LIMERICK Fine Gael TD and Minister Patrick O’Donovan declared his support for his former Monaghan ministerial colleague, Heather Humphreys, over fellow Munster man and Fine Gael MEP, Sean Kelly, as the Fine Gael party’s nomination for President of Ireland.
Declaring his support for his “good friend” Humphries, the Limerick Minister said that “for me, Heather Humphreys has all of the qualities and attributes that are needed at this time to be the first citizen and a constitutional protector in terms of President of Ireland”.
Fine Gael TD Noel McCarthy endorsed MEP Kelly in his bid for the nomination to represent the party.
Mr O’Donovan explained that he and Ms Humphreys had entered politics on the same day.
“I served in government and served in cabinet with her and she’s a great friend of mine and I’m backing Heather Humphreys,” Minister O’Donovan said.
“She has served in a constitutional officership of many government departments. She’s rooted in her community
“There isn’t a parish or a four crossroads in this country that she hasn’t touched somewhere in her many ministries, particularly in rural development and social protection,” Minister O’Donovan said.
“I think that based on the experiences that she has and based on the people that have gone before her in terms of being the first citizen of Ireland, she has all of the attributes that we need, not just as a party, but as a country.”
Minister O’Donovan added that “one of the things that Heather will do is broaden the base that will allow people to join a campaign to support that will really, I think, enthuse people.”
Deputy McCarthy said Mr Kelly had done “marvellous work” in his role as an MEP which, he said, was reflected in his vote in the last European election when he achieved 125,000 votes.
Deputy McCarthy described Mr Kelly as “a great public servant” with a wide appeal amongst the public, and who previously led the GAA when it historically permitted soccer to be played at Croke Park.
He said that Kelly “opened up Croke Park for the soccer when Lansdowne Road at the time was being renovated, he was instrumental in getting Croke Park opened to the first soccer to be played”.
However, despite living near the Kerry border and Sean Kelly’s native county, Minister O’Donovan said he was backing Ms Humphreys, the person he believed was the best person “at the moment” to be President of Ireland.
Ms Humphreys, he said, had “left her mark” in every parish “whether it was in relation to providing every child in Ireland with a hot school meal, whether it’s engaging with the GAA, whether it’s in relation to community centres or tidy towns, she has traipsed every length and breadth of this country”.
“You can find plaques all over the place of her. Because at the end of the day, what she has done is she has brought back hope that was lost in many urban and rural communities through the many initiatives that she spearheaded in government.”
Minister O’Donovan told the Claire Byrne radio programme on RTE Radio One that “Heather Humphreys has never backed away from a single job in her life, whether it was in relation to working in the bank, running a credit union, being on a family farm, raising a family, standing for politics, she replaced the late Seymour Crawford.”
“Her own story is one of inclusion and of building relationships and building communities. And that’s what I think this country needs at the moment in terms of somebody who is going to be the first citizen of Ireland.”
