[4][5] The seven candidates were Mary Davis, Seán Gallagher, Michael D. Higgins, Martin McGuinness, Gay Mitchell, David Norris and Dana Rosemary Scallon.

The previously dominant Fianna Fáil party declined to nominate a candidate following their disastrous general election campaign earlier that year.

[2] An order was made on 30 August by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government declaring 28 September to be the last day on which nominations could be received.

[20] Three others sought the nomination: In March 2011, Fine Gael had produced a shortlist of three candidates: John Bruton, Seán Kelly and Mairead McGuinness.

[30] Kelly, an MEP and former President of the Gaelic Athletic Association indicated on 1 June 2011 that he would not be seeking the party's nomination, and wished to continue serving in the European Parliament.

On 6 August Micheál Martin rang Byrne at his holiday home to indicate that Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members would facilitate his nomination.

[41] Byrne indicated that he had yet to make a decision on whether to put his name forward, but said that if he did so he would not run under the Fianna Fáil banner but as an independent, albeit with the assistance of the party's organisation.

[42][43] Éamon Ó Cuív, the party's deputy leader and member of the committee tasked with deciding on their strategy for the election stated that "I know of no approach to Gay Byrne... Nobody has discussed the issue with me — good, bad or indifferent.

[44] This followed unease among Fianna Fáil parliamentary party Oireachtas members, with a number unhappy that a candidate was being imposed by the leadership without discussion.

[45] On 16 August 2011, the Irish Examiner reported that Micheál Martin had moved to pull the party out of the presidential race over the fallout from the approach to Gay Byrne, the cost involved and the slim chance of a candidate being elected.

However, on 11 September the party's chief whip, Seán Ó Fearghail, made it clear that individual TDs and senators would not be permitted to sign the nomination papers of independent candidates.

The decision was seen as a severe blow to the attempts to secure a nomination by David Norris and Dana Rosemary Scallon who were expected to need signatures from individual Fianna Fáil members.

[59] There had been reports in July that artist Robert Ballagh was "seriously considering a run for the presidency", and had been in talks with Sinn Féin, the Socialist Party and People Before Profit Alliance.

[63][64][65] On 16 September it was revealed that the party would seek to have Martin McGuinness, deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, nominated to contest the election.

[125] At her formal campaign launch on 4 October, Independent Mary Davis accused Fine Gael of using polling companies to research attacks on her.

She also pledged she would ask the Government to bring the office of President under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act and that she would publish an annual expenditure report for the Áras.

[126] Mrs. Davis eventually accepted "collective responsibility" for mortgage lending decisions made after she was appointed to the board of the ICS building society.

[128][129][130][131] On 10 October, McGuinness was confronted in Athlone by the son of a member of the Irish Army killed by the IRA after Don Tidey's kidnap in Ballinamore in 1983.

[138] Sinn Féin has regularly called for voting rights in the presidential election to be extended to Irish citizens in Northern Ireland.

[148] Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell suffered heavily for his controversial views on suicide and on Ireland joining the Commonwealth.

Labour candidate Michael D. Higgins was pursued by his past links to the unpopular Fianna Fáil and his admission that he had smoked cannabis.

[152][153] The debate, lasting 90 minutes, took place on a Wednesday night, though Prime Time usually aired on a Tuesday and Thursday, and was announced a week in advance.

[154] Dana Rosemary Scallon read out a prepared statement towards the end of the debate, announcing that a "malicious" and "false" accusation has been made against her and her family in the United States and, while refusing to divulge any details, she said she would leave "no stone unturned" in her mission to track down the person or organisation responsible.

[161] O'Callaghan's RTÉ colleague Pat Kenny said he watched on "with shock and horror because I don't think I've ever seen a politician ever interviewed on radio before and more or less called a murderer.

[163] Gallagher's campaign suffered a severe setback on 24 October when, in the last televised debate before the election, he admitted collecting a €5,000 cheque from someone he described as a "convicted criminal and fuel smuggler", for a Fianna Fáil fundraiser event which gave access to the then Taoiseach, Brian Cowen after being questioned on the matter by Martin McGuinness.

Gallagher subsequently denied collecting a cheque from Morgan, but refused to answer questions on an illegal director's loan of €82,829, which had also been raised in the 24 October televised debate.

[203][204] Mitchell performed considerably worse than Fine Gael's 1990 candidate Austin Currie which was one of the party's most unsuccessful election campaigns.

[206] Higgins received a hero's welcome at a victory reception on 30 October at Eyre Square, Galway; approximately 5,000 people turned out to welcome him home.