TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN said it is “sad” that Fianna Fáil general election candidate Gráinne Seoige considers her run in Galway West to be the “biggest regret” of her life.

The Taoiseach was responding to comments made by Seoige in a lengthy interview with the Sunday Independent.

A year on from the general election, where Seoige garnered 5.1% of the vote, she reflected on her candidacy, her campaign, and the “bullying” she continues to face today as a result of her decision to contest the election. 

Amongst several topics, the former Sky News presenter addressed criticism of herself as a “celebrity candidate” who had been “parachuted” in by Micheál Martin – a charge she strenuously denies.

Seoige’s brief stint in the public eye as a political figure has damaged her standing as a broadcaster, she told the newspaper, and she is still struggling to deal with the aftermath of a pornographic AI-generated image of herself that was circulated at the time of the campaign. 

Gardaí investigated the image but could not determine its origins.

Most recently, her Fianna Fáil running mate John Connolly, who was elected, told The Galway Advertiser that a difference in party HQ’s spend on their respective campaigns (Seoige’s campaign received €6,000 more) showed that HQ favoured Seoige.

“For example, I know HQ paid for her posters to be put up; I had volunteers do mine. It’s stark enough when you see the difference is six thousand euro,” Connolly said.

Seoige said HQ did not pay for her posters to be put up.

Seoige said she has tried to maintain a dignified silence over the past year but the scrutiny won’t go away. She pointed to this as a reason many woman are hesitant to enter politics.

She told the Sunday Independent: “I’ve said nothing for a year and it’s still happening. I have tried the dignified silence approach and it hasn’t worked. So now I feel I have no choice but to come out and say ‘this is wrong’.

“I know politics is considered a blood sport in this country, but at the end of the day I am a human being.

“I did go in for the right reasons. What was done to me was wrong. And now when people are using me a year later to further their own agenda, I believe it’s sort of harassment through reputation.”

Responding to this at the G20 summit in South Africa today, Micheál Martin agreed with Seoige’s statements that she was a genuine candidate selected at the local convention.

“I understand where she’s coming from. In respect of that narrative, it is very challenging to run in elections, and it’s very challenging for women to come forward.

“And I acknowledge what Gráinne said, and it was a very challenging election – and elections more generally are becoming very challenging for people, and that is an issue for our democracy.

“It’s sad that a person found themselves in that position and that perspective, but it is across the board, increasingly talking to new TDs and people who were in politics in the last five to six years,” Martin said.

He added that with the rise of social media, there’s a “pressure and stress” on public representatives and those running for election that is “undermining the whole democratic and electoral process”.