Fianna Fáil's former presidential candidate Jim Gavin (right) with Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the launch of Gavin's campaign on September 29th. Photograph: Dan Dennison/The Irish Times
Jim Gavin’s shock withdrawal from the presidential election on Sunday night will have two immediate effects.
First, it completely recasts the contest as a two-horse race between left-wing independent Catherine Connolly and the Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys.
The presumed shape of the race – that Humphreys and Gavin would compete with one another and then transfer to the highest-placed candidate – has been upended. It is hard to think of a greater shock in any presidential election.
An opinion poll in the Sunday Independent on Sunday showed Connolly with a cle
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