The deadline for nominations to contest the 2018 Presidential Election has passed and the six candidates have been officially confirmed.
Here are the men and women that will be on the October 26th ballot paper:
Current President Michael D Higgins, who was elected in 2011, will launch his election campaign this afternoon as he hopes to be re-elected and spend another seven years in Áras an Uachtarain.
Former Dragons Den star and businessman Seán Gallagher was President Higgins' closest challenger back in 2011, and he is back for another campaign. The Cavan man is the co-founder of Smarthomes and appeared on the Dragons Den between 2009 and 2011.
Gavin Duffy is another former Dragon vying for election. The Kildare native has worked as both a Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil adviser. He was the only Dragon to appear on all eight series of the show.
Founder of Pieta House, a national mental health services charity, Senator Joan Freeman was the fourth candidate to be nominated by a local authority. She was elected to the Seanad in 2016 and chairs Ireland's first Committee on the Future of Mental Healthcare.
Liadh Ní Riada has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014 and was put forward as a presidential candidate by Sinn Féin. Before entering politics, she worked for RTÉ and TG4 as a director and producer.
The final former Dragon who is to contest the election is Peter Casey who is the founder and Executive Chairman of Claddagh Resources, a global recruitment and executive search business. The 60 year old was the last candidate to be nominated for the 2018 election.
