Laois County Councillors have voted not to nominate any candidate to give them the opportunity to run for President of Ireland.
Independent candidate Gareth Sheridan received a proposer and a seconder resulting in a vote.
In the end, 11 Councillors voted against him and eight voted for him.
Fianna Fail’s Paschal McEvoy, Paddy Bracken, Catherine Fitzgerald, John Joe Fennelly, Padraig Fleming and Seamus McDonald all voted no.
While Fine Gael’s Conor Bergin, Vivienne Phelan, Paddy Buggy, John King and Barry Walsh, as mandated by their party, also blocked it.
Independents Ollie Clooney, Aisling Moran, Tommy Mulligan, Caroline Dwane-Stanley, Aidan Mullins, Ben Brennan and James Kelly plus Labour’s Marie Tuohy all voted in favour.
The day began with seven candidates scheduled to appear to plead their case but six actually showing up.
Charlie Keddy, Keith McGrory, Lucy Ann O’Leary, Abbas Ali O’Shea, Gareth Sheridan and Gerben Uunk all gave five minute presentations and took questions for five minutes afterwards.
Professor Dr Joseph Chikelue Obi was allocated time but did not show up on the day.
You can look back at the discussions between the candidates and the Councillors on our Live Blog.
In the end, Cllr Aisling Moran proposed Gareth Sheridan with Tommy Mulligan and James Kelly co-seconding it.
Sheridan had been successful earlier in the day in Kerry but it seemed apparent before hand that both the Fianna Fail and Fine Gael Councillors were going to block him.
A lively discussion took place before the vote with Cllr Aisling Moran, Marie Tuohy, Caroline Dwane-Stanley, Tommy Mulligan and James Kelly pleading with their colleagues to abstain from the vote if they were not going to support Sheridan.
Following the vote, angry words were exchanged between the Councillors on both sides.
Cllr Aisling Moran said this was ‘dangerous for democracy’ and asked ‘why the government parties were blocking independents and asked what were they afraid of?’.
She said: “Eamon de Valera will turn in his grave seeing his Constitution being torn to shreds.”
Cllr Paschal McEvoy jibed back that this was ‘democracy in action’ and said that Moran and co ‘simply didn’t have the numbers’.
Cllr Moran then called out Cllr Conor Bergin and Vivienne Phelan as ‘people in their 30s who have blocked a young person from getting on the ballot’.
Neither replied as Cllr Barry Walsh rang the bell to signal the meeting was over.
Cllr Tommy Mulligan said that this was ‘no different to Trump Politics’ and asked if it was the intention of the government parties to ‘block independents’ everywhere.
It all eventually came to an end with both sides jibing at one another and nobody any closer to becoming president.
SEE ALSO – LIVE BLOG: Presidential candidates seek nomination from Laois County Council
