Prospective presidential candidate Gareth Sheridan has received a potential hammer blow to his campaign, with Louth County Council saying the independent hopeful may not be permitted to address councillors on Monday.
In an email from Louth County Council officials on Friday, councillors were informed that Mr Sheridan had not submitted the required documentation in time, either a copy of his passport or a biographical statement.
The official wrote that Mr Sheridan had been “advised that his participation in Monday’s meeting can no longer be accommodated”.
However, a spokesperson for Mr Sheridan’s campaign insisted they had submitted a copy of the businessman’s passport and a statement in advance of the deadline.
“We believe it will be resolved tomorrow. It is most likely an administrative error,” the spokesperson said.
It is understood that councillors will now decide on Monday whether or not to permit Mr Sheridan the opportunity to present his case before the council.
If Mr Sheridan is not facilitated at Louth, it would be a significant blow to his campaign as he still requires two councils to back his candidacy. The businessman is seeking to focus on Louth, Offaly, and Meath, as 12 councils meet on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s nomination deadline.
A Fianna Fáil source in Offaly said the party’s plan could be influenced by what happens during the special meeting of Meath County Council, and whether it moves to back Mr Sheridan.
However, one Fianna Fáil councillor in Louth was critical of the businessman, saying Mr Sheridan did not make an effort to contact him or his colleagues in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
John Sheridan, a Fianna Fáil councillor for Ardee, said he had been “underwhelmed” by the lack of engagement by prospective candidates.
The Fianna Fáil councillor questioned how serious independent candidates like Mr Sheridan were about getting onto the ballot, saying the only contact he received was one email from Dublin-based candidate, Nick Delehanty.
“It would be utterly bizarre to rock up at the 11th hour and expect a nomination for the highest office in the land with no groundwork,” he said.
Meanwhile, Independent Ireland TDs are set to meet prospective candidate Maria Steen on Monday, as she seeks their four signatures to edge closer to a nomination.
Ms Steen received the nomination of junior minister Michael Healy-Rae on Friday, with Aontú’s Peadar Tóibín saying this brought her to 12 backers. He said a further two Oireachtas members were in discussions about nominating her.
Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins said he had questions for Ms Steen, particularly surrounding her thoughts on issues like neutrality and the Mercosur trade deal.
He added that the meeting would be used to gauge how much support Ms Steen actually had, given some backers being listed are yet to come out publicly. Mr Collins said:
There’s no point in me backing Maria if she has only 12 votes.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Sinn Féin formally announced it would be backing Independent Catherine Connolly in October’s election.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald confirmed the decision, saying discussions within Sinn Féin had focused on getting both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael out of Government and Áras an Uachtaráin.
“Today’s decision allows us to do that. This is a big decision to support a candidate from outside our membership and work with the combined opposition to collectively take on the government. To give people a clear choice. To give people hope,” Ms McDonald said.