MICHAEL D HIGGINS NO LONGER ARAS FRONT-RUNNER IN LATEST POLL

Date Published: 16-Oct-2011

Galway Presidential candidate Michael D Higgins has slipped to second place in the latest opinion poll.

The Red C Survey for the Sunday Business Post shows the Labour contender at 27 percent - 12 points behind the new poll leader Independent Sean Gallagher.

Claregalway resident Dana Rosemary Scallon is down 3 to just 2 percent.

It follows her return to the campaign trail yesterday after vowing to stay in the race despite what she describes as a recent bullying attempt to destroy her campaign.

Meanwhile, it's also reported that Mr Higgins has raised concerns that Martin McGuinness is using the election to endorse the IRA.

According to today's Sunday Independent, the Labour contender says it would be wrong for Sinn Fein to claim ownership of the peace process for electoral purposes.