Ten of the 11 candidates seeking a nomination to stand for the presidential election, will be in Galway tomorrow to address a special meeting of the Galway City Council, which takes place in City Hall at 2pm.
To stand for election as Uachtarán na hÉireann, a candidate must be an Irish citizen over 35 years of age, and be nominated by at least 20 serving members of the Houses of the Oireachtas, or have a nomination from four city or county councils.
The 18 members of the Galway city council will hear presentations from Gemma O'Doherty, Patrick Feeney, Peter Casey, James Smyth, Marie Goretti Moylan, Kevin Sharkey, Joan Freeman, Sean Gallagher, Gavin Duffy, and Sarah Louise Mulligan. Each prospective candidate will have 10 minutes to make his/her case, followed by a 10 minutes Q&A with the elected members. After the meeting, councillors can formally propose to nominate a candidate to The Meetings Administrator by Friday September 7 at 12 noon, in order to satisfy the legal requirements for the nominations, if any, to be considered, and formally decided on, at the monthly Council Meeting on Monday September 10.
As Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D Higgins was legally able to nominate himself, and did not require the backing of TDs or councillors. Sinn Féin will also run a candidate. The party is expected to select MEP Liadh Ní Riada. As it has 23 seats, SF has in excess of the required number needed to put forward a candidate.
