Overview

• Billy Kelleher told Fianna Fáil TDs, senators and MEPs he will seek the party’s nomination and is canvassing colleagues to present his vision for the presidency.
• Deputy leader Jack Chambers and minister James Lawless publicly endorsed former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin, who is understood to be considering a run for the party ticket.
• Fianna Fáil is expected to open its internal nomination process at a parliamentary party meeting next week, with a decision likely by mid‑September, according to RTÉ reporting.
• Independent TD Catherine Connolly remains the only candidate to have secured the nominations required for the ballot, with support from Labour, the Social Democrats, and PBP–Solidarity.
• Sinn Féin will decide on 20 September whether to field a candidate, while Fine Gael’s choice is being contested by Heather Humphreys and Seán Kelly after Mairead McGuinness withdrew; the presidential election is expected in the second half of October and requires 20 Oireachtas nominations or four councils for ballot access.