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
Irish presidential election Irish presidential election The Irish presidential election determines who serves as the President of Ireland, the head of state of Ireland. The last election took place on 27 October 2018. Where only one candidate is nominated, that candidate is declared elected without a ballot; this has occurred on six occasions. Presidential elections are conducted in line with Article 12 of the Constitution and under the Presidential Elections Act 1993, as amended. The President of Ireland is formally elected by the citizens of Ireland once in every seven years, except in the event of premature vacancy, when an election must be