OPINION: We don't need Jim Gavin or a politician - this star is perfect for President

I heard someone in a radio interview recently discussing what it takes to be President of Ireland, an age-old question that's very hard to answer given the nature of the role in this country. In the context of the outgoing Michael D Higgins, the contributor said he embodied the essence of Ireland. It was a very interesting insight, and it got me thinking - do Jim Gavin or Heather Humphreys represent the essence of Ireland?

The role of President in Ireland is somewhat different to traditional presidents we see in other countries where they possess and wield considerable political power. Donald Trump is probably the most grotesque version of that today, but the President of Ireland is more like a Rose of Tralee; an ambassador for Ireland who speaks on our behalf, representing our culture and people at home and abroad. 

That makes the role quite unique and while I'm not proposing Daithi O Sé run the eventual candidates through their paces on a pageant-style TV show, although that and a talent section would be quality television, it does throw up some interesting names. Do we really need a retired politician in the Áras?

Michael D Higgins has a special place in the hearts of Irish people as almost a mythical grandfatherly figure whose likeness has been turned into ornaments and tea cosies. He's become part of the public consciousness in a way no other Irish President has. He is simply referred to informally as 'Michael D' by many, and despite some quite controversial statements on world affairs that may not have gone down to well with his peers in Leinster House, he's been an inoffensive and beloved President. He is a poet, a purveyor and proponent of the arts; it's as the description goes - the essence of Ireland.

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Non-political Presidents, however, are not new around the world. We've mentioned him already, but Donald Trump was a reality TV star and celebrity businessman before turning his MAGA movement into two terms in the White House. His counterpart in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, now a war-time President, was a satirical TV star before he was a politician. Maybe they represent the essence of their countries, though I'm not quite sure what that says about the moral fortitude of America.

When I thought about that phrase - the essence of Ireland - and started a rollcall in my head, one name jumped out - Brendan Gleeson. Surveying the likely line-up of candidates for election day on October 24, I would vote for the Hollywood star above all of them for a number of reasons. Gleeson's name hasn't been mentioned, the bookies aren't offering odds on him. But he's already a fine ambassador for Ireland worldwide, an Irish speaker, musician, and has been outspoken enough on the right issues to make him incredibly relatable to Irish voters.

Gleeson is now 70 years of age, the same age Michael D was when he first moved into the Áras in 2011. He's obviously best known as a Hollywood movie star who has featured in the likes of Harry Potter, The General, The Banshees of Inisherin and many others. Beyond that, he's been involved in fundraising efforts for various charities like the St Francis Hospice over the years, and in 2006, he endeared himself to the Irish people with a raw display of emotion on the Late Late Show.

He branded the health system in Ireland as "disgusting" and hit out at the former Minister for Health, now Taoiseach Michéal Martin, whose name was on a plague at the oncology unit in which his mother-in-law was dying in appalling conditions.

He told host Pat Kenny: "There were people on chairs, grieving people, people who were trying to fight for life and cling onto hope beside people who were dead, and this moron's name is on a plague - 'Oncology suite opened by Michéal Martin,' when he screwed the place from the time he went into it to the time he left, what the bloody hell is going on?"

Brendan Gleeson's healthcare rant on the Late Late is nearly 17 years old, has anything changed? (17th March 2006)
byu/lifeandtimes89 inireland

Speaking earlier this year, Brendan Gleeson said he did not regret his outburst, although he did say Michéal Martin took some "quite brave" political stances in the 19 years since. He also said he doesn't necessarily believe all the issues he was referring to at the time have been fixed, but that outrage doesn't seem to be the way to solve it.

"I was raging with him because they were running coffins down the bottom of my mother-in-law's bed as she was dying. The systems were catastrophic...it was the way I really felt at the time, I had experience and it needed to be drawn attention to." In my view, he was right then and he's right now. Now that said, it probably ruled out Fianna Fail coming knocking at his door to run for President. I wonder if Mary Lou has his phone number...

I remember watching that 2006 interview as a 15-year-old. I had very little knowledge of the health system or the Government but I admired his passion. It's something you don't see in politicians because they are all stage-managed and media trained to give a measured answer to everything; the art of saying nothing in as many words as possible. The Irish people are sick of that and failures in the likes of health and housing that have persisted in all those years since that 2006 interview.

In an interview with the Irish Independent this summer, Gleeson basically explained why he never went into politics, saying, "you need to know what you're doing."

"One of the reasons I don't go into politics is you need to know what you're doing. There are too many areas where I don't know what's going on. I knew that [at the time] was unacceptable...it was my younger self and I'm glad I did it." This attitude is the very thing that would make him a great President. I don't think a President needs to be party political or know every system and everything going on in departments like health. They need to represent the people and Brendan Gleeson could do that without becoming a politician per se. 

We're going into a campaign where candidates are going to be standing behind parapets giving very earnest and safe answers to very predictable questions. Most candidates will come from a political background, excluding Jim Gavin, but it's fair to say modern GAA figures have similarly learned the art of saying nothing in interviews. Maybe that is the essence of Ireland in 2025; who can say the least and keep their powder dry long enough to win.