Never have so many Gays competed for the same job in Ireland.

But first you must know that Gay is an abbreviation of Gabriel and long before gay became the in-term to describe gays, Irish men called Gabriel often had their names shortened to gay.

So, if you were still with me, here is an idiot's guide.

Gay Mitchelll, the candidate of the ruling Fine Gay(le) party -just kidding Fine Gael --. Not favorable to gays in general and seen as a right wing Catholic candidate.

Gay Byrne (1) Former national television host of the incredibly popular' Late Late Show' which broke the mould in Irish politics.

He is now 77 but still a powerful force in Irish life and is considering running for president.

Gay Byrne (2) that would be actor Gabriel Byrne, who the Sunday Independent newspaper has urged to run. He is better known as Gabriel however and has given no indication of interest.

David Norris,(pictured), whose name is not Gay but is gay if you follow what I mean. He has been forced to withdraw after revelations he wrote letter in support of a sex offender in Israel.

The word gay for gays has actually been around a long time, the 1635 Oxford Dictionary has a reference to it and the term 'Gay Blade' was used widely in the 19th century.

Will Ireland end up with a gay president one way or another? Who can tell?

After all Britain have a senior opposition leader called Ed Balls so who knows.

Luckily his first name wasn't Gabriel.

Listen to Niall O’Dowd on Ireland’s Newstalk 106 on In Discussion with Eamon Dunphy here (31st July and 7th August)