Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill not ruling out run in presidential election
Speaking at a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh, Ms O'Neill said she has plenty to do as First Minister, but did not rule herself out as a candidate.
The election for the next president is expected to take place in October.
When asked if she would put her name forward as a candidate, Ms O'Neill said: 'I am working our way through our deliberations as we speak.'
She also called for voting rights in presidential elections to be extended to Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland.
I could be elected Uachtarán, but I can't vote in that election
'Just to say, we obviously also haven't concluded our own deliberations in terms of the presidential race itself,' she said. 'I think I've plenty to do being as First Minister, but I think that the fact remains that I could stand for election, I could be elected Uachtarán na hÉireann, but I can't vote in that election.
'So that's where there's a deficit, and what we need to see is presidential voting rights extended to the North, so that Irish citizens in the North can vote for their Uachtarán.'
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was not aware of any engagement with former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood about becoming the Fianna Fáil candidate for the presidency.
It has been reported that Mr Eastwood is considering a bid for Áras an Uachtaráin.
Asked to confirm if Mr Eastwood had been approached by the party, Mr Martin challenged the basis for the question, adding: 'There's been no contact with me, there's been no engagement that I am aware of from the Fianna Fail party and it hasn't been on the agenda at all.'
Mr Martin said he was 'surprised' to hear Mr Eastwood was considering a run, but 'it's open to everybody to put themselves forward'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
3 hours ago
- Sunday World
‘We will beat British Government for second time in court' – Kneecap at largest ever gig
The rap trio played in Finsbury Park, London, on Saturday evening as a supporting act for Fontaines D.C Next month will see 'the second time Kneecap have beat the British Government in court', the Irish rap trio said at their largest gig to date. The 45,000-strong crowd in Finsbury Park, London watched them walk on in front of a screen that said 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people'. They were supporting Irish band Fontaines DC, whose front man Grian Chatten joined to perform their collaboration Better Way To Live. People echoed the Belfast group's chants when they repeated the 'f*** Keir Starmer' and 'you're just a s*** Jeremy Corbyn' comments made at Glastonbury the previous weekend. Liam Óg O hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this month charged with a terror offence and will return next month. Fellow member Naoise Ó Cairealláin, who uses the stage name Móglaí Bap, said 'if anyone's free on the 20th of August, you wanna go to the court and support Mo Chara' before shouting 'free Mo Chara, free, free Mo Chara'. Wearing a keffiyeh, Ó hAnnaidh responded: 'I appreciate it, the 20th of August is going to be the second time Kneecap have beat the British Government in court – in their own court, on their own terms, and we're going to beat them for the second time. 'I tell you what, there is nothing like embarrassing the British Government.' Last year Kneecap won a discrimination challenge over a decision by former business secretary Kemi Badenoch to refuse them a £14,250 funding award. The UK Government conceded it was 'unlawful' after the band launched legal action claiming the decision to refuse the grant discriminated against them on grounds of nationality and political opinion. It was agreed that the £14,250 sum would be paid by the Government to the group. During the performance the group intermittently broke off the mosh pits and raucous crowd by addressing the war in Gaza, which is a recurring theme of their shows. The crowd in Finsbury Park (Jeff Moore/PA) Ó hAnnaidh said: 'It's usually around this point of the gig that we decide to talk about what's happening in Palestine. 'I understand that it's almost inhumane that I'm thinking of new things to say on stage during a genocide, for sound bites. 'It's beyond words now, like, we always used to say obviously they're being bombed from the skies with nowhere to go, but it's beyond that now. 'They've been being starved for a few months on end, and not only that, the areas that they have set up, to collect aid and food, have turned into killing fields and they're killing hundreds a day trying to collect food.' He continued: 'It's beyond words, but again, we played in Plymouth last night to 750 people and we did the same thing, so it doesn't matter how big or small our audience is, Kneecap will always use the platform for talking about this.' Ó Cairealláin had said earlier in the show: 'They can try and silence us, they can try and stop us, but we're not going to stop talking about Palestine – as long as there's a genocide happening in Palestine we're going to keep talking about it and yous are going to keep talking about it, and they can't stop us.' Liam Og O Hannaidh (Jeff Moore/PA) 'Kneecap is not the story. Genocide in Gaza is' – Belfast rappers release new video demanding action against Israel The UN human rights office has recorded 613 killings near humanitarian convoys and at aid distribution points in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed American organisation since it began operations in late May. On Friday its spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings, but 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel's military. The Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops.
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Iran, Hezbollah, and the Kinahans in league to bring tonnes of cocaine through Ireland
Iran and the Lebanese terrorist group it funds, Hezbollah, worked with the Kinahan cartel in a foiled plot to traffic more than 2.2 tonnes of cocaine through Irish waters, authorities believe. Direct links between Hezbollah and the two Iranians sentenced on Friday for their involvement in a drug trafficking operation on the MV Matthew, the interception of which led to the biggest seizure of cocaine in the history of the State, are also suspected. Saied Hassani, 39, a third officer with significant sea faring experience and the former captain of the MV Matthew, Soheil Jelveh, 51, are believed to have direct links to the terror group Hezbollah. The voice directing operations on the MV Matthew remotely from Dubai, known in Signal and WhatsApp groups used by the crew as 'Captain Noah', named in court as Mehdi Bordbar, who is believed to be a UAE resident, is also believed to have direct links to Hezbollah. Mehdi Bordbar is believed to be alive in the Middle East and international investigations are now underway into his potential involvement in transnational organized crime. Venezuela, the South American country which the MV Matthew set sail from and off the coast of which its cocaine cargo was loaded by armed men at night, is also believed to have strong links to Iran, with its anti-US and anti-West ideology, and Hezbollah, the militant group it funds. Dave Caunter, Director of organized and emerging crime Interpol, Captain Darragh Kirwan, Head of Neval services Operations Command, Angela Willis, Assistant Commissioner organized and serious crime, Ruth Kennedy, Revenue and Sjoerd Top, Executive Director Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre – Narcotics (MAOC (N). Picture: Dan Linehan Gardaí are also now investigating the two 'persons of interest' identified by gardaí as travelling to Castletownbere in West Cork and buying the Castlemore shipping vessel for some €300,0000, the money sent to Ireland from Dubai. When this fishing boat ran aground off the Wexford coast in September 2023, it precipitated the collapse of the major drug trafficking operation. The Castlemore was to collect cocaine from the MV Matthew off the Irish coast in September 2023. But its wifi malfunctioned, its engine failed, and it ran aground on a notorious sandbank in stormy seas. Its two crew members were rescued by helicopter before being arrested. On Friday, eight men were sentenced to a combined 129 years in prison for their role in the drug trafficking operation. They are Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49, who was said to be the 'eyes and ears' of the cartel on board the MV Matthew and was described in court as a 'malign force'; Iranians Soheil Jelveh, 51, and Saeid Hassani, 39; Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31; Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, both 32; and Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62; and UK national Jamie Harbron. Justice Melanie Greally accepted that none of the accused were operating in the higher echelons of the organised crime group which was directing the operation remotely. But they were 'committed to the success of the venture'. And maritime drug trafficking cannot take place without the expertise of experienced seafarers, which most of the men were, Justice Greally said. The Kinahan cartel is believed to be one of multiple organised crime groups involved in the MV Matthew operation. An operation of that scale would involve multiple crime groups and entities, Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, head of organised and serious crime with An Garda Síochána, said. The financing of the operation is being investigated transnationally, she said, but it was 'reasonable to assume' that the Kinahan organized crime group was involved. Now that eight men have been sentenced for their involvement, the next phase of the investigation is underway, looking at other people in Ireland and abroad. It will also look at asset recovery for those involved. 'These are transglobal networks, they can interchange between each other. 'So we're looking at a number of transglobal potentials.' Speaking in Haulbowline at a press briefing on the record cocaine seizure after eight men were sentenced to some 129 years in jail for their involvement in the drug smuggling operation, Ast Chief Commissioner Willis said: 'Transnational organised crime groups know no borders. They prey on people's vulnerability for their own financial gain. People are dispensable and expendable when no longer of use to the criminal organization. Life is cheap and protecting their core criminal interests, which is money, is their key priority. To any person who consumes illegal, controlled drugs in a recreational setting, you are the ones funding these criminal organisations, you are directly linked to the misery and the suffering criminal organisations inflict on our communities. 'An Garda Síochána along with our national and international partners will never waiver in our determination to disrupt, degrade and dismantle these criminal organisations, with the ultimate aim to bring those responsible for addiction and death to justice.' Representatives from the Joint Task Force that intercepted the MV Matthew and uncovered the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the State, were at Haulbowline naval base in Cork today, with gardaí, the navy and revenue commissioners present. Representatives from Interpol and the maritime drug dismantling body MAOC-N also attended.
Irish Independent
6 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘We will beat British Government for second time in court' – Kneecap at largest ever gig
Kneecap played in Finsbury Park, London, on Saturday evening as a supporting act for Fontaines D.C Pol Allingham ©Press Association Next month will see 'the second time Kneecap have beat the British Government in court', the Irish rap trio said at their largest gig to date. The 45,000-strong crowd in Finsbury Park, London watched them walk on in front of a screen that said 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people'.
