It is “highly unlikely” that Micheál Martin will lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election, according to former party TD Éamon Ó Cuív.

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Ó Cúiv said the Taoiseach has gone past the “natural sell-by date” of party leaders.

“Just on a statistical basis, except for the founding leader of Fianna Fáil, no Fianna Fáil leader has lasted as long as Micheál Martin,” he said.

“There seems to be a natural sell-by date for leaders of Fianna Fáil.”

Micheál Martin has held the role of leader of the party since 2011, and served as taoiseach from 2020 to 2022, and again since the start of this year.

Mr Ó Cuív said “there’s a natural cycle in these”, and that “people look for a change after a while”.

 

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Speaking on Jim Gavin’s abandoned candidacy, Mr Ó Cuív said the “debacle” has “significantly damaged” Fianna Fáil.

“It’s more about the process than the actuality of what happened,” he said.

“I don’t think it was foreseeable that this issue would have arisen, but long before that I think it’s fair to say that Jim Gavin’s candidacy wasn’t going well.

“It goes back to a fatal flaw; this thing was rushed in the end.”

The Irish Independent has claimed that Fianna Fáil were made aware that Mr Gavin owed a former tenant €3,300 back in early September, before he was selected as the party’s candidate.

The Taoiseach has denied this to be true.

09/09/2025 Dublin ireland. Fianna Fail party leader Micheal Martin with Jim Gavin. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

Overall, Mr Ó Cuív said he was “disappointed” that out of the three original candidates, only one could speak both of the State’s official languages.

Since Jim Gavin has now dropped out of the race, it is now a dual competition between Independent Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.

Ms Humphreys cannot speak Irish, despite having promised to do so when she was elected Minister for the Gaeltacht over a decade ago in 2014.

She has reiterated promises to learn the language during the current election.

According to Mr Ó Cuív, if his vote were decided “on that basis solely”, he would have Ms Connolly as his top choice.

“But there are other criteria, there are other policies and other issues,” he said.

Main image: Micheál Martin speaks to media as he arrives for an Informal Meeting of Heads of State or Government of the European Union. Image: ZUMA Press Inc. 1 October 2025