A dog daycare owner, a former Cork mayor, and a Donegal construction professional are among those who asked Kerry councillors to nominate them as presidential candidates.
More than a dozen Independent candidates were put through their paces at Kerry County Council as they sought support for a presidential tilt.
Housing, the so-called “squeezed middle”, abortion, a united Ireland, and emigration were some of the key topics up for discussion, as well as the ability of candidates to speak Irish.
To get on the ballot paper in the presidential election, a person needs to be nominated by 20 TDs or senators. Alternatively, they could be nominated by four of the 31 councils in Ireland.
At the first council meeting to hear from presidential candidate hopefuls, each person gave a five-minute address before taking part in a 10-minute question and answers session.
The first candidate to address the council was Cork businessman William P Allen.
“It is my lifelong ambition to look for the presidency of Ireland. I saw [former Irish president from 1976-1990] Patrick Hillery years ago, and I said I’d like to be that man, so I’m here this morning.”
Nick Delehanty, 35, who runs a doggy daycare business, said he saw the presidency as “access to influence and resources”. Asked how he would approach visits to and from other heads of state, he said we should “never ever alienate the American president”.
He said Ireland should be focusing its “soft influence” on the US.
Nick Delehanty waits to address Kerry County Council. Picture: Don MacMonagle
Businessman Gareth Sheridan, 35, said that appealing to the younger generation and to the Irish diaspora were central themes to his campaign.
He said he was “frustrated” by the decision of Fine Gael to whip councillors against voting for Independent candidates.
“I’m troubled in the sense that it will create a system where we, as a people, will only be able to consider candidates going forward that would come from within the walls of Leinster House,” he said. “I think it’s a dangerous precedent to set.”
Other who addressed the local authority were Independent Charlotte Keenan, Limerick assistant principal Donncha MacGabhann, former Cork mayor Kieran McCarthy, and Donegal construction professional Keith McGrory, whose brother Ronan was injured in the Omagh bombing.
Councillors also heard from Meath native Lorna McCormack, who said the presidency had to be “unifying” and to “connect with people on the ground”, and Cork agricultural adviser Walter Ryan-Purcell.
Mathematics lecturer Cora Stack, former Iona Institute member Maria Steen, and animal welfare campaigner Gerben Uunk also addressed the council.
Mr Ryan-Purcell, who stood for Independent Ireland in the last general election, said he had contacted the Israeli government and offered to be a broker between Israel and Hamas. However, after several emails, it became clear the government had “no interest in mediation”.
When Mr McGrory was asked how he would use the presidency to address the housing crisis, he said he would be both President of Ireland and the Government’s new housing tsar.
Asked by councillor Marie Moloney to name two of the seven people he would appoint to the council of state, Mr MacGabhann said: “I would have to say yourself, of course.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Tommy Cahill asked Mr McCarthy and Mr Sheridan about MMA fighter Conor McGregor’s efforts to try and run for president, adding that he believed it was “an insult” to the Irish people and the women of Ireland.
Mr McCarthy replied that there was a “large fear” that, if McGregor got on the ballot, it would “increase” divisive politics across Ireland.
“I don’t see Conor McGregor here today asking for your vote,” he said.
“I can tell you that there are fears in many local councils, including my own, across the country whether to entertain such individuals, but democracy is democracy as well.”
This article was funded by the Local Democracy Scheme.