LABOUR TDS HAVE been eager to downplay any internal fracas in the wake of TD and former leader Alan Kelly publicly declaring that he does not support the party’s choice for president. 

Yesterday, Kelly caused a stir when he took to TippFM to tell his constituency that he will not be nominating Independent TD Catherine Connolly for president. 

“I’m not sure what Catherine Connolly did to deserve our support. For the record, I respect everybody’s views in the party, but I was against this, I voted against it,” he said.

For those in the party, Kelly’s public intervention was greeted more with mild frustration than outright fury.

“It’s Alan being Alan,” were the words of not one, but two Labour TDs who spoke to The Journal following the Tipperary North TD’s radio interview. 

Kelly himself did not respond to our efforts to contact him, and a number of other senior Labour representatives were difficult to get a hold of, presumably screening calls from journalists. 

One TD who did pick up the phone was initially cheerful, but when they realised why we were calling, they quickly said they would not be commenting. 

The TD maintained, however, that despite what some may say, the Labour Party is not “at war” over this issue. 

“It’s Alan being Alan,” they said.

Another TD, who also chalked it up as “Alan being Alan”, followed this insight up with another: 

“There would be no drama in the Labour Party were it not for Alan. 

“What can you say? He doesn’t like her,” the TD said, referring to Connolly.

“Anything we say or do cannot convince him otherwise. It’s annoying, but it’s not having any impact on the campaign.”

Those in the party are of the view that Kelly will opt to nominate nobody at all rather than nominate somebody else. 

When it was put to them that there has been (probably wild) speculation that he may nominate Fine Gael’s Seán Kelly, who is currently in a losing battle against former minister Heather Humphreys, one TD laughed and said “No”. 

“That would be pushing the nuclear button; he wouldn’t do that.” 

The Journal understands that the Labour Kelly is unlikely to be disciplined for his public dissent. 

“The dogs on the street knew how Alan felt about this,” was how another TD put it. 

The view that Kelly’s comments will have no negative impact on Connolly’s campaign appears to be a widely held sentiment among her supporters within Labour. 

Tonight, Kelly messaged members of the Labour parliamentary party to address the interview he gave to TippFM, which he described as “the elephant in the room”. 

Kelly said in the message that he regretted the “confusion and concern” his interview may have caused, and informed his party colleagues that he had spoken to Labour leader Ivana Bacik to “clear the air”. 

As previously reported by The Journal, the decision to back Connolly, alongside the Social Democrats and People Before Profit, was not a unanimous one, with just 60% of the parliamentary party in favour. 

“Do I agree with her on everything? No,” one TD said, before adding: “But I don’t agree with the people in my party on everything either.” 

Labour TDs also played down suggestions that Connolly’s campaign has struggled this week — firstly with a chaotic interaction with the press on Tuesday; then Kelly’s intervention on Wednesday, and soundings from Sinn Féin that might lead one to suspect that the party will be opting not to back Connolly. 

“I don’t think Sinn Féin are going to back her,” one TD said when this was put to them. 

“But the campaign is still going well. It was a small fuck up on Tuesday. This isn’t a big party machine, there’s going to be teething issues.” 

“It is going really well, and there has been really collegiality between the parties,” they maintained.