Mayo man Fergus Burns ponders on an amusing scenario should former Gaelic football manager Jim Gavin secure the presidency next month.
“I wonder would he have any influence on the teams in the parade for the All-Ireland football final when he goes out to shake their hands,” the 66-year-old says, laughing, of the former GAA man now running for Fianna Fáil in the October 24th presidential election.
“He could possibly be undermining the two managers of the teams that are competing, telling the players ‘this is what I would do’ and ‘you should be doing this or that’.”
The Irish Times has travelled to Mayo to see how a presidential hopeful is going down in a county where his sporting record may not be fully appreciated – and how voters are swinging in the county generally.
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The Fianna Fáil candidate led Dublin to six All-Ireland football championships, beating Mayo in three of those finals, so it’s understandable if Gavin’s candidacy isn’t going down well here.
Burns is standing in the Mall Park, a focal point in the centre of Castlebar town, less than a kilometre away from the county’s own GAA grounds, MacHale Park, on a sunny September morning.
While he is likely to vote for the left-wing candidate Catherine Connolly, he says there is “a lot of grá for Gavin up here because of the GAA”.
“We wouldn’t hold that against Gavin, a lot of the pain was self-inflicted,” says Burns of his home county’s record against Gavin and the Dubs. “Wasn’t it in the 2016 final two of Dublin’s goals were own goals from Mayo?”
The retired Revenue worker adds he “can’t understand” why Gavin (54), a former Irish Defence Forces officer and chief operations officer of the Irish Aviation Authority, has decided to run.
“As for Heather [Humphreys], the minister for the Gaeltacht from 2014 to 2017 who never learned Irish. Now she’s saying she’ll learn Irish. I’m not líofa as Gaeilge, but why when you were minister did you not make it an aim to learn it in three years? Connolly seems honest enough.”
Connolly (68), an Independent TD for Galway West and barrister and clinical psychologist, proves popular among others in the town.
John Doherty (64), from Claremorris, says he will be voting for her as she’s “not part of the main parties”.
“I don’t like Fianna Fáil and I don’t like Fine Gael,” he says.
“It’s a shame Maria Steen didn’t get a chance,” he adds, of the conservative campaigner’s failed attempt to get on the presidential ballot. “She should have had the option to run, even though I don’t think I would have voted for her.”
Many of the people The Irish Times spoke to in Castlebar said they were more focused on the person rather than the party in the presidential election.
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“The thing about the president is you don’t know much about them,” says Doherty.
“I knew nothing about Mary McAleese and she was a great president. It was the same with Mary Robinson. I think we should definitely have a woman president, they seem to do much better than the men.”
Doherty’s daughter Ann-Marie (38) describes the three candidates on the ballot – Gavin, Connolly and Humphreys – as “a poor selection”.
“Out of the three, I don’t really like any of them but I probably will go for Jim Gavin,” she says. “I certainly wouldn’t go for the other two candidates. He seems to be the least worst.”
She takes issue with Connolly’s comments on the Palestinian militant group Hamas when the candidate said the group was “part of the fabric of Palestinian life” and criticised British prime minister Keir Starmer’s assertion that it could not be part of the government of a future Palestinian state.
“I thought Connolly’s views on Palestine really let her down, she shot herself in the foot with that, for sure. As the president of Ireland, you can’t really come out with those kind of statements,” says Ann-Marie, who would like a candidate who focuses on equality and women’s rights issues with less conservative views.
John Gordon (81), originally from Mallow, Co Cork, has voted for a mix of parties – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour – over recent years. This time around he plans to spoil his vote after Steen failed to secure a nomination from Oireachtas members.
“I’m going to write Maria Steen Number 1 on the ballot,” the retired civil servant says.
“I was going to vote Jim Gavin 1 and give Maria 2. I’ve been voting for 60 years and I’ve never spoiled a vote but I’m going to do it this time.”
Gordon felt Steen being blocked from securing the nomination was the two main political parties “dictating what to do”.
“It annoyed me that she didn’t get the nomination, she was very unlucky. I’m very definite once I make up my mind,” he says.
Mike Danagher (53), a healthcare assistant originally from Co Clare and living in Mayo for 20 years, shares a similar sentiment.
“It’s very controlled in relation to the parties telling their TDs and county councillors they can’t vote for anyone,” he says.
“I think it’s a disgrace. The reputation of the presidential election has been torn to shreds by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and it’s a disgrace Maria Steen wasn’t allowed to be on the ballot paper. I think she would have been an ideal candidate.”
Danagher says he will be voting for Connolly but would have given Steen his second preference had her name been on the ballot paper.
“I think Connolly is a great woman and a leader in all quarters – LGBT rights and ordinary people on the street, her knowledge of the European Union,” he adds.
“I think she would be a great asset to the people of Ireland going forward. I think Catherine Connolly has all the attributes to be our next president.”
Noel Moran (61), from Castlebar, describes the current candidate selection as “the worst ever” and says he would have liked Adi Roche, the founder of Chernobyl Children International, to run again. Roche was unsuccessful for the Labour Party in the 1997 presidential election.
“We have three candidates and none of them are an ambassador for Ireland or would be fit to go out and shake hands to represent our country,” says Moran.
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He says he has voted in every election since 1981 but is so disappointed with the candidates on offer this time around he doesn’t know whether he will vote on October 24th.
“I would have liked to have seen five or six candidates, give people a choice. What we have is absolutely shocking,” he says.
“I mean no disrespect to anybody running but I don’t think they fit the bill. The next thing we’ll have is Dustin the Turkey.”
Triona Brennan (50), a local phlebotomist, says she will probably vote for Gavin but adds, joking: “Don’t tell anyone in this town I said that.
“He seems more connected with the people, possibly, through his public service,” she says.
“He’s a good age and might have a better understanding of younger people coming behind us and the challenges they face.
“The choice is very slim. In terms of the presidency, I think they need to focus on more opportunities for the younger cohort, we have to look after them a bit better so we can keep them.”
One of the few people who say they will vote for Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys is Bernard, aged in his 70s. He describes the Cavan-Monaghan TD and former minister as “a genuine lady who did well in government”.
Bernard says he would typically vote for Fianna Fáil but doesn’t like how the party handled its selection process.
“I would have considered voting for Billy Kelleher as he served the party well,” he says. “Jim Gavin was brought in from the outside and you shouldn’t be bringing in these celebrities.
“I’ve nothing against Jim, he was a great footballer but, as someone said, ‘He inflicted enough pain on Mayo.’”
