Newly selected Fianna Fáil presidential candidate Jim Gavin has told journalists he is a “centrist”, and a “constitutional republican” who voted for both repeal of the Eighth Amendment and for marriage equality.
In his first comments to the media, an hour after being formally selected as the party’s candidate, Mr Gavin (54) said he was “delighted and honoured” to receive the nomination.
“It’s a great honour for myself, a great honour for my family. I’m thinking this time of my father, Jimmy, who has from West Clare, who’d be very proud of me, and indeed for my community in Clondalkin, [Dublin] and the wider Gavin family,” he said outside the gates of Leinster House on Tuesday.
He paid tribute to his opponent, MEP Billy Kelleher, who performed considerably better than most party insiders had expected, saying they had a “robust competition and I’ve been involved in competitions all my life”.
“I think this will be the toughest competition that I’ve ever been involved in,” he said.
Presidential candidate Jim Gavin, with Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, at Leinster House. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times
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A special meeting of the party’s 71-strong parliamentary party had taken place earlier at Leinster House to choose between Mr Gavin or Mr Kelleher.
The party’s TDs, Senators and MEPs heard pitches from both perspective candidates before voting in a secret ballot. The result was 41 votes in favour of the GAA stalwart, compared to 29 for the Co Cork-based MEP.
Asked about the 40 per cent of Fianna Fáil that didn’t back him, Mr Gavin said: “Well, for me, the presidency is all about being the first person of the State, not the first politician. You know, we had a competition this morning. I think that was really important.
[ Jim Gavin profile: Is the former Dublin GAA manager a good fit for president?Opens in new window ]
“I won that competition and now I’m nominated as the candidate for Fianna Fáil. I will really look forward to getting on the road, meeting people, visiting all the communities, all the villages in Ireland, as best I can, over the next two months.”
Mr Gavin said he had confined himself to speaking to the parliamentary party in recent weeks, but now looked forward to engaging more widely on the campaign trail.
“People know me already from sport, from my work in the northeast inner city, from my 20 years serving in Oglaigh na hEireann. So people know me, but obviously, I think over the next two months they’re going to get to know me better,” he said.
Asked what he stood for, Mr Gavin said he was a centrist and a proud, constitutional republican.
“I’ve served the State, I’m motivated by a sense of duty, I’m motivated by serving the people of the country. That has always been in my DNA and look forward now to taking this presidential campaign out to the people and to show them what I’m about.”
Asked where he stood on recent constitutional changes, in particular the abortion referendum, Mr Gavin said: “In terms of repeal the eighth, it was a difficult moral decision for the country, what ultimately became about women’s rights, and what was right for women and the right to choose. So I voted yes, to repeal.
“In terms of marriage equality, I’m all for equality. I think Ireland sent a very strong signal out in terms of that we’re a progressive nation, and we’re inclusive, we respect all. So I voted, yes.”
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin paid tribute to Billy Kelleher, saying the contest had “energised the party”.
He said there was “a very good vibe in the room this morning, [a] very good spirit.”
As to whether the vote between the two candidates could be interpreted as a “referendum” on his leadership of the party, he said “there was a referendum on Micheál Martin’s leadership – it was less than a year ago. It was called the general election, and I think the people gave their answer. We’re a democracy.”
Before Tuesday morning’s vote, Mr Gavin had the declared support of more than 30 members of the parliamentary party, including the Taoiseach and all senior Cabinet Ministers.
Mr Kelleher had just five party colleagues who had publicly declared support for him – MEP Barry Andrews, TDs Pádraig O’Sullivan, James O’Connor, Peter Cleere and Senator Paul Daly.
Mr Gavin is best known for his involvement with the GAA. He was part of the Dublin team that won the Sam Maguire by defeating Tyrone in 1995. He had a hugely successful stint as Dublin football boss with the team winning six All-Ireland titles during his tenure.
Raised in Clondalkin, his parents were from West Clare. He had a career in the Defence Forces, joining the Air Corps as a cadet officer. He had trained as a pilot, rising quickly through the ranks to become chief flying instructor and chief of military aviation in the Air Corps. He also served in overseas military operations, most notably in Chad.
A trained commercial jet pilot, he has spent his post-Defence Forces career on the public service side, as a senior aviation regulator. He is currently chief operations officer of the Irish Aviation Authority where he has overall operational responsibility for air safety in Ireland.
In 2022, he chaired a Citizens’ Assembly examining the case for a directly elected mayor for Dublin. He has also chaired, since 2023, a taskforce seeking to improve services, facilities and the quality of life in Dublin’s northeast inner city.
MEP Billy Kelleher leaves the Dáil after losing the Fianna Fáil vote to decide the party’s presidential candidate. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/The Irish Times
Mr Kelleher, arriving for the vote, said he had been engaging with party colleagues, “highlighting my credentials, how I feel the presidency should go in terms of the values our party promotes across the country, the type of campaign we would be running”.
He also said he would seek “to ensure that they understand the importance of the presidency not in terms of just the constitutional powers it has but more importantly the soft power the president has in terms of speaking for citizens, advocating for citizens and those on the margins is an important aspect of the presidency as well as obligations constitutionally and ceremonial as well.”
The mood within the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party in advance of the vote had been taut, with some TDs leaning into the suggestion the result would carry weight for Mr Martin and even influence the future leadership of the party.
Others were more positive about the potential fallout, scotching suggestions the vote signified a divide.