Enter the Dragon: the race hots up

PROFILE SEÁN GALLAGHER:THE DAY Seán Gallagher walked into Joe O'Shea's right fist was a lucky day for him. It was 2009, and Gallagher, against the advice of practically all his friends, had decided to participate in Charity Lords of the Ring, an RTÉ celebrity boxing tournament.

His first bout was against the Cork journalist. Out of nowhere, O’Shea produced a haymaker that flattened Gallagher. KO. Bout over. As Gallagher revived and painfully picked himself up from the canvas, you’d imagine there was no consolation to be had. But that would be to underestimate how luck – and its mirror quality, an incorrigible positive attitude – has been at the heart of Gallagher’s life.

Less than three years ago Seán Gallagher was an unknown to anybody outside construction. It was another reality TV show, Dragons' Den, that conferred instant recognition upon him. And although there is a quantum leap from mouthing "I'm out" to becoming Uachtarán na hÉireann, this week's Irish TimesIpsos/MRBI opinion poll shows that Gallagher may could make that transition.

To achieve that, Gallagher has had to show that he is more than a hard-chaw entrepreneur, that he has a greater reach among rural and urban communities, and among the poor, the middle classes and those who have been hurt by recession.

His 20 per cent showing in the poll reflects the fact that a sizeable chunk of people think Gallagher has that mix of immediately recognisable but hard-to-describe qualities they seek in a president. He has done that by being open and showing other dimensions of his life: his visual disability, his rural upbringing, his community work in the northeast and in inner-city Dublin, and his values. He is also innately likeable and polite: his friends all refer to his “niceness”. He has shown that he has political nous and is able to withstand criticism, and he emerged almost unscathed from Vincent Browne’s strafing of candidates during the TV3 debate.

At 49, Gallagher is the youngest candidate of the seven by almost a decade. He was born in Monaghan but grew up in the village of Ballyhaise in Co Cavan. Congenital cataracts left him blind from birth, but an operation at the age of three partially restored his sight. Aside from the suggestion of a squint, the impairment is hardly noticeable, although he memorises his set pieces.

Gallagher’s background is rural, revolving around agriculture and village life. He has jokingly referred to being suckled on country and western singers such as Margo, Philomena Begley and Big Tom.

Gallagher first expressed his interest in youth and community affairs in Co Cavan and then in Dublin, where he was involved with youth projects in Ballymun. Friends from that time talk about his unrelenting commitment to the job.

The barrister and political analyst Noel Whelan knew him well in those days and shared a house with him. In subsequent years he lost contact and was flabbergasted to discover Gallagher had become a millionaire entrepreneur. “I thought he would be teaching agriculture or running a community organisation or local enterprise board, or be the CEO of Foróige,” says Whelan.

Gallagher wrote the National Youth Council’s first policy paper on alcohol abuse, which has provided the template for subsequent policies. His interest in community and youth work continues today.

At the same time, Gallagher’s nascent interest in politics began to show. He was involved with Ógra Fianna Fáil and was a member of the party for years. In the late 1980s he was an adviser to Rory O’Hanlon, essentially organising the then minister for health’s constituency operation. In 2009, he briefly became a member of the party’s Ard Chomhairle, before stepping down. He has since severed his links with the party but is now regarded by rivals as the proxy Fianna Fáil candidate. He will take a lot of flak for that.

Gallagher’s stint with O’Hanlon also revealed a bit of political naivety. He was taken unawares when new taoiseach Albert Reynolds, sacked O’Hanlon, in 1991. Overnight he found himself out of a job and on the dole. A little of that naivety was evident in the early part of his Áras campaign as he wooed county councils. Since then he has gathered an experienced political team, including two former government advisers, Donal Geoghegan and Richard Moore.

By the end of the 1990s Gallagher was working with the Co Louth enterprise board. Always clean-living and focused, he acquired two black belts along the way, one in judo, the other in karate. Self-improvement has always been a focus for him, and he cites as two of his favourite books The Success Principles, by Jack Caulfield, and The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timoty Ferriss, both in the genre of "inspirational" self-help business books. His third choice, Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Alborn, is a more philosophical book about life and death, as related by a dying rabbi.

For a successful businessman, Gallagher is something of a new-ager and holistic-life enthusiast. A friend remembers him doing a lot of his work for the National Youth Council sitting on a bench in St Stephen’s Green, rather than in his office. In an interview last year, he said: “I think our real purpose in life is to live a good life, be the best that we can, do good, help as many people as we can along the way, and to seek out joy and happiness in everything we do.”

His big break came through the establishment of a company called Smarthomes. One night, about a decade ago, Gallagher and a close friend, Derek Roddy, a bookmaker, met socially. Both realised there was no company in Ireland providing ducts and cables that would allow integrated and remote access to alarms, electricity, technology and broadband in homes. Timing was everything. Smarthomes was launched just as construction went into overdrive. Both men made a fortune.

It all played into Gallagher's generally upbeat view of life. In 2006, he was a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards. A book featured a chapter on his success. By chance, he was asked to appear as a guest on RTÉ's Prime Timeafter another guest pulled out. Somebody from the production company for Dragons' Denread the book and saw him on Prime Time. Hence the invitation.

Gallagher is no longer involved with Smarthomes, which suffered once the recession kicked in. Last year, he led a campaign by subcontractors who hadn’t been paid by developers, his own company among those to have been left high and dry.

In recent years he has become a motivational speaker and mentor (free of charge) for youth and community groups around the country. He has also spent over €100,000 developing ideas he bought into on Dragons' Den.

"He has name-recognition but that's a double-edged sword," says Whelan. " Dragons' Dencan be a bit of a parody. He has had to establish likeability and persuade people he has the substance and the hard-wire personality to become president."

But back to Joe O’Shea’s right fist. the Corkman hit Gallagher so hard that he broke his hand and couldn’t continue. Gallagher was allowed back in. He met the professional boxer Jim Rock on the street, who told him to keep his gloves in front of his face at all times. The technique brought Gallagher to the final. His opponent, another journalist, Paul Martin, boxed himself out trying to breach Gallagher’s guard. The Cavan man was declared winner.

A lucky stroke. A positive attitude. A strong defence. All qualities Gallagher will need if he wants to become president.

Curriculum vitae

NameSeán Gallagher

Age49

StatusMarried

Why he is in news? The Dragons' Denstar is second favourite to win the presidential election

Most likely to say"Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative"

Least likely to say"My greatest moment was when I bought my first Ferrari and a helicopter"