Frances Black rules herself out of the presidential race
Senator Frances Black has ruled herself out of the running to become the country's next president.
The Independent politician was flagged as a potential candidate for Áras an Uachtaráin for an alliance of left-leaning parties late last year.
Ms Black previously said that she had been approached to enter discussions about the prospect of contesting November's election. Senator Frances Black. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie
However, in an interview earlier this week, she stated that she had received no official offers, leading her to conclude that she would not run.
The former singer told The Last Word with Matt Cooper on Today FM: 'I'm ruling myself out of the presidency for sure.
I had conversations with people at the start of the year, around this, around the smaller opposition parties, and I haven't heard anything.'
The Dublin-based senator described the presidential election campaign as a 'bloodbath', adding: 'I've said it before, you'd want to be a very brave person to go into the presidential election.'
Ms Black also cited her work on the Occupied Territories Bill, stating: 'I have too much work to do, particularly on this Bill.
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