Gay Senator Leads Irish Presidential Polls

David Norris, a senator and James Joyce expert, could become the first openly gay president of Ireland, thanks in part to a campaign sparked on Facebook.

According to London's Guardian, "Two recent opinion polls have put the independent senator David Norris ahead of all other possible candidates. His election next autumn would mark an astonishing change in a country once regarded as one of the most conservative Catholic nations in Europe."

Norris said he put his name forward only after learning about a Facebook group with almost 1,000 members calling for his candidacy.

He said that he expected his sexual orientation to be "a non-issue" in the campaign for the presidential post, which holds mostly symbolic powers.