Sinn Féin TD says Gerry Adams would have made a 'really good' president

Eva Osborne

A Sinn Féin TD has said Gerry Adams would have made a "really, really good president" had he not ruled himself out of the contest at an early stage.

Speaking to BreakingNews.ie, TD for the Dublin Fingal West constituency, Louise O'Reilly, said "nobody can fault" the amount of work Adams has done over his lifetime.

O'Reilly particularly emphasised the role Adams could have played in advancing Irish unity had he been in Áras an Uachtaráin during a potential border poll, which she believes is imminent in the next presidential term.

"Gerry is very much involved in the campaign for Irish unity, but he said himself at an early stage that he ruled himself out of the contest," she said.

"I think [a referendum is] highly likely and I think it becomes even more likely now when we see all three of the people who are running to be Uachtaráin have all committed themselves in some form or another to Irish unity.

"They all believe that it's a good thing and that it's something we should talk about and plan for. The difference is, the government reps who are running for election seem to think that talking about it is good enough, whereas we see in Catherine a person who's going to be prepared to actually engage in those conversations and work towards it."

Had he not ruled himself out, O'Reilly said Gerry Adams would have had support to run from both within Sinn Fein and from people outside the party because he is "incredibly popular".

"You go canvassing with Gerry Adams, you can start off with two or three people, maybe five or six people in the canvas team, and you're at 50 people by the end of it, because everyone wants to talk to him, they want a selfie with him.

They want to ask him: 'Here, what's Kneecap really like, Gerry? What are they really like?'

"I've seen them, I've been out with them, it's very refreshing, actually, to see, but particularly with young people, Gerry is incredibly popular.

"And to my mind, Gerry would have made a really, really, really good president, but it wasn't for him. And so, you know, it wasn't a question that we considered, but because of his decision."

Irish unity

O'Reilly said it matters who is in Áras an Uachtaráin when the issue of a referendum on Irish unity comes up, and that that person should be Catherine Connolly.

Left-wing independent candidate Catherine Connolly is backed by Sinn Féin and other opposition parties, while Jim Gavin is Fianna Fáil's candidate and Heather Humphreys is Fine Gael's candidate.

"It's an important office. I think what we would like to see as Republicans and as United Irelanders is not just somebody who thinks: 'If Irish unity happens, I don't mind', but somebody who is prepared to work for it.

"And indeed, I think Catherine is the person who will be prepared to work for it.

"To be fair to the other candidates in the field, when they're asked about a border poll, the answer from them very frequently is: 'Well, definitely not now. We don't know when, but definitely not now'.

I mean, that's just not good enough. We want the person who will be in Áras an Uachtaráin to be someone who will be active in ensuring that we have those conversations in relation to Irish unity.

"This is what Sinn Féin have been saying now to the government is: 'Let's plan for it'. Irish unity will not happen if we don't plan for it and work for it.

"But the Government need to facilitate that. I think it's important that whoever is in the office of president facilitates that and is somebody who is open to those conversations. And Catherine Connelly very definitely is."