Irish Presidential Update - Close of Nominations

Well, things have really heated up since my last update. And now they're cooling down again. Sorry for the anti-climax. Fair warning, this post will go on for a while, so if you want to get to the betting stuff, skip to the end. Since we last left off, we now have three confirmed candidates

-Catherine Connolly, the independent socialist candidate from Galway launched her campaign in July with the backing of all the main left wing Irish political parties. Her nomination was initially supported by the Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity and the Labour Party but over time, she gained the support of the Green Party, Right to Change, Workers and Unemployed (!) Party, Independents 4 Change, 100% Redress (a single issue party in Donegal) and crucially, Sinn Féin, the biggest left wing party in Ireland and who have also never been in government.

-After Mairéad McGuinness of Fine Gael withdrew on health ground, Fine Gael fast tracked their ...