Fianna Fáil’s presidential candidate Jim Gavin has dismissed suggestions made by opponents that he was a Fine Gael supporter in the past.
Mr Gavin acknowledged he was approached by Fine Gael to stand in a European election but had declined the offer.
“My mum and dad came from West Clare. It’s a staunch Fianna Fáil part of the country, and I’m very proud to represent Fianna Fáil,” he said.
Asked about the Fine Gael approach, he said: “I can’t control that, but what I can control is how I respond to that. I was respectful and I politely declined.”
RM Block
The three declared presidential election candidates attended the National Ploughing Championship in Screggan, Co Offaly, on Tuesday. All are expected to spend much of the week there canvassing among a predicted cumulative attendance of 300,000.
All were questioned about issues surrounding their candidacy. At a media interview, Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys was asked about weekend newspaper reports that she had attended an Orange Order parade in Co Monaghan a little over a decade ago.
Ms Humphreys insisted the event, held in the Co Monaghan village of Drum, was an annual picnic and not a parade. She said people from across the community and from both sides of the border went to it.
“A Sinn Féin councillor came to it. Éamon Ó Cuív [former Fianna Fáil TD] came to it back in 2009. People were absolutely delighted to see him there, and acknowledged how important it was that he did come, him being the grandson of Éamon de Valera,” she said.
“If we’re ever going to get anywhere, we need to bring people together ... I’ve spent my life trying to bring people together, to break down those barriers.”
Independent candidate Catherine Connolly was visiting the Ploughing Championship for the first time.
Asked about the “blackface” Halloween costume controversy surrounding Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes, Ms Connolly said this is a matter for the Social Democrats to deal with internally but that many people have unknowingly said racists things in the past.
“We have all said and done things in our lives, and we have said many racist things actually in our past, that we didn’t even think were racist,” she said.
“It’s appalling, unacceptable, but we should all learn. I taught Travellers for three years. I was witness to what they suffered and the racist comments. And so we should all learn. And I don’t think it’s something to decry as such. It’s something to learn from.”
Blackface is a historical practice that is widely viewed as racist and deeply offensive. It commonly refers to when a person, typically with white skin, paints their face darker to resemble a black person and dates back to a time when black people were mocked for the entertainment of white people promoting negative stereotypes.
Ms Connolly also said she would not be making an apology for her decision to nominate Gemma O’Doherty for the 2018 presidential election. Ms O’Doherty has drawn criticism for comments she has made on a wide number of issues including vaccination and immigration, in addition to her critics claiming she has spread conspiracy theories.
“I made the best decision I could at the time,” said Ms Connolly. “Let’s remember that that journalist was an award-winning journalist and there was an unfair dismissal against the paper she worked for.
“I did not support Gemma O’Doherty. I have never supported her, but I nominated her.”
Separately, Tánaiste Simon Harris said “even Mystic Meg does not know” what is happening with Sinn Féin’s process to select a presidential candidate.
Speaking at the festival, the Fine Gael leader implied that Sinn Féin’s handling of the issue has been “carefully curated and media managed”.
He said the party will disclose its strategy on Saturday “just in time for the Sunday papers”.
Asked about the “blackface” controversy surrounding Mr Hayes, he said what happened “was wrong then and is wrong now”.
“It’s also something that was 16 years ago,” he added. “It’s a matter for the Social Democrats. The man has apologised.”
