There is a growing expectation in Fianna Fáil that the former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin will seek a nomination to contest the presidential election for the party.
Sources at several levels of the party said on Wednesday that although there has been no confirmation from Mr Gavin or party headquarters that his name will be put forward they expect he will enter the race.
The prospect of Mr Gavin’s candidacy has been warmly received at all party levels.
Although Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has not declared his hand, several party sources believe Mr Gavin’s potential candidacy would not have advanced to this stage without the Taoiseach’s tacit approval.
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Furthermore, sources said Mr Gavin’s careful and meticulous nature was such that he would not have allowed his potential candidacy to proceed without careful planning and consideration.
“This is not something that was thought up at the last minute,” one senior source said.
One person who has been involved in internal discussions said it would be accurate to say Mr Gavin was giving the issue “serious consideration”.
Another person with a similar involvement used the same phrase, but stressed there had been no confirmation of Mr Gavin’s intentions.
Mr Gavin has previously declined to comment and did not respond to messages on Wednesday.
However, the sense of expectation he will be a candidate has grown in the party in recent days.
“I would be surprised if he is not in there,” one person, adjacent to internal discussions on the issue, said.
“It certainly seems to be going down well,” one TD said. “He ticks a lot of Fianna Fáil’s boxes – the GAA, he’s an Army officer who served with the UN, he has shown concerns about disadvantage.
“There is a sense around him that he could win. And there’s a desire in Fianna Fáil to win – the hunger is there.”
Another TD, from Dublin, said: “Do I like the idea of canvassing for Jim Gavin? Yes.”
One Minister spoke highly of Mr Gavin and noted “he’d have denied it by now if it wasn’t happening”.
Another Minister sounded a similar note, saying: “It’s been three days now and he hasn’t denied it, so I presume he’s interested.”
Several members of the parliamentary party and other party sources said they would welcome Mr Gavin’s candidacy, but said they expected there would be a selection process within the parliamentary party in the coming weeks.
It is expected Mr Martin will set out that process shortly, perhaps this weekend, though no meeting of the parliamentary party has been organised as yet.
Mr Martin has said he would set out his approach at the end of summer.
There is expected to be a handful of candidates contesting the selection process.
Former minister Mary Hanafin wrote to members of the parliamentary party on Wednesday, saying she had been “very encouraged by the response and encouragement of the people I met” since declaring her interest in running for the Fianna Fáil nomination.
There was also speculation about the intentions of MEP Billy Kelleher, among other potential candidates, though several TDs confessed to relying on media reports to know what was happening. “The circle is so tight,” one senior TD said.
There was a blow for independent candidate Catherine Connolly on Wednesday, however, when former Labour leader Alan Kelly said he would neither nominate nor vote for her, despite the party promising to support her bid to become president.
“I think the party has to have some self-respect,” he said. “Catherine Connolly has shown disdain for us since 2006.”
