2011 Irish presidential election party was unlikely to run a candidate both for financial reasons and also because it was unlikely that a Fianna Fáil nominee could be successful. In early August 2011 there was press speculation that RTÉ broadcaster Gay Byrne might seek a nomination. On 6 August Micheál Martin rang Byrne at his holiday home to indicate that Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members would facilitate his nomination. Byrne indicated that he had yet to make a decision on whether to put his name forward, but said that if he did so he would not run under the Fianna Fáil banner but as an
1974 Irish presidential election 1974 Irish presidential election The Irish presidential election of 1974 resulted from the sudden death in office of President Erskine H. Childers. Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh was elected unopposed as the fifth president of Ireland. Under Article 12 of the Constitution of Ireland, a candidate for president could be nominated by: Initially all parties privately agreed to nominate the late president's widow, Rita Childers. Before she was informed of the plan, however, a mix-up led to the collapse of the arrangement. A partially deaf Fine Gael Teachta Dála, identified in some reports as Tom O'Donnell, confirmed the secret arrangement upon mishearing