Labour TDs criticised party colleague Alan Kelly over his interjections in the presidential campaign at a private party meeting this week.
Mr Kelly has been critical of his party’s decision to back Independent TD Catherine Connolly for the Áras, most recently saying he will vote for Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys “by default”.
At the weekly meeting of the Labour parliamentary party, sources said party leader Ivana Bacik raised the matter during her leader’s report, which opened proceedings. Following this, it is believed several colleagues were critical of Mr Kelly.
The Tipperary North TD offered a “robust defence” of himself, one person familiar with proceedings said, emphasising his loyalty to the party and his past electoral successes.
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However, the meeting heard of his colleagues’ disappointment over a series of interjections. These included two separate interviews on local radio, as well as Mr Kelly outlining his opposition at the party’s think-in held in his constituency last month. The issue also came up when the party launched its alternative budget.
One source said Mr Kelly’s interjections had been “disloyal and disruptive”, while another Labour figure outlined that “people can go rogue and that needs to be discussed”. Another said Ms Bacik had made a request that no further views be given over the course of the election campaign.
The “repeated nature of the interventions” had “disappointed people”, a Labour source said. Another source said it was not an acrimonious exchange but agreed that criticisms had been levelled at Mr Kelly.
Mr Kelly is a former leader of the Labour Party, but was ousted in 2022 after the parliamentary party lost confidence in him, citing poor polling. He was replaced by Ms Bacik, a Dublin Bay South TD. The party gained five seats in last year’s general election.
Ms Bacik favoured supporting Ms Connolly’s campaign and this was endorsed by its executive board and parliamentary party. A survey of party members garnered 58 per cent support for backing Ms Connolly, who leads her Fine Gael rival Heather Humphreys by 18 points in a Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll published on Thursday.
Mr Kelly has said a “large cohort” within Labour aligns with his view. Some members of the parliamentary party are privately dubious about backing Ms Connolly although none have publicly backed Mr Kelly’s position.
In an interview with local radio station Tipp FM on Monday, Mr Kelly said a remark Ms Connolly had made about him to a local journalist in Tipperary earlier this month was “snide” and “degrading”.
She had been asked if she was winning over the support of Mr Kelly and replied: “I leave Alan Kelly to deal with Alan Kelly. That’s a full-time job, perhaps.”
Ms Connolly has praised the party’s work on her behalf during the election campaign, saying it has played a “blinder”.
In August, Mr Kelly outlined his opposition to backing Ms Connolly in another interview on Tipp FM. He later expressed “regret” to party colleagues if his intervention on the presidential election caused “confusion or concern”.
A Labour Party spokeswoman said it did not comment on internal meetings.
