Heather Humphreys leading Seán Kelly in bid for Fine Gael nomination for presidency

LAST UPDATE | 11 hrs ago

FINE GAEL MEP Seán Kelly and Heather Humphreys both confirmed yesterday morning that they would seek the party’s nomination to contest the presidential election.

However, Humphreys already has a commanding lead over Kelly.

Any potential candidate will need the nomination of 20 members of the Parliamentary Party, 25 Fine Gael Councillors and five members of the Executive Council.

Humphreys has already gained the backing of close to 40 members of the Parliamentary Party. 

Fine Gael was forced to reopen nominations for its presidential candidate after Mairead McGuinness withdrew last week on medical advice.

The party scrambled to consider their next steps in the Áras race at a meeting of its Executive Council yesterday evening.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Tuesday, Kelly confirmed his intention to seek Fine Gael nomination, stating that he would be “greatly honored to represent the party”.

In a statement this morning, Kelly said “the time is right” to contest for the nomination.

He previously “reluctantly” withdrew his name, ensuring that McGuinness was the sole name put forward before the party. “It was the hardest decision that I ever made, not to contest,” Kelly said.

Announcing his change of mind this morning, he said: “circumstances changed.”

“With Mairead having to withdraw, that changed the position – we needed a candidate.”

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“I’m delighted and enthusiastic about the prospect of running for president of Ireland,” he added.

He added that the role of President is “the highest honor in Ireland”, and said that “there’s huge potential in the job”. 

Meanwhile, Humphreys made her announcement on Cavan-Monaghan radio station Northern Sound, where she said that she had “thought long and hard about the decision” after discussions with friends and family.

She said that “a number of people” in Fine Gael has contacted her to encourage her to run for the presidency.

“So I have decided to go for it.”

Humphreys, like Kelly, had previously ruled herself out of the race after McGuinness announced her intention to run – but she said today that “everything has changed.”

She added that after she decided not to contest in the general elections last November, she was “feeling burnt out”.

“I knew the tank was probably running on empty, so I’ve been enjoying life since I retired from the Dáil. The family are well, I’m well. I feel like I’m back to my old self,” Humphreys said.

“I’ve had a good rest. The tank is full again. And you know, timing is a funny thing, because I have never felt as good about taking on a challenge.”

Asked why she had decided to campaign for Fine Gael’s presidential bid, she said that the role of President is a “unifying force”.

“I want to focus on using the presidency to listen to people. I want to hear their story and where there is division, try and facilitate reconciliation and understanding,” Humphreys said.

“And I do want to deepen relationships between the people of this island, both north and south.”

Áras race

Reflecting on Humphreys’ bid, Kelly said that Fine Gael members “would like to have a contest.”

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“We haven’t had a contest for a long time now – we didn’t have a contest for the last presidential election seven years ago, and we didn’t have a contest of the leadership. We also did not have a contest when Mairead got the nomination.”

“So I think people would like to have a contest. A contest is good for parties, it’s good for democracies,” Kelly added.

Humphreys also welcomed Kelly’s bid, saying: “ have no issue with a contest.”

“I know Sean to be a gentleman. I really want to wish him the best of luck,” Humphreys said.

Of course, at the end of the day, may the best person win.

In a statement after of the Fine Gael summit yesterday, Tánaiste Simon Harris said that reopening nominations would allow the party to select a candidate “by mid-September”.

The nomination process officially starts at noon today.

Support 

Though it’s early days, pledges of support were coming in even prior to the campaign confirmations.

Independent TDs and Ministers of State Noel Grealish and Seán Canney expressed their support for Humphreys over the weekend, while Minister of State and Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae also said he would back Humphreys “wholeheartedly” in the presidential election.

Sligo Leitrim Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan has also “warmly welcomed” the decision of Humphreys to seek the party’s nomination, saying in a statement today that he wanted to express his full support to her as the Fine Gael candidate to contest the party’s
nomination at the forthcoming convention.

And today, a host of Fine Gael figures have been publicly pledging their support to Humphreys, such as MEP Maria Walsh, as well as TDs including Barry Ward, James Geoghegan, Neale Richmond, Patrick O’Donovan, Emer Higgins, and Hildegarde Naughton.

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