Latest news with #Seán Kelly
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Heather Humphreys takes large lead over Seán Kelly in race to seek Fine Gael presidential election nomination
Former Fine Gael minister Heather Humphreys has taken a large lead over Ireland South MEP Seán Kelly in the battle to seek the party's nomination to contest the upcoming presidential election . Both Ms Humphreys and Mr Kelly announced their intention to run for president for Fine Gael on Tuesday morning. Each will require the backing of 20 members of the parliamentary party, as well as 25 councillors and five members of the executive council. By Tuesday afternoon, Ms Humphreys had at least 29 nominations from TDs and senators, and was widely expected to have over 30 by the end of the day. So far, Mr Kelly has the backing of at least six parliamentary party members. READ MORE The 29 parliamentary party declarations for for Heather Humphreys so far includes ministers Peter Burke and Patrick O'Donovan, junior ministers Neale Richmond, Hildegarde Naughton, Colm Brophy and Emer Higgins, TDs Emer Currie, John Paul O'Shea, David Maxwell, Jerry Buttimer, Paula Butterly, Grace Boland, Frank Feighan, Naoise O'Muirí, Catherine Callaghan, Alan Dillon, Keira Keogh, James Geoghegan, Colm Burke, John Clendennan and Micheal Carrigy, Barry Ward and senators Sean Kyne, Maria Byrne, Nikki Bradley, Joe O'Reilly, Mark Duffy, Cathal Byrne, Manus Boyle. Joe Cooney, the Fine Gael TD for Clare, said as a Munster man and a 'GAA man' he would be proudly supporting Mr Kelly. So far Mr Kelly also has the support of Senators Michael Kennelly and Garrett Ahearn and TDs Noel McCarthy, Brian Brennan and Michael Murphy. Announcing her candidacy on Tuesday, Ms Humphreys said she had been 'genuinely humbled' by the support in recent days. 'I have decided to go for it,' she told the Joe Finnegan Show on Cavan-Monaghan radio station Northern Sound. She said it was 'fair' to ask why she had changed her mind, having ruled herself out of the contest in May and saying she would be supporting her 'friend' Ms McGuinness instead. 'But as we know, everything has changed with Mairead's news last week and I would just like to wish her well in her recovery.' Ms Humphreys said she was a 'bit burned out' and was probably 'running on empty' when she decided to step down from politics at the end of last year, having sat at Cabinet for a decade. 'I've said to myself more than once: 'you could do a bit more Heather',' she said. 'Really, I've had a good rest, the tank is full again. And you know timing is a funny thing because I have never felt as good about taking on the challenge.' [ Áras race picks up speed as Humphreys and Kelly join Fine Gael field Opens in new window ] Her announcement came a little over an hour after Mr Kelly, a former GAA president, said he also intends to seek the party's nomination. He said he believes that there should be a contest between him and Ms Humphreys. She and Mr Kelly had previously ruled themselves out of the contest, when it was believed that Ms McGuinness would be Fine Gael's candidate. Ms Humphreys in May ruled herself out of running for the presidency, citing her decision to leave politics altogether at the last general election. 'I said at that time that I wanted to spend more time with the family and that my time in public life was over,' she said at that time. In July, Mr Kelly also ruled himself out of the contest. He said that the presidency was largely a ceremonial role. 'You don't have that much power or influence even though you can dress it up whatever way you like and I like to be involved politically,' he said then. The MEP appeared to walk these comments back on Tuesday, saying that his comment 'was in comparison to presidents around the world' who have executive powers. 'But I think actually there's a huge potential in the job, it is the highest honour in Ireland.' Mr Kelly said having spent time in Ireland over the last few weeks, he understood that he had grassroots support as many people had told him they were disappointed he was not running for the Áras. In the days following Mairead McGuinness' unfortunate withdrawal as Fine Gael's candidate for President of Ireland on health grounds, I have reflected and given serious consideration to the possibility of seeking the After discussing it with my family and… — Seán Kelly MEP (@SeanKellyMEP) Mr Kelly said he believes Fine Gael's base would like to see a contest for its presidential nomination as they are good for parties and for democracies. Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan on Tuesday said he would be supporting Ms Humphreys. He said she had 'all of the qualities and attributes' needed to be president. 'There isn't a parish or a crossroads in this country that she hasn't touched in some way,' he said. Junior ministers Hildegarde Naughton and Emer Higgins, senator Manus Boyle and TDs John Clendennen and Micheal Carrigy have also said that the former minister will have their support, as have Minister of State Neale Richmond and Senator Maria Byrne. Fine Gael TD Noel McCarthy on Tuesday endorsed Mr Kelly's candidacy. The Cork East deputy said Mr Kelly had done 'marvellous work' in his time as an MEP, highlighted by him polling 125,000 first-preference votes in last year's European election. Fine Gael senator and Kerryman Michael Kennelly also said he will be supporting Mr Kelly. 'He's made a huge contribution for the people of Kerry and the people of Ireland in his role as an MEP. He's someone that has always stayed grounded, and that's a trait that the person who is going to fill the Áras will need,' Mr Kennelly said. 'He is a proud GAA man, he is a proud cultural man, he is a proud Irish speaker, he is a gem, he's been a real Kerry hero.' Fine Gael Senator Cathal Byrne said he was backing Ms Humphreys and had already sent in nomination papers for her on Tuesday morning. 'I always found her very supportive of projects across Wexford, and she's visited so many parts of Wexford as a minister, and I always found her as somebody who, on those visits, displayed enormous empathy and a great connection to people,' Mr Byrne said. Mark Duffy, a Fine Gael senator based in Mayo, said that he was also supporting Ms Humphreys. 'With her proven leadership as Minister for Rural and Community Development and her deep commitment to public service, she has the vision and experience to serve Ireland with distinction,' Mr Duffy said. Senator Joe O'Reilly also told The Irish Times that he was supporting the former minister, as did Senator Sean Kyne and James Geoghegan, the Fine Gael TD for Dublin Bay South. Mr Geoghegan said she was a candidate of 'enormous integrity, and someone who understands as well as values the importance of community.' Fine TD Alan Dillon is also backing Ms Humphreys, who he described as a 'strong, grounded leader who connects with people across all divides.' Fine Gael senator Nikki Bradley and veteran TD Frank Feighan also confirmed they will be supporting Ms Humphreys, while Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said he is 'honoured' to nominate Ms Humphreys, adding that 'with over a decade in cabinet, she has shown real leadership, uniting communities and leaving a lasting impact nationwide.' TDs Paula Butterly, David Maxwell and John Paul O'Shea have all indicated their support for Ms Humphreys on social media, as has Senator Jerry Buttimer.
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Heather Humphreys and Seán Kelly to seek Fine Gael nomination to run in presidential election
Former Fine Gael minister Heather Humphreys and Ireland South MEP Seán Kelly are to seek the party's nomination to run in the upcoming presidential election . Ms Humphreys said she had been 'genuinely humbled' by the support for her candidacy in recent days. 'I have decided to go for it,' Ms Humphreys told The Joe Finnegan show on local Cavan-Monaghan radio Northern Sound. The former minister said that it was 'fair' to ask why she had changed her mind, having ruled herself out of the contest in May and saying she would be supporting her 'friend' Mairead McGuinness instead. READ MORE 'But as we know, everything has changed with Mairead's news last week and I would just like to wish her well in her recovery.' Ms Humphreys said she was a 'bit burned out' and was probably 'running on empty' when she decided to step down from politics at the end of last year having been a cabinet minister for ten years. 'I've said to myself more than once: 'you could do a bit more Heather,' she said. 'Really, I've had a good rest, the tank is full again. And you know timing is a funny thing because I have never felt as good about taking on the challenge.' Her announcement came a little over an hour after Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly said that he also intends to seek the party's nomination to run in the presidential election. Mr Kelly said he believes that there should be a contest between him and Ms Humphreys for the party's nomination. Both candidates will now have two weeks to lobby their party for support. In order to be nominated as Fine Gael's candidate, both would need the support of at least 20 members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, 25 councillors and five members of the party's executive council. It is understood that Ms Humphreys is ahead with her parliamentary party despite having not yet formally started canvassing for support, though Mr Kelly said on Tuesday that he will now be seeking the support of TDs and Senators. Ms Humphreys is also understood to be the favoured candidate of party leader Simon Harris . Both Ms Humphreys and Mr Kelly had previously ruled themselves out of the contest, when it was believed that Ms McGuinness would be Fine Gael's candidate. Ms McGuinness made the shock announcement last week that she was leaving the campaign on health grounds. Ms Humphreys stood down from politics ahead of last year's general election. In May, Ms Humphreys ruled herself out of running for the presidency, referring to her decision to leave politics altogether at the end of last year. 'I said at that time that I wanted to spend more time with the family and that my time in public life was over,' she said in May. 'I made that decision then and it is the same.' In July, Mr Kelly also ruled himself out of the contest. He said that the presidency was largely a ceremonial role. 'You don't have that much power or influence even though you can dress it up whatever way you like and I like to be involved politically,' Mr Kelly said then. The MEP appeared to walk these comments back on Tuesday, saying that his comment 'was in comparison to presidents around the world who have executive powers'. 'But I think actually there's a huge potential in the job, it is the highest honour in Ireland. And if you look at what the last number of presidents have done, they've done tremendous work. There's huge flexibility there,' Mr Kelly said. The former president of the GAA said that having spent time in Ireland over the last few weeks, he understood that he had grassroots support and momentum as many people had told him they were disappointed that he was not running for the Áras. After deliberating for little over an hour on Monday evening, Fine Gael's executive council decided it would reopen nominations on Tuesday until September 2nd. Ms Humphreys's candidacy has been strongly backed by Tánaiste and party leader Mr Harris. He said that a remark he made in ruling himself out that 'a day out of Kerry was a day wasted' was a 'a tongue-in-cheek' comment. 'I'd be bringing the Áras to the people as much as the people to the Áras, so that's not a problem at all.' Mr Kelly said that he believes Fine Gael's base would like to see a contest for its presidential candidates. 'I think the people, particularly members of the party, would like to have a contest. We didn't have a contest for a long time now, because we didn't have a contest at the last presidential election seven years ago, we didn't have a contest for the leadership. 'We weren't going to have a contest when Mairead got the nomination, so I think people would like to have a contest. Contests are good for parties, are good for democracies, and I think that I would welcome a contest, and hope I'd be part of it.' In the days following Mairead McGuinness' unfortunate withdrawal as Fine Gael's candidate for President of Ireland on health grounds, I have reflected and given serious consideration to the possibility of seeking the After discussing it with my family and… — Seán Kelly MEP (@SeanKellyMEP)
