Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
# Not to be
VIDEO: In his last big interview, Gilmore firmly believed he'd be Labour leader in 2016
The Tánaiste sat down with TheJournal.ie to discuss the recent problems facing the coalition and his future in government exactly a week before he announced his resignation.
OUTGOING LABOUR LEADER Eamon Gilmore wasn’t to know the full extent of the electoral bloodbath his party faced when he sat down with TheJournal.ie at our offices in central Dublin last week.
In fact, the Tánaiste was in bullish mood, predicting the party had a chance of two European seats and could do well locally given its councillors had never ever been found of being “in anyone’s pocket”.
Sitting, ironically, on the same floor that was Labour’s general election HQ in 2011, Gilmore responded “Yes, I will” when we asked if he would still be party leader in two years’ time.
He even said he intends to run for the Dáil again at the next election and today, as he announced his resignation, he confirmed plans to go again in the Dún Laoghaire constituency.
A source close to the Tánaiste today told this website that when the leadership handover is complete, Gilmore expects to be reshuffled out of Cabinet and return to the backbenches where he will continue his parliamentary work.
It will be a drastic change from that talk not so long ago of ‘Gilmore for Taoiseach’ – an ambition he still held when he spoke to us last week.
Here’s the full video of Eamon Gilmore’s last in-depth interview before he announced his resignation:
Read: Eamon Gilmore’s ‘job of work’ is over, but what next for the Labour Party?
Read: Who’s in the frame to become the new Labour leader? Here’s who
