Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on October 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
The Irish presidential election sees Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys as main contenders after Jim Gavin's withdrawal over past controversies.
DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ireland's presidential election will be contested by a former minister and a left-wing lawmaker after a third candidate, a former Gaelic football coach, pulled out of the contest following questions about his time as a landlord almost 20 years ago.
The withdrawal by Jim Gavin on Sunday, the candidate for Fianna Fail, one of Ireland's two governing parties, means the contest for the largely ceremonial role will now be a straight shootout between independent lawmaker Catherine Connolly and ex-minister Heather Humphreys.
The Irish Independent newspaper reported a claim by a former tenant that Gavin had failed to return a rent overpayment of more than 3,000 euros ($3,500) that was the result of a banking error.
In a statement, Gavin said that recent days had given him "cause to reflect".
"I made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself. I am now taking steps to address the matter," he said.
Connolly, one of the leading pro-Palestinian voices in parliament, has built up a coalition representing most of the opposition, including the largest member Sinn Fein, which opted not to put forward a candidate of its own.
Fine Gael, Ireland's other ruling party, is backing Humphreys, a former social affairs minister.
A poll for the Sunday Independent newspaper published on Sunday morning put Connolly at 32%, Humphreys at 23%, and Gavin at 15%.
($1 = 0.8539 euros)
(Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
A landlord is an individual or entity that owns a property and rents it out to tenants. The landlord is responsible for maintaining the property and ensuring it is habitable.
A tenant is a person who rents or leases a property from a landlord. Tenants have rights and responsibilities outlined in a lease agreement, including paying rent and maintaining the property.
A banking error refers to a mistake made by a bank in processing transactions, which can result in incorrect account balances or unauthorized transactions. These errors can often be rectified through customer service.
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