Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish TimesFine Gael MEP Seán Kelly has claimed he was “shafted” by his party when colleagues in Leinster House declined to back him to run for the presidential election. Mr Kelly claimed that Heather Humphreys, who went on to lose to a Catherine Connolly landslide last weekend, had been “anointed” as the candidate. In particular, I think they were quite disappointed with the way the nomination process was handled,” Mr Kelly said. Mr Finucane said he felt Mr Kelly “didn’t get a chance”. “Seán Kelly is fluent in Irish, and I believe that the party made a cardinal mistake in their nomination,” he added.

Source: The Irish Times October 27, 2025 22:50 UTC