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LAST UPDATE | 27 Oct 2018
BUSINESSMAN GAVIN DUFFY has said he has “no regrets” about running in the presidential election.
The defeated candidate, whose share of the vote is predicted to be around the 2% mark, congratulated Michael D Higgins, on what is expected to be a landslide win.
“The first thing I want to say is the people have spoken and they’ve spoken very very clearly with a large mandate, we’ll learn later on it could be a historic mandate for my president and your president Michael D Higgins. And I want to wish him all the best and extend every good wish to him,” he said, adding:
“For myself, I am disappointed when you contest and you don’t really compete. But no regrets, genuinely. I think the issues that I’ve raised, and I accept the blame here, if they didn’t resonate with the public it’s perhaps that I’m slightly ahead of where the public concerns are around the changes in society.”
Speaking about his fellow Dragon’s Den colleague, Duffy said he has never made it a secret that he and Peter Casey are friends. He called him a “decent” guy, though he said they disagreed on certain ideologies.
Commenting on Casey’s campaign, he said there was no “evil genius” strategy at play, adding that Casey merely threw grenades in hope that one would land.
Duffy put his own money behind his campaign, and told journalists today that he has spend well over €100,000, which, with such a low vote, he will not be able to recoup.
He said today that he does not intend to run in the next presidential election.
When conceding earlier today, he acknowledged that he didn’t perform well as an election candidate in his bid for the presidency.
Speaking to Newstalk’s Pat Kenny this morning he said:
The platform I put forward never resonated with people.
As a candidate I didn’t perform.
The former Dragons’ Den start told Kenny it’s too early to say if he’ll run again. He also admitted that having business people in the race, three of them former reality TV stars, “diluted the votes”.
Duffy said the vote, which shows President Michael D Higgins is in store for a landslide victory, proves people are interested in a candidate from outside the political establishment:
There is a 25-30% vote there from outside of the political establishment.
Duffy however insists he doesn’t think his media training business which provides coaching services will suffer as a result of his performance.
He thanked the media for fair treatment during the campaign, and wished President Michael D Higgins well in his second term.
Duffy highlighted that without this weekend’s vote Higgins would not have had a mandate.
Our democracy is best served by the process we have gone through.
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Fair play to Duffy for being honest, as opposed to higgins who, true to form, changed his story 4 times on his learjet trip to belfast.
@Adrian: why shouldn’t the president be allowed use the government jet in ireland on 2, yes 2 occasions in ine whole year?
That’s why Gallagher lost half his support. He kept harping on about MDH expenses! People don’t want the president of our country stuck in a council flat, riding a bus and sleeping in hostels when he travels!
@Greg Kelly: 100% agree.
@Greg Kelly: agreed. It’s not excessive, but the false urgency of news cycle requires mountains out of molehills
@Adrian: Except he’s not honest. He said he’d have no problem living beside travellers. This is clearly a lie.
@Greg Kelly: There’s a bit of a difference between sleeping in a hostel and sleeping in a 3k-a-night palace, isn’t there?
You don’t see room for a happy medium there at all? You don’t find it excessive? It’s OUR money he’s using, don’t forget. Speak for yourself – I don’t want taxpayer money squandered by what is essentially a ceremonial role.
@The Bull McCabe: when pressed MD did say that the house that he’d have no problem with Travellers living beside was in Galway and not the Aras where he lives. It was a politicians answer.
@Adrian: anyone know why the comments section is closed on the Pavee Point article just under this?
@Greg Kelly: are you for real he gets a huge salary so why does he have to use the 300k for personal use if you can’t see how pompous self centred and arrogant Higgins is then there is no hope for you
@ihcalaM: I disagree, if the role exits then he should be able to stay in the presidential suite etc… but I believe the question really is, what value is there really in the role of the president? I think it should be scrapped.
Classy and dignified to the end.
Got my number 2.
@Eamonn Duggan: Such a poor performance though, think about the ramifications for his PR business. Must be incredibly demoralising and humiliating.
@Eamonn Duggan: ego, a terrible thing.
@iohanx: He’s in the margin of error
@Eamonn Duggan: he is a definite number 2 for sure.
@Grand: Yes I’ve seen that happening quite frequently with comments that clearly are not slanderous or malicious. You can’t delete comments that you simply don’t agree with.
Didn’t vote for Duffy myself, didn’t think he was up to the job, however he did come across as quite dignified and respectful in the debates, compared to that “I’ll sell ya magic beans if I win” chancer Casey, The Gullible People’s Candidate!
@PaulineSmith: all Casey said is that people should be treated fairly and as equals and not some sections of society having special privileges.
Is it too much to ask that all irish people are treated equally?
@Greg Kelly: they all scream for equality, then when they get it it’s not what they want. What they actually want is to be special. It’s the same the world over with many groups that people identify with
@Greg Kelly: If you can’t see past that veneer there’s no helping you. Like I said, gullible, but sure you fell for all the Iona lies too on 25th of May!
@PaulineSmith: so basically you are saying travellers shouldn’t be treated equally as other citizens? Do You disagree with Casey saying they should have equal rights?
Whatever about Casey himself and his other views, the message is what people agree with.
Am glad MDH got in though out of the options we had.
The animals in the Phoenix Park will feel safer knowing that he won’t be near them.
“However, the motorcyclist’s leg came in contact with my car bumper causing the motorcyclist severe injury.” What a quote. Mr no tax or insurance left the motorcyclist severely injured, was convicted for it and spins it as if she hit his car bumper. He’s not sorry at all
@samstheman: he didn’t say he was trying to get likes. The likes indicates that his comments have resonated with others though who have perhaps then resonated from posting something along similar lines and they are also disenfranchised by its deletion.
Well just like Gallagher, if he had shown to do anything for this country since the last election I might have given him some consideration. If Duffy wants to be taken seriously as a future consideration then he has 7 years to show why he deserves to go to the aras. Being a business man isn’t enough.
Well if his judgement is that bad in politics, I would not like to be a business partner of his. Is his judgement better in his business life. Nice man but his post election interview on Newstalk is jibberish in the extreme. It has no relevance to the election.
why can’t we comment on the nonsense article on worrying times for travellers?
say no to racism
absolute rubbish
travellers deserve everything they get
clearly the journal have an agenda and does not reflect the views of Irish people
@Rob Doyle: I commented here calling them out for it. It was the most upvoted comment here at the time, then The Journal deleted my comment! They are attempting to shut down free speech.
@Grand: However will you move on with your life now that your most up-voted comment has been deleted? I can’t imagine the pain you must be going through. Thoughts and prayers.
@PaulineSmith: Not something you will ever have to concern yourself with given the consistent low quality of your posts which insures the top comment is a Pauline free zone.
@Rob Doyle: the journal don’t want people commenting on the article as they know 95% of people will disagree with it. They do it regularly which is odd as they let people go at each other’s throats the rest of the time.
@Rob Doyle: no different to the general media who will never identify culprits as travelers when a crime is committed
The people have spoken and they have said jog on you useless mouth piece.
@Paul Mc: Ahhh Paul, I’m not a fan of MDH but jog on (for another 7 years of mediocrity and bad poems) you useless mouthpiece is a bit harsh.
Can anyone explain to me why two articles appearing on the journal today giving the traveller view point (one written by pavee point) have the comments section closed? Why does the journal choose to stifle discussion on these articles?
You have to wonder why he ran at all.
2% is no hoper country.
Nice man. Fair play for giving it a shot
I can think of a better word Gavin- delusional.
If his campaign were a business:
He badly misjudged the products appeal
He didn’t understand the market
He had a weak sales pitch
No consistency in messaging
Poorly managed
No grasp of the numbers
Focused on the competitions weakness not realizing he was in worse shape
Repeated the same sales pitch even tho it didn’t sell the first 20 times
Business man?
What a tool. Giddy up ye flute.
I hope his low vote is a reflection of the repulsion the Irish people feel to his support of animal abuse.
Well done, there are many who post comments, sitting in their armchairs, but never having the guts to put their name forward before the electorate. These armchair warriors do not add to democracy rather they typically “hurl from a biased ditch” If any of pushed their names forward in the Circus Maximus of the election. They would be found out as lacking nous.
Moranic waste of money, the idiots contesting this farce election obviously have more money than sense.
Senseless waste by senseless idiots.
The People have spoken once more. O well have to except the democratic vote. ….fock it.
Big sigh of relief from the animals in the Phoenix Park.
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