Sure what would we know? He’s from Donegal.
Former television presenter and broadcaster Kevin Sharkey has withdrawn his bid from the Irish presidential election.
The Dublin-born, Donegal-raised man announced his intention to run some five months ago when he said that the office of president should do more for homelessness than it currently does, and he believed he was the right man for the job.
He spoke about his bid for the presidency back in March on popular YouTube interview channel Grand Torino.
He once again cited homelessness and the housing crisis as the main reasons for his intention of running, calling the problem the “single most important issue facing Irish people and will be for generations.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdJ90VPOHFg
Clip via Muintir na hEireann
Sharkey – who counts Kate Moss and the late Whitney Houston amongst his fans – was once considered the darling of the art world and made his fortune by selling his pieces to the rich and famous. However, as the recession fell, so did his fortune – leaving him to seek emergency accommodation at the tender age of 54.
He ran art galleries in Dublin, London and Ibiza – but lost it all in 2008.
His team took to Twitter to share the news of his withdrawal.
“I am leaving the circus, Farce that has become the presidential race to focus on my new collection of paintings,” the statement reads.
He also announced his intention to release a new single, which will be available from 1 October on iTunes.
https://twitter.com/votesharkey2018/status/1041387542690586624
Sharkey’s new exhibition, entitled The Presidential Collection 2018, will be displayed on Culture Night in the Basement Gallery on South Frederick Street.
Finally, he thanked councils and councillors who supported him along the way and asked them to kindly transfer their votes to Gemma O’Doherty, as “she is a woman of huge integrity and is currently braving a shining light on the rampant corruption that is destroying our beautiful country”.
Currently, Gavin Duffy, Sean Gallagher, Liadh Ní Riada and Joan Freeman are set to take on incumbent president Michael D Higgins in the October election.
According to a new poll, Higgins is on course for a landslide win. The election will be held on Friday 26 October.
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