become president of Ireland?

To run for the office of president of Ireland, you have to be an Irish citizen aged 35 or older.

Anyone who wants to stand needs the backing of either 20 members of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) or four of the 31 local authorities.

Michael D Higgins was inaugurated as the ninth president in 2011, when he took over from Mary McAleese, and was re-elected in October 2018.

Higgins is not eligible to stand again as he will have completed two full seven-year terms.

McAleese is the only president to come from Northern Ireland.

What is the role of the Irish president?

The president of Ireland acts as the head of state.

It is a largely ceremonial role, representing Ireland at public events at the national and international level.

Only citizens who live in the Republic of Ireland have the right to vote in presidential elections.