Once every seven years, local authorities do the political equivalent of speed dating.
A group of would-be suitors – most of them perfect strangers – arrive into council chambers to make five-minute pitches for the affection of councillors, hoping to entice them to support their bids to be the next president of Ireland.
On Monday, Kerry County Council had the distinction of being the first to host such an event. The aspirants included an electrician from Cork, a Dutch man passionate about animal rights, and a former Marilyn Monroe impersonator who’s an admirer of Donald Trump and says people call her “far right”.
All 14 were given five minutes to pitch their credentials and take questions. Most were well meaning in their presentations though many came across as quixotic escapades.
RM Block
Only four would really have anything approaching a national profile: Cork City councillor Kieran McCarthy; businessman Nick Delahanty; entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan; and conservative commentator Maria Steen.
Independent councillor Jackie Healy-Rae said only two had made contact with him: “The other 12 I know nothing about them or what they stand for. It makes me suspicious about how seriously they take it.
“Are they just coming today to have a bit of a platform in front of a number of councillors?” he asked.
Article 12 of the Constitution allows an alternative route to a presidential nomination for aspirants. Rather than garnering the support of 20 Oireachtas members, if they secure the support of four of the 31 councils, they get themselves on the ticket.
Monday’s meeting lasted five hours. Those who came were sincere but councillors gently reminded them it was a big leap – to put it very mildly indeed – to go from being a completely anonymous citizen to being first citizen of the land.
Having said that, there were some interesting presentations. Dr Donncha Mac Gabhann from Limerick suggested an “ongoing assembly of citizens of which the president would be chair”.
Businessman Keith McGrory focused on cutting the cost of housing and said the president could use the influence of the office to become an effective housing tsar.
Walter Ryan-Purcell, a Killarney-based businessman, argued for more use of the presidential power to address both Houses of the Oireachtas.
Sarah Louise Mulligan, a former performer and Marilyn Monroe impersonator, pushed unapologetic hardline-right rhetoric against “illegal” immigration, against the European Union and of citizens being attacked for defending ideology.
Cllr Fionnán Fitzgerald quoted James Connolly as having the best word on the matter: “Let no Irish man throw a stone at the foreigner. He may hit his own clansmen.”
Cllr Fitzgerald and Cllr Norma Moriarty put the hopefuls through “oral Irish” tests. Other councillors, especially Marie Maloney, tested the candidates by asking tricky questions about specific constitutional powers.
Of the 14 pitches, only two or three stood any chance of getting backing from councillors. Sheridan (36) made a convincing case for the locked-out generation. Steen’s performances in previous national debates was also in evidence as she set out a conservative agenda.
“My position has always been that abortion is a tragedy,” she told the meeting.
Independent councillors (12) outnumber Fianna Fáil (9), Fine Gael (6) and Sinn Féin (4) in Kerry. One Independent, Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan, said he would nominate Sheridan. Fine Gael is whipped to oppose any nomination, but Independents reckon they have enough votes depending on abstentions from Fianna Fáil and Labour.
