The Irish Presidential race is heating up as a millionaire candidate has suffered a major set back, while Fianna Fail's Jim Gavin has hit out at what he calls "vicious smears". With only a handful of local authorities left to back him, the 36-year-old entrepreneur faces a precarious path to entering the race. Meanwhile, Gavin revealed that he has written to social media giants X, Meta and TikTok as well as media regulator Coimisiun na Mean about several "invented and utterly false stories" published about him online. Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys and Gavin had already lodged their papers on FridayAttention has also been brought on independent candidate Maria Steen, who is claiming the support of 13 members of the Oireachtas behind her nomination campaign. This comes as the nomination window closes at midday on Wednesday, with most local authorities having finalised their processes.