O’Malley sees Yes victory in Irish referendum

Martin O’Malley, a likely contender to be the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, is due in Dublin on May 24th after cancelling a trip last month because of the violence in the Baltimore, where he was mayor.

Mr O'Malley (52), a former two-term governor of Maryland, is scheduled to speak to less than 100 people at an event in Dún Laoghaire hosted by estate agent Mark FitzGerald, chairman of the Sherry FitzGerald Group.

The politician is being paid for the speech, organised by business consultant Ronan King. As president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce in 2007, Mr King brought Mr O'Malley to Ireland to speak in the chamber's push to have the mayor of Dublin directly elected.

The Irish-American politician is related to Aidan Gavin, managing director of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald.

One engagement

Mr O’Malley, who was mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2006, was due to make a number of speeches on a two-day visit last month. His visit to Dublin next weekend, part of a brief trip to

Europe

, is shorter so his itinerary will only allow one speaking engagement.

He cancelled last month at the last minute to return to Baltimore after violence erupted in the city following the funeral of African-American man Freddie Gray, who died on April 19th, a week after being injured in police custody.

His visit to Dublin comes just six days before an expected May 30th announcement in Baltimore that he is running for the presidency next year, challenging the Democratic frontrunner, second-time candidate Hillary Clinton.

Mr O'Malley has spent recent months preparing for his campaign, visiting Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, key states that nominate the party's presidential candidates early.

Positioning himself to the left of Mrs Clinton to appeal to the party’s progressive base, Mr O’Malley has touted his liberal credentials during his time as governor as a supporter of same-sex marriage and reforms for illegal immigrants.

Irish will vote Yes

Speaking to

The Irish Times

last month at an event in South Carolina, Mr O’Malley, who will visit Dublin two days after the same-sex marriage referendum, said he believes Irish people will vote Yes.

“All of us should be free to practise whatever religion we chose, but I think all of us can agree that there is dignity in every child’s home and every child’s home should be protected legally under law,” he said.

“That was the conclusion that the people of Maryland came to at the ballot, and I think that’s what the Irish will conclude as well.”

Mr O’Malley’s policy of “zero tolerance” policing during his time as mayor was criticised last month for creating a culture of aggression that created poor relations between police and the black community.