Jim Gavin has said he is against extremes on the left and the right misusing the Irish flag, but that people are entitled to put it up “where they choose to”.
Speaking at the launch of his presidential campaign in Dublin on Sunday, Mr Gavin said the flag was “very precious” to him and the white in the middle was a sign of inclusion.
In recent weeks, Tricolours have been put up all over Dublin as part of an anti-immigration campaign. It mimics a similar anti-immigration flag campaign in England.
“The flag, to me, is very precious,” Mr Gavin said. “The flag has, in its centre, the white of inclusion and of dignity and respect.
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“I’m not for extremes, to the right or to the left. I believe in a constitution. I believe in an island that welcomes everybody who’s entitled to be here. So the flag, to me, is very precious and people are entitled to put it up where they choose to.”
The former Dublin Gaelic football manager’s campaign launch was attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and a number of members of the Cabinet. Former Dublin footballers including Dean Rock also attended the event in Dublin’s EXO building, along with Mr Gavin’s friends and family.
In his speech to his supporters, Mr Gavin said that it would be “deeply wrong to say that the role of the presidency should be closed to people who are not politicians”.
Against the backdrop of a 15th-floor view of Dublin city, he said the building was an example of a “rising Ireland”.
“But as we look through these windows, we also see communities which are experiencing great challenges, communities which have incredible spirit, strength and potential,” he said. He added that “side by side”, these two different realities are part of modern Ireland.
Speaking to reporters in advance of Mr Gavin’s campaign launch, the Taoiseach rejected claims by Maria Steen’s supporters that a cohort of the country with traditional Catholic values would not be represented in the election.
Mr Martin said he thought that was a “subjective sort of comment”, adding: “I wouldn’t agree at all with that assertion.” He noted that Mr Gavin “has very clear views in terms of where modern Irish society is, the importance of family, in the broadest possible sense”.
The Taoiseach said the procedure for getting nominated to run for the presidency allows people with “a broad basis of support to get nominated. And that’s what has happened on this occasion”.
Fine Gael’s presidential candidate Heather Humphreys was campaigning in the northeast of the country on Sunday.
In Cork on Saturday, she expressed her sympathies to a bereaved family who strongly criticised her for not doing more after their son was killed by a hit-and-run driver who should have been in jail at the time of the incident.
Ms Humphreys said her heart went out to the family of Shane O’Farrell (23) after his mother, Lucia, said she was “terribly disappointed” that Ms Humphreys, as her local TD, did not support the family’s campaign for a public inquiry into failings in the criminal justice system surrounding her son’s death.
While she didn’t respond directly to the criticism, Ms Humphreys said: “I am very familiar with the case . . . and it’s just awful, it really is awful. My heart goes out to them and I’m delightedthey have got a State apology.”
Catherine Connolly’s presidential campaign was due to hold a fundraising concert for her in the Róisín Dubh in Galway on Sunday night. The sold-out event included a performance from Mary Coughlan.
