Gay Byrne considers standing for Irish presidency

Poll shows 77-year-old broadcaster, best known for the Late Late Show, is hugely popular with voters For decades, he has played the part of Ireland’s on-air confessor, listening sympathetically as guests shared their most intimate stories with him – and, of course, thousands of viewers. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the talkshow host Gay Byrne looks likely to be the Irish people’s choice for president. Now that Senator David Norris has dropped out of the race, pressure is building on Byrne to launch a bid for the presidency. The silver-haired host of the Late Late Show said he would give “serious consideration” to running if offered a nomination. Norris, who is openly gay, dropped his candidacy after it emerged he had used Irish parliamentary notepaper to write to the Israeli authorities pleading clemency for an ex-lover found guilty of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy. Ireland’s main opposition party Fianna Fáil said Byrne would “make an excellent candidate”. An opinion poll in the Dublin Sunday Independent put Byrne way ahead of all other candidates on 34%. The paper claimed support for Norris, who was the most popular candidate, had switched to Byrne. Byrne told the paper: “I would have to consider it seriously … But I would have to consult with ‘she who must be obeyed’ because any mention of presidency would mean a huge disruption to our lives.” The 77-year-old presenter, who is still making programmes for the Irish state broadcaster, RTE, would need the backing of 20 parliamentarians or nominations from several county councils before putting his name forward. The potential entry of one of the most famous faces on Irish TV, known affectionately as Gaybo, has re-ignited interest in October’s election. Several generations of voters have grown up watching Byrne, who has helped break social taboos in Ireland since the late 1960s. Issues such as sex before marriage and homosexuality were openly discussed for the first time on his hit TV and radio shows. It is often said that sex was only introduced into Ireland once The Late Late Show started. Ireland Europe Television Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 7, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.