Former Fine Gael local TD Heather Humphreys has confirmed she will be putting herself forward for the party's contest to select a presidential candidate.
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan Show, Ms Humphreys said she has "decided to go for it".
She said everything had changed following Mairead McGuinness' decision to withdraw from the race and wished her very good friend the very best in her recovery.
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“I've made a decision. I thought long and hard about this, and I really want to thank all the people who have contacted me in recent days, and I have been genuinely humbled by all the calls and the texts that I've received, both from people inside politics and people with no political affiliation at all.
“I'm very conscious it was the people of Cavan and Monaghan who put their trust in me and supported me down through the years, and I felt it was only right that I come on here this morning and tell them first. So I have decided to go for it, and I will be seeking the Fine Gael nomination for the president of Ireland.”
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Ireland.”
“I'm very conscious that I was on your programme in May, and I told you I wasn't running and that I would be supporting Mairead McGuinness, and that was the truth. I've known Mairead for many years and I've canvassed with her in European elections.
“She's canvassed with me in general elections, and she's my neighbour up the road in louth and she is my friend.
“I supported her when she went for the Fine Gael nomination in 2011, I voted for her then, and I think it was well known within Fine Gael, she was planning to run this time, and I wasn't going to stand against her, and that's been straight about it. But as we know, everything has changed with Mairead and I would just like to wish her well in our in her recovery.
“I suppose, when you look back now at last autumn, when I decided not to contest the general election, I think I was probably a bit burnt out. At that time, I had managed both the Department of Social protection, the Department of rural and community development, two stand alone, separate departments.
“I'd managed them for five years, and at one point I had the Department of Justice as well. So I had a lot on and we came through the pandemic, and then the war in Ukraine, and I've been a cabinet minister for 10 years, and that means you're dealing every single day with the cut and thrust of frontline politics, and it does take its toll on you.
“Last autumn, I knew the tank was probably running on empty. So I've been enjoying life since I retired from the job. The family are well, I'm well, I feel like I'm back to my old self. And I've said to myself more than once, you know, you could do a bit more Heather. And I was talking to someone who knows me very well at the weekend, and they said to me, Heather, you're out digging and you're working in the garden every day, your energy levels don't seem to be a problem. So really, I've had a good rest. The tank is full again. And you know, timing is a funny thing, because I have never felt as good about taking on a challenge.”
