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Player ratings: How did the presidential candidates do in this year's final TV debate?

Five would-be successors to Michael D Higgins took part in a debate for the last time, but how did they do?

PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS FACED off for the final time tonight as five of the six candidates in the 2018 election took part in the last debate of the campaign

Peter Casey, Gavin Duffy, Joan Freeman, Sean Gallagher and Liadh Ní Riada all took part in the debate on Virgin Media One ahead of the final few days in the race for the Áras.

For the first time this year, five candidates participated after Seán Gallagher announced yesterday that he would reverse a decision not to appear at any debates not attended by Michael D Higgins.

It was the last chance for the candidates to outline their credentials to succeed Higgins as president, but did any do enough to reel in the incumbent’s strong lead?

You can rate the candidates out of 10 below. Just click ‘rate now’ to compare your take with readers’ average rating.

Peter Casey

5

Gavin Duffy

5

Joan Freeman

5

Sean Gallagher

5

Liadh Ní Riada

5

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    Mute brian
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:52 PM

    If Varadker is saying “ don’t vote for Casey” that’s good enough for me, don’t care who he is I’m voting for Casey!

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    Mute Vocal Outrage
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:53 PM

    @brian: so you lack the ability to think for yourself one way or the other really?

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    Mute Brian Scott
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:54 PM

    @brian: but Casey says FG are doing a great job. Your little mind might have to work overtime on this conundrum

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    Mute PaulineSmith
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:56 PM

    @brian: You justed outed yourself as a simpleton.

    63
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    Mute Link
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:59 PM

    @Brian Scott: The two aren’t mutually exclusive, your own little mind struggling to see that?

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    Mute Brian Scott
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:06 AM

    @Link: It’s a free country if you want to vote for a candidate that says FG are doing a great job work away. But for me that’s the straw that broke the camels back, and I’m sure my #1 won’t win the election but at least I can say my #1 does not support the actions of FG

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    Mute Tommy Berry
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:21 AM

    @Brian Scott: Why do you hashtag your number 1?

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    Mute Patrick Kearns
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:32 AM

    @Tommy Berry: Wow you must be really young!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign

    61
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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:35 AM

    @brian: you need a little help there

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    Mute Brian Scott
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:48 AM

    @Patrick Kearns: Leave him alone he probably woke early for a feeding

    19
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    Mute Padraic McDonagh
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    Oct 25th 2018, 4:14 AM

    @brian: brainless brian to the rescue. Highly unlikely you’ll ever vote anyway.
    Any man who doesn’t afford himself the courtesy of name capitalisation is unlikely to find the Polling booth anyway.

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Oct 25th 2018, 8:28 AM

    @Tommy Berry: maybe because before it was a hash tag it was the commonly used symbol for “number” !

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    Mute brian
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    Oct 25th 2018, 9:25 AM

    @PaulineSmith: “ justed”? That sounds like a word only a simpleton would use.

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    Mute brian
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    Oct 25th 2018, 9:30 AM

    @Vocal Outrage: I have the ability to decide that if Varadkar tells me not to vote for somebody I will vote for that person as a protest, I don’t really care who gets the gig.

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    Mute brian
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    Oct 25th 2018, 9:32 AM

    @Brian Scott: do you think everybody called Brian has a little mind like you?

    13
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    Mute brian
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    Oct 25th 2018, 9:43 AM

    @Padraic McDonagh: you seem to place a very high value on capital letters, I see you have 3 in your name, don’t see what relevance this has to anybody’s ability to find a phone booth, when you find yourself becoming abusive like this in a discussion maybe you should consider staying away from the keyboard.

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    Mute Larry Roe
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    Oct 25th 2018, 1:37 PM

    @PaulineSmith: that makes it 724 simpletons so far

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    Mute Mr Mystery
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    Oct 25th 2018, 9:11 PM

    @PaulineSmith: that’s awful name calling, would you like to be called that?

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    Mute brian
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    Oct 25th 2018, 11:57 PM

    @Whingy McWhingy: help is always greatly appreciated, ( if it is given in the right spirit)

    1
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    Mute The Risen
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:02 AM

    For anyone who watched that and thought ’4 million people and THATS the best candidates we can come up with?’, just remember that we didn’t. The political class chose them.

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    Mute Bilbo Baggins
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:07 AM

    @The Risen: But who chose the political class?

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    Mute Tom Ryan
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:17 AM

    @Bilbo Baggins:
    Santa Claus

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    Mute Whingy McWhingy
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:37 AM

    @The Risen: no they didn’t bar 2, why didn’t you run yourself there lad

    18
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    Mute Patrick Kearns
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:48 AM

    @Whingy McWhingy: You’re missing that they were chosen by county councils, as in local government, which is still politics.

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    Mute Jimmy jones
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:53 AM

    @The Risen: why did you not lift a finger to help your preferred candidate get in the ballot ? How many councilors did you ring , how many emails did you send ? None , 100? 50? I’m guessing none

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    Mute Brian Scott
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:41 PM

    John Joe Joyce vote #1

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    Mute PaulineSmith
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:44 PM

    Casey #6

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    Mute John Murphy
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:28 AM

    @PaulineSmith: Everyone has got the gist of your new account opinion by now Pauline I’m sure. It only took you a day to settle in.

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    Mute Mazza86
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:40 AM

    @John Murphy: She is a holy show… LOL

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    Mute Margate
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:50 PM

    Such utter, petty, nonsensical, uninformed and uneducated tripe from a group of ‘ wannabe famous and powerful’ amateurs. Would be an absolute horror story, an unimaginable one, to have any of them as our Head of State.

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    Mute Travellers Are Over-represented In Irish Jails
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:06 AM
    57
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    Mute David Glynn
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    Oct 25th 2018, 2:06 AM

    @Travellers Are Over-represented In Irish Jails: At last the truth. No, it is unreasonable to demand grazing and stabling. Get your own if you want to have horses. Ditto fish tank if you want to keep fish.

    Get off our backs. Yes you are entitled to housing like everyone yes if you qualify.
    Huge mistake to overreach. People have had enough. That’s why Casey is gaining support.

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    Mute David McShite
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:04 AM

    Yeats and Cooper went out to do an entertaining bad cop worse cop hatchet job to maximise the impact of their program in the hope of gaining some extra regular viewers. It was an adversarial quick fire format that nobody was going to come out of well.
    That said, I enjoyed it and remained awake (unlike last night).
    I thought Duffy’s summery at the end was spot on especially Gallagher being bland.

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    Mute David McShite
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:21 AM

    @PaulineSmith: Within a few posts here you have called people a simpleton, a racist and mundane. All of your posts are negative, short and uninspired.
    The article is about the candidates performance hence the comments will follow that line.
    Did you ever consider that you might be the problem.

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    Mute John Murphy
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:32 AM

    @David McShite: Pauline only on journal since yesterday. Wait til she settles in.

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    Mute PaulineSmith
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:45 PM

    Casey has that twee Father Ted quality, the bumbling embarrasing uncle type.

    69
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    Mute David McShite
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:53 PM

    @PaulineSmith: You mean the one everyone likes?

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    Mute Patrick Kearns
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:55 PM

    @David McShite: But feels embarrassed for…

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    Mute PaulineSmith
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    Oct 24th 2018, 11:57 PM

    @David McShite: 2% of people like.

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    Mute Tommy Berry
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:23 AM

    @David McShite: Everyone?

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    Mute John Smith
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:26 AM

    @PaulineSmith: Ah back to your scientific 2%, or was it 1% yesterday? How about a wager, if Casey gets 3% or less you win and I won’t comment on here for a month, if he gets 3.1% or more I win and we won’t see you for a month? How about it? Nah I didn’t think even you believed what you were saying!

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    Mute Colm O'Leary
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    Oct 25th 2018, 6:37 AM

    @David McShite: No, the one that hugs for too long and gropes you.

    5
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    Mute Trevor Connolly
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:16 AM

    Thus was a bizarre chat show and not a pres debate. You even had some candidates sticking up for each other. Most of them spoke as if they were going for general election

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    Mute Carol Marmion
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:41 AM

    Tonight was hilarious….We had Podge & Rodge stripped bare as presenters having a great laugh at the Candidates for the Irish Presidential role …..claiming to be in touch with the Irish nation ….they couldn’t tell the price of a litre of milk or, the weekly unemployment benefit….So out of touch it’s scary!

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    Mute Mike Lucey
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    Oct 25th 2018, 1:55 AM

    Looks like ‘Migeldi Higgins’ (as the 5-year-old referred to him) is going to pull it off.

    Conservatives who form most of the 40% of the electorate that actually cast their vote in presidential elections/referendums will be unwilling to break party lines even though they feel they are voting for a “Pompous Poet”.

    39
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    Mute Colm O'Leary
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    Oct 25th 2018, 6:41 AM

    @Mike Lucey: surely a pompous poet is better than three pompous, ambitious business men And a couple of do gooders?

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Oct 25th 2018, 1:30 AM

    Where’s Micky D?

    34
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    Mute Markonline
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    Oct 25th 2018, 1:54 AM

    Doing his accounts and looking down the back of the couch for any receipts lost by guests that he can claim for.

    107
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    Mute David Glynn
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    Oct 25th 2018, 2:07 AM

    @TamuMassif2019: Hiding the receipts before audit.

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    Mute Padraic McDonagh
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    Oct 25th 2018, 4:18 AM

    @TamuMassif2019: a king has no need to sully himself amongst the court jesters e

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    Mute Mr Mystery
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    Oct 25th 2018, 9:13 PM

    @TamuMassif2019: the jet wouldn’t start

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    Mute Barry Buckley
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    Oct 25th 2018, 12:38 AM

    Saw this debate
    Thought it was a rerun of an old program on RTE many,many years ago.
    Frank Halls, Halls Pictorial Weekly.

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    Mute John O'Neill
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    Oct 25th 2018, 9:41 AM

    The candidate on the “ average industrial wage “ forgot to mention that she is on a daily subsistence allowance of €313.00 and a monthly general expenses allowance of €4,426.00. These allowances are unvouched and untaxed.

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    Mute Smidgen Dublin
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    Oct 25th 2018, 3:29 AM

    Debates on the presidency should be cancelled. All of the silliness is meaningless. The Irish President does not, nor should, have a mandate or a policy budget. What a waste of time of public funds and time these so called debates are. All of the ‘Dragons Den’ candidates are centralisist, self-servng egotists. Eejits. No Irish politician has the intelligent capacity to handle a public debate to discus policies on conjecture or rhetoric.

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    Mute John O'Neill
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    Oct 25th 2018, 10:22 AM

    Liadh Ní Riadha lives on the average industrial wage. Apart from getting mixed up about €60,000 before tax / after tax, she also gets €313 as a daily subsistence allowance and a monthly General expenses allowance of €4,416.00. Neither of these allowances are taxable.

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    Mute Smidgen Dublin
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    Oct 25th 2018, 3:09 AM

    All president debates should beB

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    Mute pierre roncuzzi
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    Oct 25th 2018, 8:53 AM

    ah the silence on the airwaves is great. 1 more day then “back to the loch, nessies”

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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Oct 25th 2018, 10:12 AM

    As I don’t have a television set I missed the boring presidential ‘debates’. Yippee.

    7
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