Éamon Ó Cuív would consider running for Áras an Uchtaráin on a Fianna Fáil ticket, but he has so far not been asked to put his name forward.
Speaking to the Advertiser at his Conamara home, the recently retired Galway West TD said he firmly believed Fianna Fáil should field a strong candidate in the presidential elections in October, and signalled he could still be persuaded to run.
“I do think Fianna Fáil should have a candidate. If they were to ask me? I’d have to think about it; but I’m not looking for it,” he said.
Asked would he respond positively to an invitation from the party, or Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and attempt to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Eamon de Valera, who was President of Ireland for 14 years, Ó Cuív appears to have left his door ajar for potential political callers.
The former deputy leader of Fianna Fáíl, who called on Martin to resign in 2020 when Fianna Fáil languished at 10 per cent in the polls, said he would consider a candidacy request from a party delegation, but “I don’t know if Micheál [Martin] would ask me,” he said.
The 74-year-old, who last summer announced his intention not to contest the November 2024 general election, represented Galway West in Dáil Éireann for 32 years. Asked would he suggest other candidates for Fianna Fáil, Ó Cuív said “he would make no comment beyond that”.
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and MEPs Barry Andrews and Cynthia Ni Mhurchú, are other names currently circulating in Fianna Fáil circles.
President Michael D Higgins, aged 84, will finish his second, seven-year term in November, and is expected to retire to Galway.
Former Michael D comrade, Independent Galway West TD Catherine Connolly, recently told Galwegian journalist Seán O’Rourke that she had an “open mind” on the possibility of running for the presidency, providing that her efforts “unite the Opposition”. Connolly supporters in Galway city say she has been considering her position for several months, and will run if backed by a left-wing, independent and environmentalist coalition.
Midlands-North-West MEP, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, whose political career began in Galway city in the 1990s to legalise cannabis, has also been touted as a possible independent, left-wing candidate.
County Galway-based businessman Declan Ganley has been mooted as a potential candidate from the opposite end of the political spectrum. The east County Galway man attended Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in January, and has been amping up political comments on social media in recent months.
Ahascragh’s Senator Rónán Mullen has also been mentioned by commentators as a Galwegian with presidential ambition.
See page 18 for full interview with Éamon Ó Cuív here.
