Mr Derek Nally could become the fifth candidate in the presidential race today, following votes on his nomination by eight county councils. The former garda needs the support of four councils including Clare, which approved his nomination last Friday. With the main parties expected to abstain in most of today's votes, the indications last night were that the support of Independents would be sufficient to secure the nominations he needs.
As few as two Independents could be enough in his adopted home county of Wexford, where Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour account for all but three of the council members able to attend today. Non-party councillors will propose and second Mr Nally, while the third Independent is expected to abstain.
On the other hand, some party support will be necessary if he is to secure the Carlow nomination. There are no Independents on Carlow County Council, but Fianna Fail councillors are understood to be willing to support him if the whip is not imposed.
One party councillor told The Irish Times yesterday he would consider backing him in defiance of the whip. Mr Nally, whose business is in Wexford but who lives just across the border in Carlow, is considered a local candidate by both councils.
Mr Nally hopes to attend four of today's council meetings. He drove to Cork last night, where the first of the meetings is scheduled for 11.30 a.m. From there he will travel by helicopter to Wexford (2 p.m.), Dublin South (4.30 p.m.) and Louth (7 p.m.) The hire of the helicopter was paid for by a Wexford businessman. The councils meeting also include Meath, Kildare and Kilkenny. Speaking on his way to Cork last night, Mr Nally said he was "quietly confident" of securing enough nominations. "The vote in Clare had set a precedent for the larger parties not to oppose me, and I'm hoping for small but legal votes in my favour from today's meetings."
The founder and president of Victim Support, Mr Nally decided to seek a nomination when friends approached him after his name appeared in a list of potential candidates in the Evening Herald. Although he has set up an office in Naas, Mr Nally has made no arrangements for an election campaign. If he gets the required support today, he will start building his organisation tomorrow.
