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21st May 2019

Saoirse McHugh wins praise after tearing into Peter Casey during Prime Time debate

Carl Kinsella

Saoirse McHugh

“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.

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.