After the withdrawal of Senator David Norris there is no openly gay candidate in the Irish presidential election. But there might be two candidates by the name of Gay when voting day rolls around in October.
Famed Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne is the name on everyone's lips this week as the Irish presidential race heats up.
With the poll now set for October 27, Irish citizens could see the veteran Byrne - who hosted the celebrated Late Late Show for 37 years - have his name added to the ballot paper.
The confirmed candidate in the race named Gay is Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell.
Fianna Fáil public expenditure spokesman, Sean Fleming, told the media that Byrne would be "an excellent candidate" for the post, suggesting that the 77-year-old could attract enough of a cross-party selection of TDs and senators to be put forward for election.
"The two government parties have nominated their candidate but nobody has been nominated by the opposition parties and independents," Fleming said.
"If we joined with others to nominate him, we might not feel inclined to run against him. There is great goodwill towards Gay and I believe a majority of people would be very comfortable with him as president."
As for Byrne himself, although he has yet to commit to running, he has left the possibility open after he topped a radio poll, despite not being one of the four names put forward for it.
"My name wasn't even mentioned but the results of the poll showed I was favorite over the other four. I had 46 percent approval rating and the next nearest one was about 16 percent. I am flattered, it is a huge compliment," he said.
"If somebody can convince me that the mass of the Irish people are clamoring for Gay to be president, I would have to listen to the clamor."
However, Byrne also said the role of president entailed a "a huge disruption to someone's life" and that "until somebody can convince me that there is some significance in what is going on, I tend to walk away from it."
"At my time of life, do I need to get on a bus and travel the roads of Ireland asking people to vote for me? At my time of life, do I need to be auditioned by county councilors on whether I am fit or not? I don't think so."
Meanwhile, Byrne's age has already become a bone of contention among his potential opponents. Independent presidential candidate, Sean Gallagher, said the next president should have "a modern outlook" and "be of our time."
"Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese when they became president were both 48. At 49, I was making the point that it does require energy and drive to travel the country to serve people at home," he said.
Meanwhile, Labour Party presidential candidate Michael D Higgins has warned against what he believes is a presidential race that is turning into a "beauty contest."
