Eamon Gilmore is seen to have successfully straddled the Labour Party's old and new, writes Miriam Donohoe
Eamon Gilmore has emerged as the firm early favourite to win the Labour Party leadership after becoming the first TD to formally declare his candidacy for the post.
A formidable, polished politician who is widely regarded as a consummate Dáil performer, the 52-year-old has many similarities to former leader Pat Rabbitte, coming from the Democratic Left wing of the party.
Like Rabbitte, he served his time in student union politics, and worked in the trade union movement until his election to the Dáil.
Born in Caltra, Co Galway, he was educated at Garbally College in Ballinasloe and University College Galway. A student radical, he was president of UCG students' union from 1974 to 1975, and served as president of the Union of Students in Ireland from 1976 to 1978.
Elected to Dublin County Council in 1985, Gilmore worked as a trade union official until he won a Dáil seat for the Workers' Party in 1989.
He joined Democratic Left in 1992, and became a member of the Labour Party when the two parties merged.
Between 1994 and 1997 Gilmore served as minister of state at the department of the marine and is currently the Labour Party spokesman for the environment and local government.
He has been a consistent election performer but saw his vote slip in the May election, securing 7,127 or 12.1 per cent, of the vote compared with 8,271 or 15.4 per cent, of the vote in 2002.
Married to Carol Hanney with three children, Gilmore contested the leadership in 2002, and was proposed on that occasion by former TD Joe Sherlock and Michael D Higgins. He came third behind Brendan Howlin and Rabbitte.
Gilmore is regarded as having an enormous appetite for hard work and is noted for his organisational skills. He was chairman of the Labour Policy Committee in the lead-up to the recent general election.
Intelligent and smart, he is well able to express himself, and despite his Democratic Left past he appeals across the board to the Labour Party and is seen to have successfully straddled the old and the new in Labour.
However, while he fares well in Dún Laoghaire, one of the most volatile constituencies in the State, he is seen very much as an urban vote-catcher despite his west of Ireland roots. It is not clear how he will appeal to rural Labour voters who comprise a substantial portion of the 4,000-strong electorate who will be voting in the leadership contest.
The fact he is so closely aligned to Rabbitte, and is seen to be cut from the same cloth as the former leader, may go against him in the contest if members are seeking major change.