“Go on Dancing With The Stars if you want attention.”
Green Party candidate in the upcoming European elections Saoirse McHugh is the talk of social media on Tuesday evening after a commanding performance in RTÉ’s Prime Time debate.
Competing for a seat in the Midlands/North-West constituency, McHugh is up against Peter Casey — who came to prominence in late 2018 during his run for the presidency, where he finished with the lowest number of votes for any runner-up ever.
McHugh delivered several blows to Casey throughout the debate, telling him and the audience that “Millionaires blaming migrants is an old trope and it’s boring.”
Perhaps the most notable dig that McHugh got in was: “Go on Dancing With The Stars if you want attention that much, Peter,” presumably referring to Casey’s past as a reality TV star on Dragons ‘ Den.
The response to McHugh’s performance was emphatic.
Saoirse McHugh showing a how to carry out a no bullshit political discussion. Tore a hole in Casey #rtept
— Mark Malone (@soundmigration) May 21, 2019
Saoirse McHugh won that hands down #rtept
— Frances Byrne (@FraffieB) May 21, 2019
Well @saoirse_mchugh wins that one. Hands down. @RTE_PrimeTime
— Barbara Scully (@barbarascully) May 21, 2019
Saoirse McHugh of the Greens is excelling in this debate. Landing clean hits.#rtept
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) May 21, 2019
Also involved in the evening’s debate were Matt Carthy of Sinn Féin, Mairead McGuinness of Fine Gael, Brendan Smith of Fianna Fáil, Cyril Brennan (People Before Profit), and the independent Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan.