Micheál Martin has told musician and campaigner Bob Geldof he was not in a position to nominate him as Fianna Fáil’s presidential candidate and that he had made a commitment to former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin.
Reports of Geldof’s name featuring among a list of potential presidential candidates emerged on Monday.
A number of prominent people at home and abroad are known to have approached Fianna Fáil in relation to the upcoming election.
There was contact made on behalf of Geldof, the driving force behind Live Aid and Band Aid.
It is understood the Taoiseach rang him on Friday as a courtesy and they had a serious and good engagement regarding the presidency.
News of Mr Geldof’s conversation with the Taoiseach was first reported in the Irish Independent.
Noted for his music with the Boomtown Rats, Mr Geldof went on to global fame with his humanitarian efforts that culminated in the Live Aid fundraising event.
In a 2018 interview with the London paper The Irish Post he said he “felt alien” in the Ireland he grew up in, in the 1960s and ‘70s.
“I’m very comfortable with the Ireland of today, but I felt alien in the Ireland I grew up in.”
He also expressed a deep discomfort with nationalism, saying it was dangerous.
“I hate nationalism. I absolutely loathe it. I am deeply uncomfortable with it. I don’t see any good coming out of it,” he said.
“Patriotism is completely understandable and healthy but evil men and women with an unconvincing vent curdle that natural empathy into a political philosophy and that can be very, very, very dangerous.”