The Race for the Áras (38 page)

28 October 2011. Seán Gallagher with his wife, Trish, speaking to the media at Dublin Castle after he conceded defeat to Michael D. Higgins. (©
Niall Carson/
PA
Wire
)

28 October 2011. Michael D. Higgins and his wife at the announcement of the first-preference votes at the count centre in Dublin Castle. (©
Julien Behal/
PA
Wire
)

28 October 2011. Michael D. Higgins gets a kiss from his wife on stage at Dublin Castle before being announced as the new President of Ireland. (©
Photocall Ireland
)

29 October 2011. Michael D. Higgins is congratulated by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, after being declared ninth President of Ireland. (©
Peter Morrison/
AP
/Press Association
)

 

 

This book is dedicated to Erin and Austin for giving me all their support and valuable time to write this account.

I wish to pay tribute to the media. They acted in the public interest by asking the questions the electorate needed to have answered from the people who wanted to personify Ireland and our national identity over the next seven years.

Equally, I want to pay tribute to every candidate who aspired to be our ninth President, and to their families, friends and supporters.

Regardless of their political ideology, each candidate and would-be candidate held a vision about how they could improve and represent our country. They deserve credit in a time of great scepticism about politics, and about actors in public life, for their idealism and commitment.

My thanks, also, to everyone associated with the presidential electoral process and with the campaigns who spoke to me, both on and off the record.

Finally, thanks to Fergal Tobin of Gill & Macmillan for recognising the merit of publishing this account of the most fractious, dirty, entertaining and unpredictable election in the history of the state.

Gill & Macmillan

Hume Avenue

Park West

Dublin 12

Ireland 

with associated companies throughout the world

www.gillmacmillan.ie

© Tom Reddy 2012

First published by Gill & Macmillan 2012

This ebook edition published by Gill & Macmillan 2012

978 07171 5343 5 (parent)

978 07171 5344 2 (epub)

978 07171 5345 9 (mobi)

Cover design by
www.grahamthew.com

Cover photos courtesy of Photocall Ireland

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission of the publishers.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

The website addresses referred to in this book were correct at the time of first publication.

 

 

The Author

Tom Reddy is a public relations consultant, former Cabinet Advisor, senior journalist with Independent Newspapers, screenwriter and author of the bestselling
Murder Will Out
and
The Murder File
.

 

 

About Gill & Macmillan

Gill & Macmillan's story begins in 1856 when Michael Henry Gill, then printer for Dublin University, purchased the publishing and bookselling business of James McGlashan, forming McGlashan & Gill. Some years later, in 1875, the company name was changed to M.H. Gill & Son. Gill & Macmillan as we know it today was established in 1968 as a result of an association with Macmillan of London. There was also a bookshop, popularly known as Gills, located on Dublin's O'Connell Street for 123 years until it eventually closed in 1979. Today our bookshop can be found online at
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