Cork East TD O’Connor stops short of backing Taoiseach

While the immediate threat of a Fianna Fáil leadership challenge appears to have receded, one of Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s most persistent Cork critics has declined to voice confidence in the party leader.

At the weekend, a group of party TDs was said to be preparing to sign a motion of no confidence in Mr Martin’s leadership, but it is understood that group now intends to await the publication of a review of Fianna Fáil’s calamitous presidential campaign.

A motion of no confidence would require the signatures of 12 TDs, which would trigger a special ard fheis to vote on the leadership. It is believed as many as 10 were willing to sign on Saturday as the election results came in.

Mr Martin had been the driving force behind the party’s decision to run former Dublin GAA football manager Jim Gavin as Fianna Fáil’s presidential candidate.

Mr Gavin beat Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher by 41 votes to 29 in a secret ballot, becoming the party’s nominee.

Mr Gavin proved an underwhelming candidate, and when it emerged he had failed to repay €3,300 in overpaid rent, he withdrew from the campaign, 19 days before the election.

Mr Gavin’s name remained on the ballot, and in last Friday’s election he received 103,568 first preferences, or 7.2% of the vote.

In the wake of Mr Gavin’s withdrawal, a contrite Mr Martin appeared before a furious parliamentary party meeting, seemingly quelling any immediate threat to his leadership, but the embarrassment of the election result seems to have given renewed impetus to a nascent coup.

Cork East TD James O’Connor yesterday twice declined to voice confidence in Mr Martin's leadership.

“Micheál Martin’s leadership of the party has yielded huge success, but politics is always a game of the future, where you have to ensure that you’re always looking forward," he said.

"I think ultimately he has to make changes in order to secure the future of his leadership

“Ultimately the report is underway into the disastrous presidential election, I think that will have a huge say in what the future of Fianna Fáil will look like in the next number of years before the next general election.” 

 However, Mr Martin’s running mate, Cork South Central TD Seamus McGrath, who had been critical of the decision to run Mr Gavin, expressed his confidence in the leader.

“Micheal Martin has been a very successful leader of the party, bringing us from a low point in 2011 to the largest party nationally and locally,” Mr McGrath said.

“Mistakes have been made, but he has earned the right to address these issues with party representatives, to demonstrate that change will take place and that we will confront challenges in a better and more effective way.” 

Mr McGrath said he would await the results of the review, but he added that the party needed to “become more consultative and engage better with members and elected representatives about key issues”.

It is understood that Mr Martin met with Mr O'Connor, and a number of other TDs, yesterday in what were described by one source as "peace talks".