IT LOOKS as though we may have a non-political nominee in the Áras for the next few years – at least if the polls are anything to go by.
And wouldn’t that be a good thing?
It may be a cliché, but it would appear that Sean Gallagher has his destiny in his own hands.
The race to the Áras is his to lose, as it appears he has the wind behind his back and with every new poll taken his percentage gain extends further and further.
There will be a few rocky moments along the way.
The media will now trawl through his past to try to come up with some juicy pieces of information about him, not to try to undo his campaign but simply to let the general public know what kind of a man he is.
The kernel of Mr Gallagher’s campaign is to create an environment of change to create much-needed jobs in this country. If you are to listen to some commentators, and even some of the candidates, there will be very little opportunity for him to do that if and when he is elected.
That would be true if we were to revert back to the type of president we had in office prior to Mary Robinson.
Not that they were not fine gentlemen, which I am sure they were, but let’s be honest: they were more in tune with ceremonial events than what was taking place in day-to-day life.
Mary Robinson, who should never have been elected if Fianna Fáil were on top of their game, changed all that. She started out as a rank outsider but because of a fumbled campaign, snide remarks about her hairdo, people having a poor memory of certain events and so on, she stole a march on everyone and got elected.
In truth, that was when the presidency started to have some meaning for the people of Ireland.
She swept away the cobwebs and brought about a whole new energy to the office.
She then went on to create a role for herself on the world stage and to this day continues to challenge world leaders and look for justice for all.
The current president had to endure a dirty campaign and everyone said she couldn’t hope to do as good a job as her predecessor.
But, if anything, she has outdone Mary Robinson. Hers was a different presidency, but equally effective.
There is a warmth about President McAleese that instantly makes her one of our own.
She has gone to funerals and hugged victims as if they were family members; she has sat with world leaders and given them a warm Irish welcome, the same as we would a distant relative returning to their ancestral home.
Both she and her husband have also played a vital role in bringing about a better understanding between ourselves and our Northern neighbours. Now, I believe, it is time for another change.
This time a person who has not been put forward by any of our political parties.
An independent. It doesn’t matter that he has been a member of the National Executive of Fianna Fáil. Remember, even though many of us believe our current economic woes are the fault of Fianna Fáil, not every member of that party is responsible for the debacle of the property boom or the banking crisis.
It was great to see a woman in the Áras and what could be achieved by a fresh approach to the office. Now is the time for yet another examination of the role.
I have met Sean Gallagher on two occasions in the past two years – long before he announced his intention to run for president.
Maybe he was already planning his campaign at that time but, if so, he kept it to himself.
When I met him, he was all talk about forgetting negativity, getting people back to work, trying to help the small suppliers who had been left broke and sometimes destitute as a result of the collapse of large contracting firms.
He has changed a few words in his script but basically Mr Gallagher is still speaking off the same notes.
Ireland has to beat the message out there that it is open for business; there is an air of optimism about the country and we have a young and able workforce willing to take on new challenges.
Unlike some of the other candidates, he has lived in the real economic world for the past few years, made some money and probably lost a lot too.
He knows what it is like to feel the pinch and wasn’t afraid to go about solving a few problems. Wouldn’t it be good to have someone like that in the Aras for a change?