Race For President Goes Public

President Mary McAleese may have another 12 months left in Áras an Uachtaráin but already the race to succeed her is gathering pace.

Behind the scenes, several leading figures have been positioning themselves for a run at the job.

And now the first of those has gone public - children's rights campaigner and former Labour party adviser Fergus Finlay has written to all members of the party seeking to be nominated as its candidate.

Within hours, the other leading Labour figure earmarked for president - former Arts Minister Michael D Higgins - was forced to admit he too would be seeking the nomination whenever the selection process gets underway.

Both men have impressive pedigrees.

Finlay was a government adviser under former Labour leader Dick Spring, was heavily involved in Mary Robinson's election campaign in 1990 and has spent the last number of years as head of the children's charity, Barnados, leading a very high-profile campaign for children's rights.

Michael D Higgins is one of the best-loved and most colourful characters in Irish politics over the last three decades, and is widely acknowledged as one of the best Ministers for Arts and Culture that the country ever had.

Labour leader Eamonn Gilmore said he was pleased that there would be a contest within his party for the presidential nomination, but would not say which candidate he supported.

He said the presidential election was a year away, and his focus was on preparing for a general election which he believed could happen before that.

The selection process is not likely to begin in any party until next Spring.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has admitted that he "fancies" being President, but says he has not made any moves to secure a nomination.

Mr Ahern said it was a position he was interested in at some point in the future, but he was not looking for it straight away.

"I'm not even thinking about it," he told RTE Radio's John Murray Show this week, "We have a great President who has my loyal support.

He denies having discussed the prospect of getting the government's nomination saying: "I talked to nobody about it and I'm not likely to do so in the short term".

It's not clear if Mr Ahern would win widespread support in the current economic and political climate - the only Fianna Fail candidate viewed as a potential vote-winner would be the wheelchair-bound Munster MEP Brian Crowley, who has consistently topped polls in European elections.

Among the favourites with bookies are Senator David Norris, who would be the first openly gay president if elected and Mary Davis, who organised the Special Olympics in Ireland in 1993 and has said she'd consider running if asked.

She could be a serious contender if the public wants a third female president in a row called Mary - and could be a FG pick.

Enda Kenny is also believed to be considering Sean Kelly, a former GAA president who is now an MEP for Fine Gael, as a possible candidate.

Popular TV presenter Miriam O'Callaghan last month ruled out running for president on Twitter, after her named was mentioned in several media outlets as a possible choice.