October date likely for presidential poll, delegates told

ELECTION DAY:THE PRESIDENTIAL election is likely to take place on Friday, October 21st, Fine Gael director of elections and chairman of the parliamentary party Charlie Flanagan told delegates on Saturday.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny envisaged a 12-week campaign allowing for summer holidays. Mr Kenny said the party had a “decent chance” of winning.

Fine Gael has never won a presidential election despite having four candidates in six elections since 1945.

Officials at the convention stressed that the October date had not been confirmed and that Minister for the Environment and Local Government Phil Hogan would make the formal announcement in the Dáil.

News of the date angered Opposition TDs. Fianna Fáil environment spokesman Niall Collins, who believed it had been announced formally, said: “In the past, Fine Gael loved nothing more than to accuse its opponents of being ‘tribal’. As can be seen from this convention, in government Fine Gael is tribal beyond anything seen from a government party in many years.”

During his speech to about 450 delegates at the selection convention in Dublin, Mr Kenny paid tribute to “the outstanding job” done by President Mary McAleese and her husband, Senator Martin McAleese.

He praised her particular connection with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, which began at Messines Ridge in Belgium a number of years ago and which “resulted in an invitation from Áras an Uachtaráin being accepted by Buckingham Palace”.

Mr Flanagan said there would be five TDs as regional directors on the national committee for the election: Paschal Donoghue in Dublin; Jerry Buttimer in Munster; Damien English in Leinster; and Joe O’Reilly in Connacht-Ulster with special campaign co-ordinator Regina Doherty.