Heather Humphreys brings presidential campaign to Louth

Presidential candidate Heather Humphreys brought her campaign trail to Blackrock today, where she was met with a welcome from locals. 

Starting her morning at the Village Garden Café, she chatted with residents over coffee before making her way to the town’s iconic sundial to meet with Tidy Towns volunteers. 

The former Fine Gael TD spoke fondly of her own childhood holidays in Blackrock and praised the community spirit that continues to shape the village. 

She also addressed wider issues facing the country, including the question of a future border poll, telling reporters she believed “there’s more work to be done before we have a border poll.”

Her first stop was the Village Garden Café this morning chatting to locals, including John Pepper who asked her for an autograph for his three grandchildren, telling her “I want them on the 28th of October to be saying I’m the only one with the next president’s autograph.”

Her first stop was the Village Garden Café this morning chatting to locals including John Pepper

Next she made her way to the sundial in the middle of Blackrock where she spoke with local Tidy Towns volunteers congratulating them on their good work in the local area, saying that Blackrock looked “lovely.”

Chairman of the Tidy Towns Committee John Horan joked that when he met her at the Tidy Towns awards last year he told her he was sad to see her retire from politics but was happy to see she was back. 

Founding member of the committee Larry Magnier thanked her for keeping the Tidy Towns competition running through Covid. 

Members also thanked her for supporting the ‘no election posters’ initiative which calls on candidates not to erect posters within the 50k zones of towns and villages. 

Ms Humphreys said that local volunteers shouldn’t be taken for granted and should be recognised,  something she aimed to make part of her presidency. 

At the sundial she also spoke of family outings to the seaside village, saying: “I used to come here on my holidays, normally on a Sunday and I always came with my grandmother and we had tea in a flask and sandwiches on the beach. My grandmother believed that if she walked in the seawater it sorted her out for the winter. 

“I’ve always had a visit here and I’ve had many fond memories of being in Blackrock. There was a great chip shop down there where we always got a bag of chips before we went home. 

“I’m delighted to have met the Tidy Towns volunteers this morning and last year they were awarded at the Tidy Towns competition so well done, they got a gold medal and you don’t get a gold medal for sitting on your hands.

“It’s a wonderful village and I can see the benefits of their hard work.”

Taking questions from the media she also spoke of the prospect of a border poll taking place within the term of her presidency saying: 

Read Next: WATCH: Presidential candidate Heather Humphreys chats to Louth locals in Blackrock

“I think there’s more work to be done before we have a border poll. We know that polls can throw up results. We saw what happened with Brexit and the difficulty that that caused in Northern Ireland. 

“We saw how it can be so divisive. But what I want to do and believe I’m uniquely placed to do is to work with people. I’m from the border, I’ve been reared and lived my life on the border and I do understand the complexities. I also want to deepen the understanding of all traditions in Northern Ireland.”

Blackrock wasn’t her only Louth stop as she moved on to Ardee in the afternoon where she stopped by Ardee Credit Union where she met with locals and heard of the work done by the Ardee District Cancer Support Group. 

She also visited the Ardee Dee Hub and met with the youth services team and stopped by Ardee Castle.