Kilkenny County Council votes against nominating a presidential candidate

Kilkenny County Council declined to nominate a candidate for the presidential election by a margin of 18-3 on a day where none of the hopefuls received the necessary four local authority endorsements to get themselves on next month’s ballot. 

Twelve people gave their pitches before the Council, but by the time the Kilkenny meeting was being held there was no longer any possibility for them to get enough nominations, leading to a sense of simply going through the motions from both the candidates and councillors.

Gareth Sheridan was the only contender with a realistic chance of being able to run having already secured nominations from Kerry and Tipperary County Councils, but he opted not to appear in Kilkenny and was unsuccessful in Meath and Offally, leading to his campaign coming to an end.

Walter Ryan Purcell got the ball rolling in County Hall, speaking via Teams to describe his plan to appoint seven senior cabinet ministers to a working group that he would meet weekly about matters including housing and healthcare, not powers usually associated with the presidency.

He went on to say that Tánaiste Simon Harris was wrong to “interfere with the constitutional process” in relation to Fine Gael councillors being instructed not to nominate independent candidates before his five minute speaking window was cut short just as he was describing his attempts to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs in Israel to offer his services as a mediator in the war in Gaza.

He was followed by Lorna McCormack, also speaking on Teams, who echoed the previous criticisms of the nomination process saying she was “very disappointed in the way things have unfolded” and that it gave the “illusion of democracy” before describing her goal of a presidency based on inclusion and heritage.

The frustration at the lack of council endorsements continued with Nick Delehanty who spoke in-person saying the country was asking the question “are we doing this right?”

Acknowledging that he had no chance of making the ballot, he said he was still attending meetings to show that he was “extremely serious right to the end” while urging councillors to break the diktat for not nominating independents.

Cllr Eugene McGuinness (Ind) thanked Delehanty for presenting and said he was the only candidate to contact him directly.

Labour’s Cllr Séan Ó hArgáin criticised the fact that all councillors hadn’t been contacted asserting that it was “the very least we deserve” and that he was uncomfortable with some of Delehanty’s views on immigration.

Cllr Maurice Shorthall (Ind) also said Delehanty was the only candidate to contact him and praised his “brave campaign”.

Solicitor Tony Corrigan was next up where he described alleged elder abuse that his mother suffered and his unsuccessful attempts to engage with Simon Harris and Helen McEntee on the issue.

He seemed more concerned about using the platform to air his grievances about the ministers and process he had experienced than speaking about his credentials as a president but did say that he would “be a voice for all people”.

There was some local interest at the meeting as Catherine Morrissey from Radestown made her case for the Áras.

The sister of former Kilkenny hurler Eamon Morrissey, she detailed her experience working in Paul’s and Avonmore later followed by time in education and management as credentials for running for the presidency.

When asked by Cllr David Fitzgerald (FG) about why she had never run for local or national office, she replied that it was “not her call” and she was answering Ireland’s need for a “neutral president”.

Cllr Joe Malone (FF) said she was the only person to contact him and praised her for calling to his house while Mayor John Coonan (FF) thanked her for attending and recalled working with her father in his nursing career.

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There was some surprise when controversial former UCD professor Dolores Cahill, who was due to appear via Teams, entered the council chamber.

Cahill, who was a leading figure in the anti-vax movement during the Covid-19 pandemic, told councillors that “much of what you have heard about me is not true” and that she “had a lawful and moral duty to inform people about danger” in relation to conspiracy theories about vaccines which gained her national attention.

She went on to detail her extensive national and European experience on councils and advisory boards and focused on the potential for “reinvigorating rural Ireland through remote working”.

As the meeting progressed it became increasingly obvious that the frustration with the process extended to the councillors as well as the candidates.

Many of the speakers seemed to have a poor understanding of the duties and powers of the office while others used the opportunity to promote unrelated matters. Councillors were not particularly engaged and asked few questions as proceedings meandered on.

The schedule continued with Diarmaid Mulcahy who spoke about how his experience in trade negotiations around fisheries qualified him for the role saying that “lots of freedoms are under siege” and was followed by bus driver Aodhán OhArrachtáin arguing against digitisation and government services going online.

Gerben Uunk from the Party for Animal Welfare pitched his campaign for addressing Ireland’s position as “one of the worst countries in Europe for animal welfare” which he would tackle by ending state subsidies for horse and greyhound racing without elaborating how this could be achieved by running for president.

Maria Steen was due to appear via Teams, but informed the Council of her withdrawal after the meeting had started as it was not possible for her to secure enough local authority nominations. She is instead focusing on canvassing Oireachtas members and has reportedly gained 18 out the 20 endorsements needed to get on the ballot.

Eighty-one year old Charlie Keddy, unsuccessful candidate in every general and local election since 1991, was next to enter the chamber. He took up barely a minute of his allotted speaking time saying that he "would be a president for the unborn” and “I’m against abortion, vote for me”.

Despite this bare-bones presentation, he was one of the few attendees to grasp the powers of the presidency saying “I can’t change one little thing and I won’t try”.

Charlotte Keenan appeared in person and spoke about the need to offer refuge and assistance to those fleeing conflict while promoting mental health services and conservation without much detail on what her presidency would look like.

When asked by Cllr McGuinness on what she would do if invited to meet an Israeli delegation to mediate, she replied: “I’m the best woman for the job” and that she planned to visit Palestine regardless of whether or not she made the ballot.

The final candidate of the day was Séana Kerr, a former midwife from Newry who was struck off by Northern Ireland’s Council for Nursing and Midwifery after unfounded comments made about Covid vaccines’ risk to pregnant mothers.

Kerr described her manifesto of ‘integrity over popularity’ and repeatedly talked about her belief in the importance of the mother, father and child family unit.

After the presentations had concluded the Council resoundingly voted against backing any candidate by 18-3 plus three absentees with only Cllrs McGuinness and Shortall along with Cllr Tomás Breathnach (Lab) wishing to put someone forward.

There was a clear sense that the decision not to nominate anyone had been made well in advance of the meeting and councillors were present out of obligation rather than any real intention of giving an endorsement.

Though the quality of presentations left much to be desired, it seems that the current path to the ballot through local authorities is not working for either side as candidates bemoan what they consider the undemocratic blocking of nominations by the biggest parties while councillors criticise the ease at which unsuitable hopefuls can appear before them.

Presidential nominations close on Wednesday afternoon and the election will take place on October 24.

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