Jim might be royalty but is he the heir to the throne?

JIM GAVIN is standing for President. Until now the only thing he has ever stood for is the national anthem.

- GARRY DOYLE

By entering politics at such a late age, Gavin is one of two things - either the country's smartest man or its biggest ego.

Every single one of his opponents has a right to be angry as they have worked their way up through the political ranks, serving their time on county councils or in the Dail, seeking now to serve their country.

We know their policies because we have a record of them. But what is Gavin's ideology? What view does he have on Gaza? On our homeless crisis? Our national debt?

No one knows. In fact does anyone really know Jim Gavin?

For 12 years now, he has been in the public eye, firstly by becoming the most successful Gaelic football manager in Dublin's history, latterly by revolutionising the game's rules.

Throw in his job as senior officer in the Air Corps and he has proven to be a high flier in more ways than one.

That's all well and good. However, becoming head of state surely requires a longer political apprenticeship than a few short weeks on a campaign trail.

Ireland, remember, fought to become a Republic. The Presidential office is the highest in the land. The job itself may not amount to much more than feigning interest in boring people but that's not the point.