Businessman and former dancer Michael Flatley has not dismissed the possibility of running for the Irish presidency, reports RTE.
Speaking to Brendan O’Connor on RTÉ Radio, the creator of the globally successful Riverdance and Lord of the Dance shows said he has been approached by many people about the idea, and that he “takes it seriously.”
He said: “I’ve not made the decision, but I have a team of advisers that are advising me on this. I have a huge business to run, reports RTE.
“I have an army of dancers relying on me to earn a living. I have a whiskey company, a beautiful young wife and a son I want to spend time with. If I felt I could benefit the Irish people and, maybe more importantly, be a voice for the Irish people. Right now, I don’t believe they have a voice, not a true, strong voice that speaks their language,” reports RTE.
He added that he considers himself “very blessed” to frequently meet “the average man.”
“I meet the average person on the street from five to 95. I meet them all and I hear their concerns. And I’d be lying if I said they’re happy right now, and somebody has to speak for the Irish people. I’m not sure we need another politician… if I’m honest. It’s a statesman’s role, but I’ve spent the last 30 years of my life touring the world promoting Ireland and Irish culture,” reports RTE.
Mr Flatley listed various world leaders and dignitaries he has met and highlighted the value of promoting Ireland on the global stage.
“I’ve met them all. I’ve met the Bushes, the Obamas, Trump, Putin. I’ve met the Clintons. I’ve met the king and queen of England. I’ve met the king and queen of Sweden and of Spain,” reports RTE.
“I’ve met all those people on a more cultural front, more to promote the country. And I think maybe that’s what the job of president is all about,” reports RTE.
He said that although no political party has contacted him, he has been “approached by some very weighted individuals people in the know.”
“It’s certainly not something that I’ve made any decision on, but it does get frustrating when you see the hard-working Irish taxpayer working flat out and having no say in things,” reports RTE.
He concluded by saying: “Let it be said that I stand for Ireland and the Irish people, Sin é.”
Healy-Rae says he is not a horse in the presidential race
Meanwhile, Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae has ruled himself out of the presidential race, reports RTE.
Earlier today, former TD Ivan Yates referred to Mr Healy-Rae as a potential “dark horse” in the upcoming election.
However, appearing on RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Mr Healy-Rae categorically said he is not in the running.
“The horse racing was on here in Killarney for the last number of days, and I am not a horse in those races or in the presidential race, because I have a very clear focus in life,” he said, reports RTE.
“I’ve been elected by the people of Kerry to act as an independent person within Government, helping them in every way I can, and also throughout the rest of the country. I appreciate that role very much,” reports RTE.
“But you can be sure of one thing, whoever’s name is going to be on a piece of paper, it’s not going to be me,” he added, reports RTE.
Mr Healy-Rae praised Michael Flatley as “an excellent ambassador.”
“When you speak about Michael Flatley, he’s been an excellent ambassador for what I would call our traditions of dance and music for many, many decades now. He’s a person that I know personally, and he’s a very, very nice gentleman. I wish him every good luck in every endeavour that he would ever have … but I am not going to be coming out and signing nomination papers for any person. I’m going to be letting the people evolve and I look forward to an interesting presidential campaign,” reports RTE.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s Agriculture spokesperson Martin Kenny said his party is still working on its approach to the election.
“We haven’t eliminated anything. There was a discussion with the grassroots across the entire country over the last couple of weeks, and people put forward their views,” he said on the same programme. Many people feel that as the largest Opposition party, we should be running somebody. Other people think no, we shouldn’t, we should back somebody from a broad left alliance,” reports RTE.
“It’s up in the air yet. We have still to consider it, we are considering it and we’ll take our time considering it. The election isn’t going to be until November, so there’s plenty of time to work out the details of all of this,” he added, r r
Aontú TD Paul Lawless said his party had also spoken to several individuals about a possible run, and some had expressed interest themselves.
“We have a constitutional obligation and the ability to put a candidate forward for this election, and I think it’s really important that we take that very seriously,” he said, reports RTE.
“We have reached out to a number of independents to try to develop a grouping, or a caucus, to give potential candidates who have approached us a pathway or a vehicle upon which to run,” reports RTE.
Mr Lawless said he was not prepared to name Aontú’s potential candidates at this time.
“I think it would be unfair of us at this stage to put their name forward, because we are trying to develop this caucus,” reports RTE.
“We’re trying to develop a grouping to allow individuals to make their pitch and then the members, TDs and senators, then can vote in a PR system and then potentially back a candidate,” he said, reports RTE.
The presidential election is expected to be held in late October, reports RTE.
So far, two candidates have officially entered the race.
Former EU Commissioner and MEP Mairead McGuinness is running with the backing of Fine Gael, while TD Catherine Connolly is contesting as an Independent after securing the support of 20 Oireachtas members, reports RTE.
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