2011 Irish presidential election "foisted on him and he had not known anything about it and what it would involve". This followed unease among Fianna Fáil parliamentary party Oireachtas members, with a number unhappy that a candidate was being imposed by the leadership without discussion. On 16 August 2011, the "Irish Examiner" reported that Micheál Martin had moved to pull the party out of the presidential race over the fallout from the approach to Gay Byrne, the cost involved and the slim chance of a candidate being elected. On 24 August, however, the party's deputy leader Éamon Ó Cuív told Raidió na Gaeltachta that
2018 Irish presidential election and "a serious blow" for which party leader Mary Lou McDonald would have to take "full responsibility". Fitzgerald also noted that the combined total of the three former "Dragons Den" judges (Casey, Gallagher, and Duffy) was very similar to Gallagher's vote in 2011, suggesting that vote had held up, but that Casey had taken most of it this time. 2018 Irish presidential election The Irish presidential election of 2018 took place on Friday, 26 October, between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. President Michael D. Higgins, who was elected in 2011, was seeking re-election. This was the first time since the