The likelihood of more than three candidates contesting the presidential election has receded following Gareth Sheridan’s failure to secure the backing of four local authorities.
The other prospective candidate with any hope of gaining a place on the ballot paper is barrister and conservative campaigner Maria Steen. She met Independent Ireland’s TDs on Monday night to request their support as she scrambles to win the support of 20 Oireachtas members before the close of nominations on Wednesday.
With 12 councils holding special meetings on Monday to consider whether or not to nominate candidates, Mr Sheridan (36) pinned his hopes on being endorsed by two of three councils – Meath, Offaly and Louth. He required two nominations, having been nominated by county councils in Kerry and Tipperary last week.
The entrepreneur received the first significant setback on Monday morning, however, after Meath County Council voted by 14 votes to 13 to reject his nomination.
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Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors all voted against his nomination, while Sinn Féin members abstained. There were eight abstentions.
Mr Sheridan then travelled to Tullamore to make a case at a meeting of Offaly County Council in the early afternoon. He was strongly supported by the chair of the council, Independent councillor John Leahy, who called on his colleagues to give Mr Sheridan a chance.
“Let us give this young man an opportunity to go up the road with three nominations on his ballot paper,” he told colleagues.
By a majority of 11 votes to five, with two abstentions, the council voted against endorsing any candidate. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors all voted against any nomination.
Following the vote, Mr Sheridan acknowledged that “mathematically” it was the end of his campaign and confirmed he was conceding.
“But that’s fine, we gave it our best shot,” he said. “We got two nominations, which was really encouraging, and we had a pathway. Unfortunately, the pathway in the plan didn’t work out.”
He said he had “no regrets” about seeking a nomination.
His spokesman said: “Meath and Offaly county councils were two of the four prime targets for us. Losing Meath by one vote was a hammer blow. It was so tantalisingly close.
“If we had brought three council endorsements to Offaly we might have had a favourable wind behind us. While not guaranteed, the fact that we had only two nominations allowed Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to execute a very robust block.”
Ms Steen met three of the four TDs from Independent Ireland in Dublin on Monday night to make a case for their support. It is understood she said that with the support of the party, she would have 17 or 18 TDs and Senators willing to sign her nomination paper – just two short of the threshold.
Independent Ireland TDs will hold a meeting at 11am on Tuesday to decide on whether it will endorse her candidacy.
