Support is gathering pace within Fianna Fáil to put Bertie Ahern forward as its candidate for the presidential election.
At least a dozen TDs and senators said they would back the former taoiseach if he chooses to stand.
Mr Ahern has left open the possibility of contesting the election, and with about two months to go, is still not ruling himself out of the race.
His candidacy would be strongly opposed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who will make the ultimate call.
But a number of TDs said that if there is a vacuum left, with no candidate forthcoming and no clear plan, they would seek to have the former taoiseach nominated.
This would cause a headache for Mr Martin, who sought to expel Mr Ahern from Fianna Fáil in 2012 in the wake of the Mahon Tribunal.
However, while TDs have said that his candidacy would be divisive, there has not been a huge swell of support for any of the names being suggested for the party so far.
Others said they would begin looking for someone to give their nomination to if they do not get a clear signal from the party leader of what he plans to do.
Some have also discussed the possibility of nominating the former Aer Arann owner Pádraig Ó Céidigh.
The fluent Irish speaker was appointed to the Seanad as an Independent in 2016, something that was facilitated by Mr Martin as part of the confidence-and-supply deal with Fine Gael.
The Galway businessman is understood to have had conversations with some members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party – although he would need the backing of 20 of them to put his name on the ballot paper as an Independent.
Meanwhile, it is understood that another candidate being considered by Fianna Fáil is Síofra O’Leary, who was the first woman elected as president of the European Court of Human Rights.
However, a candidate chosen by the leadership from outside the party fold could be met with opposition from the parliamentary party.
As members of the parliamentary party await an indication from the leader about his plans – something they expect in the next two weeks – there is said to be a “groundswell of support” from the grassroots for Mr Ahern to be considered.
“I would one 100pc support him. He is a man of the people, he had all those links with the trade union movement and people respect him for his work in the peace process,” one TD said.
Another added: “I would back him, I would nominate him and I would knock on doors for him.”
One TD believes Mr Ahern would certainly have the backing of at least 20 members of the parliamentary party.
“There are just two options that many of us will accept. Either he [Mr Martin] comes out and says he is running himself, or he backs Bertie,” one TD said.
“He either stands, or he stands out of the way. And if he stands out of the way, there is no questioning who the parliamentary party would go for.”
But others dismissed this as “romanticising” the Ahern era of Fianna Fáil, when the economy was booming and the party won three elections in a row.
Credit to : Irish Independent