Last night, commentator and business man Nick Delehanty bowed out of the race for the Áras as entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan had done earlier in the day, as – to use Sheridan’s words – remaining in the process was futile because the political parties had blocked independent candidates from obtaining a nomination.
Later on today or tomorrow we will know if barrister and campaigner Maria Steen has been successful in using the Oireachtas route (to participate in the race a candidate must be nominated by 20 members of the Oireachtas or 4 local authorities) but the ruthlessness shown by the political parties at local level in shutting down any challenge to establishment candidates shows the need for reform.
This article is premium content
Get unlimited access to Gript
Support Gript and get exclusive content, full archives and an ad-free experience
Subscribe
Already a member? Sign in here