Former Taoiseach Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern has claimed that Sinn Féin would have “had 10 more” seats if they didn’t have Gerry Adams as their leader.
Mr Ahern also said he believes Mr Adams only wants to lead the opposition instead. Mr Ahern said he believed that either Sinn Féin’s Deputy Leader Mary-Lou McDonald or finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty could be better than Mr Adams.
Mr Ahern told reporters: “It depends where in the country you are,” he said during Independent.ie’scast The Front Bench. “If you’re in Dublin it’s Mary-Lou, if you go to a lot of the countryside it’s Pearse Doherty.”
“I have to say that if Gerry had have taken early retirement I think that Sinn Féin would be far higher in seats.”