When Sean Gallagher,49, began running for president of Ireland he was a 40/1 outsider.
Next week he will likely be odds-on favorite to become Ireland's ninth president. It is an extraordinary turnaround, one of the greatest in Irish political history. Gallagher has come from nowhere to lead by 12 points in the latest opinion poll.
To hear him tell it, however, he always believed that it could happen, though he knows he is still not past the finish line.
Though he was well known for his role on Dragon's Den, a reality TV series, and as a successful entrepreneur, he had never run for political office.
Born severely sight impaired and still with restricted vision, he faced long odds from the start.
But in the presidential race he has simply outworked all his opponents, some of them household names. He proved his mettle by visiting almost every county in Ireland in order to get on the campaign ballot paper.
He spent months traversing the highways and byways of Ireland and came back deeply informed on what the Irish people wanted in their next president.
They wanted the role of president to be relevant again, one that “dealt with half a million people unemployed and emigration taking the lifeblood of many communities --- they wanted someone to deal with those types of issues,” Gallagher told irishcentral.com from Dublin.
He was talking the language of the Irish people. While the other contenders endlessly debated the esoteric meaning of the presidency, he acted on his gut instinct that the people wanted straight talk, not philosophy, and to see a president who cared about the issues today.
Gallagher’s background of overcoming hurdles augurs well for him in his race for the presidency.
Originally from Cavan, near the border, he became a youth and community worker and says his formative experience on emigration came at an early age.
That was when his successful minor football team in the early1980s disappeared overnight as an economic crisis hit and half the team emigrated to America.
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He understood then the loneliness of emigration, not just for those who left but the many families left devastated.
If elected president Gallagher promises to make emigrant issues a key priority.
“I know there are thousands who left not of their own accord. I want to build and rebuild links with them to make them feel they're still a part of us still a part of our people,” Gallagher said.
“If I am elected I will do everything in my power to make sure that we shine the light on them and offer them support
“Nobody should feel they are not still part of the greater Irish country.”
Gallagher is critical of those who made an issue of presidential candidate Dana holding an American passport.
“Somebody is no less Irish if they have come to America and became citizens but still feel in their heart they are Irish,” he says.
Gallagher also believes that members of the diaspora who are less than five years or so away should have a vote in presidential elections.
If elected Gallagher says he will soon be on the plane to America. He points to the 600 companies in Ireland from America and the 100,000 jobs they have created.
Gallagher wants to be a jobs ambassador. “Nothing will be beneath me in terms of seeking to bring jobs to our people,” he says.
The U.S. is a country he is very familiar with. His successful company smarthomes.ie was first created during a conversation in an Irish bar in Chicago and is based on an American prototype.
Gallagher has led trade missions to the U.S. and is very familiar with how the country works and thinks.
In his travels here he has marveled at the work ethic and commitment locals have and the American vision of a rising tide raising all boats.
He wants to be the Irish president to bring back a sense of optimism and dynamism to Ireland.
Given the setbacks he overcame and his amazing race for the presidency so far who could doubt him?
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.jimmy12003 | Oct 21, 2011, 07:33 PM EDT
for being involved in fianna fail, he should be tied up along with the don bertie ahern and bang! bang! the lying cu-nt!
joan1954 | Oct 19, 2011, 05:49 PM EDT
If he does win and makes good on what he wants to do then he might be good. He needs to make peace with the diaspora and especially those of us who live in Texas and else where in the southwest. Everything is alwasy Boston and New York with Chicago and California thrown in for good measure.
petedev | Oct 19, 2011, 04:15 PM EDT
surprised at you Niall being taken in by this chancer!! he has all the talk and bluff of Fianna Fail and the self promoting "entrepreneur" claptrap. How many real jobs did he ever create? what trade missions did he lead? funny we never heard of him till now. An upstart celebrity from "reality" tv is not going to instil confidence neither at home nor abroad. Do we take it Niall that you have shifted support from the "messiah" McGuinness to this bluffer??
olivewoody | Oct 19, 2011, 02:04 PM EDT
Why are there only 5 of the 7 candidates featured in your poll?
RedBranch | Oct 19, 2011, 01:20 PM EDT
You go Ernesider, Lots of Cavan jokes out there that stretch back to Swift. My personal favourite from Niall Tobin as follows: Galway council put out for tenders on building a public convenience. Dublin contractor quotes 90K, breakdown: 30 for materials, 30 for labour & 30 profit (only fair loike). Cavan contractor quotes 180K breakdown 60K for me (the contractor) 60K labour 60K materials. Cork contractor quotes 290K breakdown: 100k for you (selecting panel) 100K for me and we'll give the job to guy from Dublin. And some people think that a joke...
Ernesider | Oct 19, 2011, 12:29 PM EDT
I had to go back and check on the journalist's name who wrote this piece. It's makes Mr. Gallagher seem like the very man for the job. Lovely article but Christ it would be a disgrace to put this Cavan man in that position. He may not have lied about his membership of Fianna Fail and the fact he only resigned from that party recently. No electing Sean would be a few steps backward and it's forward we need to go.
cillowen | Oct 19, 2011, 10:29 AM EDT
Apparently has a sight problem like his party's founder DeValera who was England's Greatest Spy. He is also amienable to having the Irish National Anthem "The Soldier's Song" changed to god's knows what. Doing so would make the split country more comical than it appears to the world's people. This cat surely can't believe in the people who crave him.
oTuachair | Oct 19, 2011, 10:02 AM EDT
As an American of Irish ancestry, I have always been made to feel welcome by the Irish. The bond of the diaspora to Ireland is something that if properly encouraged will continue to add tourist dollars to a struggling Irish economy. I hope Ireland's next President sees the value in that...
redfox1951 | Oct 19, 2011, 09:48 AM EDT
Sean Gallagher was/is a member of Fainna Fail.he took part in the Celtic Tiger,he was on the FF national executive,this party with the developers,bankers and others bankrupted Ireland and handed our soverign power to the IMF.How could anyone in Ireland vote for this man after his party devasted this country and as for his jump in the polls this week its because FF have told their supporters to back him from here on in.
LoyalCitizen | Oct 19, 2011, 08:21 AM EDT
Maybe he should read the Irish Constitution and figure out why it was falsified to introduce opinions in 1996, which means he has not be elected on a valid basis. An invalid President probably does not mean anything.