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GE2024nikki bradleyFINE GAEL GENERAL election candidate Nikki Bradley has apologised for remarks in which she said that the county of Donegal had a “negative attitude”.
The senator of four months who lost out on a Dáil seat at the weekend received backlash for the comments in which she accused voters of “hyper-focusing” on certain issues.
In the interview with Highland Radio, she said she was not downplaying the struggles of Donegal constituents, but rather reminding them to “find moments of happiness”.
Today, Bradley told Donegal Daily that she didn’t realise how the remarks came across and that she had let herself down.
“I want to apologise to the people of Donegal in general and the people that voted for me,” she said.
“If there’s anybody that voted for me and now feels disappointed by what they saw over the weekend, I want to clarify that how it came across was absolutely not how I intended it.
“Having spent 11+ years working with my Fighting Fit for Ewings campaign and working with national disability charities, I have been working incredibly hard to try and improve situations for people.
I let myself down with how I worded everything.
She added: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I didn’t realise how it came across until I saw it back.”
Bradley, who is from Milford, received 3,658 first preference votes but was eliminated on the 14th count. Her running mate John McNulty also failed to win a seat, receiving a similar number of votes.
In the radio interview on Saturday that went viral, Bradley said: “I do think attitudes in Donegal also need to change. I believe that there is a very negative attitude in this county and I would absolutely love to be in the party, but to be part of that change.”
Asked to clarify if she meant that the negativity was within the Fine Gael party in Donegal, Bradley said: “Within the county in general.”
“It’s something that I feel everywhere I go … there are certain issues in the county that we’re hyper focusing on and there’s many others that [are] falling by the wayside.
“I really did just want to get that point in,” she added.
Presenter Greg Hughes gave some examples of big issues in Donegal, including the 7,000 homes crumbling from mica, 118 children waiting months for a CAHMS assessment, and 350 families waiting for carers.
He said it’s “very hard to be positive” if you’re one of the people experiencing these things.
Bradley responded: “To be honest, I don’t agree.
“I’ve been in a lot of those situations. I’ve sat in A&E in Letterkenny last Christmas for 15 hours on a chair that wasn’t suited to me as an amputee.
“I’ve had to travel to multiple countries for surgeries. I had to have my treatment down in Dublin because it wasn’t suitable to have it up here.”
Bradley was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, when she was 16. She has since had two hip replacements and more recently she had her leg amputated.
She became a motivational speaker in her 20s, founding Fighting Fit For Ewing’s, which aims to raise awareness about the disease as well as participating in physical challenges.
“I have been there … I’m just trying to remind people that I’m absolutely not underplaying what people are going through and I would hope that your listeners wouldn’t ever think that,” she continued.
“We can still go through this and find moments of happiness.
“If you get up every day and you only focus on the area of your life that there’s something wrong, you’re the one that’s going to lose out in the end.
“There’s still a million things out there that can bring a smile to your face.
“I do think that I have enough lived experience to be able to say that without being preachy.”
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Bernie Sanders said “abandoning working class people,” costed them the election. . “When you abandon the working men and women of America, you shouldn’t be surprised when they abandon you.”
Simon should take note.
@Michale Kane: There’s no brownie points in that from George Soros and his NGO army though.
@Michale Kane: Most of Ireland middle class tho.
Hopefully while he’s there he might get a few tips from Viktor Orban,a true leader who puts his own people first and is well able to say no to both the EU and the cancerous NGO lobby!
@Jonn: A wise decision curtail the NGOs. You’ll find an organisation called USAID behind all the ‘colour revolutions’ of the last few decades. That’s who the US government sends in when they want to regime-change a country to install ‘American Values’
@Jonn: absolutely and Poland
@sean mcnamara:
Absolutely, Orban is well aware that the leftist NGOs are the enemy within,opening the door to them is like injecting a virus into your society,as we’ve learnt to our cost in Ireland over the last twenty years!
@Jonn: No fear of that
@Jonn: he should have stood up to the cancerous greens as well, forget about the rodent he just wants to make sure he’s food source is available
FG FF GP days are numbered . They have talked down to and ignored the indigenous Irish people . Payback time will be 29/11/2024 .
@Jim Ryan:
I dearly wish this were true,Jim,but sadly I doubt it,the Irish sheeple will carry on obediently voting for the same old shower,and keep getting the same old results!
@Jonn: We can only live in hope that it won’t be the same as usual this time , Jonn
@Jim Ryan: Which party would you like to see in government?
@Cole Palmer: Cole , my preference is for Irish Freedom Party , National Party , Ireland First , The Irish People . I’m not a member of any political party .
@Jim Ryan: Did you see Oberfeldwebel Barrett wearing the nazi style jacket? It was down to his shins. The coat pockets were at his knees! I laughed a lot at the poor little fella. Nearly as funny as his bewildered postman pat look when he puts the military style cap on. The security goons in fleeces are perfect, though. A fast-moving chihuahua could do him serious damage…
@Jim Ryan: very important to get these out and vote
@Jim Ryan: It’s likely the Greens will get decimated and FF FG will form the next government with some independents. Sinn Fein have pretty much imploded.
@honey badger: haha, what ever you do though, don’t call him a far right nazi, nor a bewildered one, for that matter – he and his fans would get very upset
@honey badger:
You’d imagine just seeing your pin-up Kamala getting her ass handed to her on a plate by the Don would have put some manners on you, but apparently not!
@Jonn: Imagine rushing to deflect for nazi smurf! Well done, Jonn. ;)
@Jonn: It’s called democracy, people can vote for whomever they like and if people vote FG and FF back into Government, then so be it, not everyone will agree, but everyone will have to accept it.
@Jonn: right there John. FF/FG well aware how fickle tge public are. Wave a few promises like multi year pension increases and the sheep fall for it.
Is his bringing his Kamala Harris hat ?
@Michale Kane: he better get some lessons from Monica lewinsky before he heads to the Whitehouse for paddy’s day, to make up for what he said about Trump last week!!!! I hope it’s good and cheesy for the little twerp!!!
The one thing the greens got right.Roderick o Gorman announced 29th November for the election.That was after Simon Harris told him.He couldn’t wait to tell everyone as if he was the one calling it so childish just like his predecessor
Zoom call anyone?
Cabal think in.
@087 bed: What about Cobalt?
Any chance he might stay there
FFG are in trouble and they know it, they see how Americans wanted there borders protected and put the people first, our shower didn’t do that and now the price is going to be heavy, anyone you talk to has nothing good to say about ffg
Maybe it’s time to take a leaf out of USA vote and vote in S F and give them a chance I am not affiliated to any party
@The Black Horse: how’s that a leaf out of USA sfein are far far left wokies, god people never learn
@The Black Horse:
If Mary Lou can not control the clowns and worse in Sinn fein.
How could we trust her to run a country?
@The Black Horse:
Why? Sinn Fein want to flood working class areas with refugees in order to promote social unrest.
@H Woo: Sinn Fein cannot be trusted on immigration . End of .
@The Black Horse: No one can say SF we’re terrible in government, so any predictive calling out is purely speculative, where say FF have been in or around power for 100 years and well we don’t have any of the things we need to improve living standards for the electorate over the next 50 years, so there’s that. Cant vote for them tho, they want all of the middle classes money. Unless I see them build something roads, trains, etc. Then maybe.
Roll on the Election, it’s going to be a Bonfire of the Vanities.
I can’t wait to vote for FG on the 29th
I give the Greens credit for what they achieved.
Sadly they have been taken over by gender ideology and open borders movements , which will prove fatal
Hungary is a beautiful country, a safe country, with a low crime rate, for obvious reasons
A masochist fir sure. Whipped already by Trump, Harris goes again!
Couldn’t be prouder of our great leader :)
Are the poor greens whining now? Looks good and them.
Country going into a General Election, does anybody know of Cobalt is running. Surely Harris should have the courage of his convictions & name them, rather than people been mislead & voting for Cobalt. Who is Cobalt ?
@SV3tN8M4: Not naming cobalt works in the government’s favour, so it’s unlikely that they would name him now before an election. It’s leaves an element of doubt over anybody in opposition that votes against FFG agenda, NATO involvement etc.
Good to see him sticking up to fascism
@Brian D’Arcy:
Will the Shinners refuse to attend the St Patrick day celebrations in the white house next year as a protest.?
@Brian D’Arcy: Yes, Trump is shaking in his shoes!
Bye bye agenda 2030 Trump won
And European psico will be suffer
If ya sleep with dogs you get up with fleas
The greens did not give one fig about the public the tried to enshrine their policies I statutes
But now they discover they we’re just being used as the pawns
have your say