I'll back Gay if he runs for president -- FF's Fleming
A senior Fianna Fail TD has publicly backed Gay Byrne for president.
The veteran broadcaster has indicated that he was open to mounting a challenge for the Aras and it now appears that members of Fianna Fail are keen to persuade Mr Byrne (77) to run as their candidate.
The party's spokesman on public expenditure and reform Sean Fleming has today given his public backing to the former Late Late show host.
"The two Government parties have nominated their candidate but nobody has been nominated by the Opposition parties and Independents," he said
"There is great goodwill towards Gay and I believe a majority of people would be very comfortable with him as president," he added.
Deputy Fleming emphasised that there are 75 Oireachtas members outside of the two government parties.
He said Mr Byrne could quite easily garner the support of 20 TDs and senators and "if that happened we might not feel inclined to run against him".
The NRA chief is among a raft of well-known personalities to have been linked with the Aras in recent days, along with Micheal O Muircheartaigh and Dana Rosemary Scallon.
There now appears to be a tussle within Fianna Fail as to whether to select a party figure or a celebrity candidate.
Party sources have told the Herald that an "appetite" exists among members to field an outsider.
"The Fianna Fail brand is still toxic and perhaps someone different will help to regenerate the party," one source said.
Former deputy leader Mary Hanafin is the latest party figure to be linked to the Presidency, along with MEP Brian Crowley and current deputy leader Eamon O'Cuiv. Foreign Affairs spokesperson Sean O'Fearghail confirmed that Ms Hanafin's name was under consideration by a party sub-committee.
"We haven't been formally notified of her intention to run, but her name has been mentioned as a possible candidate," he said.
She was unavailable for comment when contacted by the Herald today.
Mr Byrne left the door open for running when questioned this weekend, stating that if he was offered a nomination he would have to give it "serious consideration".
"If somebody can convince me that the mass of the Irish people are clamouring for Gay to be president, I would have to listen to the clamour."
He added that the role involved "a huge disruption to someone's life" and that "until somebody can convince me that there is some significance in what is going on, I tend to walk away from it".
Mr Byrne topped a 4FM opinion poll last week, despite him not even being mentioned as a candidate.
We're winning in the rain
. . . Oh, what a glorious feeling as the devastating Dubs destroy historic rivals Tyrone. Now Blues fans gear up for the semi and dream of an All-Ireland final
DUBLIN fans will be rushing to snap up tickets for the All-Ireland semi-final following a blistering display by the Blues against Tyrone at a wet and miserable Croker.
Blues supporters were anything but miserable as they made a joyful exit from Croke Park after they roared their team to victory in a thrilling match which ended with Dublin winning 0-22 to Tyrone's 0-15.
They now have a date with Donegal on August 28 and, whisper it, Dub fans are hopeful of reaching an All-Ireland final.
The omens before the match weren't good as the rain clouds had gathered over Dublin for most of the day.
Although the rain didn't clear until the second half, some 52,000 fans, many of them clad in ponchos, turned up to GAA HQ to cheer their teams.
Not many fans were prouder than Castleknock's Jim Brogan -- uncle to Dublin footballers Bernard, Alan and Paul.
He was amongst the tens of thousands there to cheer the team on.
"They played very well, it's good preparation for the next game," beamed the proud uncle.
"Both teams would've been hungry for the win -- but today was our day.
"They have to meet each and every challenge as it presents itself."
Despite the torrential downpour, the Blues were too much for Mickey Harte's troops and earned their place in All-Ireland semi-final with a seven-point lead on the whistle.
Aidan Lynch, from Glasnevin, brought his family and said the Blues put up a great fight.
"They played very well considering there was a fair bit of competition -- Tyrone are a strong side," he said.
Tallaght man Paul Lennox thought the Blues simply outclassed Harte's team.
He said: "It was an all-round seventy-minute performance of pure man-to-man excellence. Tyrone are an ageing team and the Dubs were a lot stronger and fitter.
"A few years ago we might not have beaten them, but seeing that was brilliant."Knocklyon locals Peter Farrell and Dave Ryan were also ecstatic to see the Blues defeat their old rivals.
"Two years in a row to beat Tyrone is just sweet -- they've beaten us so many times in the past and made us pay so we're getting our revenge now," the pair told the Herald.
"I think we'll definitely be at the final -- all we need to do is concentrate on closing out matches in the last five minutes."
Michael Cassidy, from Firhouse, brought his seven-year-old granddaughter Ella Tindale to HQ for the big event.
"Dublin were brilliant, they did everything right and they never stopped running," he said. "Their discipline was absolutely fantastic.
"Man of the match was definitely Diarmuid Connolly, he had a super game and scored points of his left and right."
Friends Nicki Fitzgerald and Sarah Doyle, from Swords said the Dublin defence was outstanding.
"Tyrone never got into it at all -- the Dubs were amazing."
The pair also commended the quality play of Diarmuid Connolly, who came back from an injury scare last week.
"Connolly was exceptional, he kicked seven points from play and they were at hard angles too."
Daragh Lowe, from Templeogue, took his girlfriend Fiona Kelly to the match, saying that it's always a positive to dominate Tyrone. He said: "Tyrone didn't really show up, I don't think it was much of a test for Dublin."
Pals Deirdre Walshe, from Newcastle and Eimear Boyce, from Clondalkin: "It was a brilliant night, really exciting.
"We thought the referee could have been fairer but we knew there was no competition there ultimately, the lads were great.
"We're booking our tickets to the semi as soon as we get home."
Malahide couple, Karl and Aisling Kavanagh were thrilled with the result and are excited for the deciding stages.
"We're really looking forward to the semi-final now, the in-laws are from Donegal so that'll prove for an interesting day."
Gilroy's footballers are set to take on Donegal in the semi-final on August 28.
Una is favourite with bookies for judge's seat on Voice of Ireland
Una Healy has emerged as one of the frontrunners as a judge on new RTE programme The Voice of Ireland.
The Saturdays crooner (29) has been installed as one of the firm favourites when it comes to the celebrity panel who'll be putting the nation's aspiring stars through their paces.
RTE has been doing its best to keep the finer details of the show under wraps until it releases its autumn/ winter 2011 schedule to the Irish media this Thursday.
But the flame-haired stunner has been hotly tipped to play a leading role in the new show, alongside The Commitments star Andrew Strong. The show is understood to have two presenters.
The Saturdays, who release their new single next month, don't have their next arena tour until December which means Una would have a gap in her schedule for filming.
It has also emerged that Westlife's Nicky Byrne could take centre stage on the programme in what would prove an instant ratings winner for fans of the chart-topping band.CHEMISTRY
Huge speculation about the female co-presenter has put Grainne Seoige's name into the mix, alongside No Frontiers star Kathryn Thomas.
"RTE is determined that the show will be a massive success and is pulling out all the stops to make sure the right people are on board. There has to be the right chemistry between all the judges -- not to mention with the presenters," said an insider.
Executive producer Larry Bass of ShinAwil productions has described the forthcoming programme as "the freshest twist on a talent format since Popstars".
"Other talent shows are more negative in the way they treat their talent. The Voice is all about promoting the contestants and we start at a much higher level of talent," he said.
Filming on the show is due to start as early as October and will occupy a similar slot to the now-axed All Ireland Talent Show.
A new format which offers a twist on traditional talent shows, the celebrity coaches pick a team of singers based purely on the quality of their voice. The winner will get a contract with Universal Music.