hosted a €5,000 per-head fund-raising dinner for 40 people in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dundalk, County Louth, for the new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen. The event became a source of controversy in the 2011 presidential election as to whether Gallagher was specifically requesting, and collecting, cheques, or whether they were voluntary. In 2009, Gallagher campaigned, and was elected to the National Executive of Fianna Fáil representing the Louth branch. On 5 January 2011, he formally resigned from the National Executive. Gallagher had also resigned from his local Louth Fianna Fáil Ravensdale Cummann in March 2010. 2011 presidential campaign In May 2011, it was reported that Gallagher would likely seek a nomination in the 2011 Irish presidential election. In June 2011, it was reported Gallagher approached Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members to run as an Independent candidate, but with a "semi-detached" relationship to the party. In June 2011, he received the fourth and final required nomination, of a local council, and he handed in his nomination papers on 27 September 2011. Gallagher was one of seven candidates, and launched his campaign at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin on 2 October 2011. Throughout his campaign, Gallagher adopted the use of social media as an alternative to posters. He had the highest number of followers of the candidates on Facebook, and the second highest on Twitter. On 25 September 2011, the first of six major RED C and MRBI opinion polls (see main Wikipedia article) in the campaign, ranked Gallagher 2nd last at 11%. The first of eight television debates took place on 30 September 2011, and appearing on The Late Late Show alongside the other candidates, Gallagher confirmed that he came from "the Fianna Fáil gene pool". The Irish Times described his performance as: "he struggled to give his idea play". On 6 October 2011, the second main opinion poll, from RED C, ranked Gallagher 2nd, behind Higgins, at 20%. As Gallagher rose in the polls in October, scrutiny came on his business dealings, and Fianna Fáil heritage (which were linked via State grants, and State Board appointments). Attention came to the €830,000 in State grants Smarthomes received, which exceeded to the total profits the company made for Gallagher; and that his previous employer, the LCEB, had seed-funded his business with €25,395; and that Gallagher had tried to avoid repaying this seed-funding. His appointment to three State Boards, some after being elected