Hayes deserves chance to rebuild trust after ‘blackface’ apology, says Cairns

Social Democrats’ leader Holly Cairns has insisted her party colleague Eoin Hayes deserves a chance to regain people’s trust after he apologised for wearing “blackface” make-up.

Ms Cairns indicated that Mr Hayes, who has only recently been readmitted to the parliamentary party after a period of suspension, would not face disciplinary action over the incident at a Halloween party 16 years ago.

Images of the Dublin Bay South TD wearing the make-up on his face and hands as part of a Barack Obama costume were published in the Irish Daily Mail on Tuesday, on the morning of the annual Social Democrats’ parliamentary party think-in in Dublin.

Ms Cairns, who has just resumed her full leadership duties after returning to work from maternity leave, made clear that if the incident had happened within the last year Mr Hayes would no longer be a Social Democrats TD.

But at a think-in news conference that was dominated by the controversy, the party leader said she had to consider the context of the event occurring 16 years ago.

“I think that Eoin has recognised what he did was unacceptable and that he didn’t understand the hurt that it caused at the time, but he does now,” she told reporters.

“He said himself that it was idiotic and reprehensible and has issued an unreserved apology. It’s up to people if he can regain their trust, and he has an opportunity to do that.”

She added: “I think he deserves an opportunity to work hard now and to try to regain people’s trust.”

Pressed on whether Mr Hayes would face party disciplinary action or sanctions, Ms Cairns replied: “Given that the situation was 16 years ago – I think we need to discuss the situation, you know we (the parliamentary party) haven’t had a chance to meet yet – but, in that context, no.”

Ms Cairns said Mr Hayes had decided not to attend the think-in event in the wake of the controversy as he did not want to divert attention from the party’s work.

Mr Hayes has described the incident, while he was the 22-year-old president of the University College Cork Students’ Union, as a “huge mistake”.

The TD, who said he worked on former US president Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012, said he took full responsibility for his “completely inappropriate” actions and condemned racism “in all its forms”.

In a statement on X the night before the images were published in the newspaper, Mr Hayes said: “As part of this costume, I wore brown make-up on my face and hands.”

He added: “While I didn’t have an understanding of how hurtful it was at the time, I came to recognise that in the intervening years and am so profoundly sorry.

“What I did was completely inappropriate and a huge mistake.”

Ms Cairns said the latest revelations about Mr Hayes were “extremely disappointing” and had created an “embarrassing situation” for the party on a day when it wanted to place the focus on its political priorities for the new Dail term.

“There’s no sugar-coating that,” she said.

Ms Cairns used her opening remarks at the press conference to address the controversy.

“I want to acknowledge that there is no circumstances where blackface is OK,” she said.

“It is racist, and I want to make that very clear at the outset. So I’m glad that Deputy Hayes has acknowledged that he didn’t understand the implications of how hurtful it was at the time, but he understands that now, and has issued an unreserved apology in relation to that.

“It is disappointing. And I would prefer for the focus for the party today to be on all of those important issues that we’re focusing on for the new Dail term, but I just wanted to address it at the outset.”

She added: “I want to be clear that if this had happened last week, or even last year, he would no longer be a Social Democrats TD. As party leader, I have to give consideration to the context. I want to be clear that it’s not an excuse, but the context of it being 16 years ago is something that I have to consider, and I am taking that into consideration.

“Eoin himself has said he should have known better, but he did not. He recognises that now and has issued an unreserved apology,”

Ms Cairns said she first knew about the photographs when the party was contacted by the media on Monday, rather than through Mr Hayes. She added that she did not think Mr Hayes was aware the newspaper had the images prior to that initial contact to the party’s press office.

The party leader added that she had only spoken to Mr Hayes “very briefly” since then.

Earlier, in an interview with RTE, Ms Cairns said the fact Mr Hayes went on to work on the Obama re-election campaign showed that his actions at the 2009 party demonstrated a “lack of understanding rather than a mocking”.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin was asked about the controversy as he attended the second day of his own Fianna Fail party’s think-in in Co Cork on Tuesday.

“The Social Democrats do tend to lecture everybody else in terms of proper behaviour, so it’s somewhat unfortunate for them to end up in this sort of a controversy on their parliamentary party think-in,” he said.

“He has apologised fulsomely for this. It was during his student days. So I think, as far as I’m concerned, that’s where the issue rests.”

At the National Ploughing Championships, Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris noted the apology and said he was “not going to get involved any sort of pile-on”.

Catherine Connolly, who the Social Democrats are supporting for president, resisted attempts to be drawn on the matter but said Mr Hayes had apologised in “good faith”.

She added that society should “learn from” racism in the past.

It is the second time Mr Hayes has been at the centre of controversy since his election last year.

The Social Democrats won 11 seats in November’s poll but he was indefinitely suspended from the parliamentary party in December, just a month after being elected.

It came after he gave incorrect statements about shares he held in a company linked to the Israeli military.

He had initially told the media and his party colleagues that he divested shares in his former employer, Palantir Technologies, before being elected to Dublin City Council last June.

But he later disclosed that he sold the shares last July, after taking office, for a pre-tax figure of 199,000 euros.

The Social Democrats had been calling for economic sanctions against Israel months before Mr Hayes’s election to the council.

His suspension was lifted by the party in July.

Ms Cairns, who was kept up to date on all major issues by deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan during her maternity leave, said she “fully supported” the lifting of the suspension.

Asked if he should give an account of the matter in the Dail, she added that he had already “explained everything” about the shares in a statement.

Ms Cairns also rejected the suggestion that the party was keen to retain Mr Hayes as a TD to ensure it maximised its Dail speaking rights – which are determined by party size.

The party leader was also asked if she was aware of any other potentially embarrassing issues involving Mr Hayes that had yet to be made public.

“Look, we do our best to vet candidates,” she replied.

“And, you know, ultimately, whatever happens, we know we’re going to make mistakes, and clearly we need to just learn from those mistakes, and we’re always going to strive to do better and further vetting and all of those things.

“As far as I know, there’s nothing else to come.”