Kildare Senator steps away from Áras race without main party support

FOLLOWING his name being again suggested on a national radio show as a candidate for the Irish presidency Naas native Senator Aubrey McCarthy cited his workload as a homeless advocate, but added: “if one of the party leaders tapped me up I’d seriously consider it”.

“I have been approached by a lot of people, in fact not a day goes by but five or six would come up and ask me that, but you’d need about half a million so I have to be practical,” he said.

“Who would put up my posters in Sneem or Donegal?” Senator McCarthy was elected to the Seanad in January as part of the Trinity University panel, but has been an advocate for the homeless in the region for almost 20 years.

In 2008 he founded Tiglin, a charity that provides housing, rehabilitation and education and employment access for homeless people and those affected by addiction.

He is also chair of the Bluebell Community Council and Tivoli Training Centre.

He also runs his own transport business AMC Removals out of his Punchestown residency, helped set up the Lighthouse café I Dublin “where we feed up to 500 people every day”.

Senator McCarthy also set up the Jigginstown Manor on the Newbridge Road in Naas with John Craddock and a group of Naas businessmen called Homeless Care.

This is for vulnerable youth who have aged out of the foster system, but need somewhere to live.

“We’ve had 84 young people come through there in the last four years, and it’s worked out brilliant,” he said.

In fact, so successful has this been that the Trust has already submitted planning permission to construct another 10 units here.

“On the day it opened President Michael D. Higgins said that every County Manager in the country should ask themselves every Monday morning why they haven’t got a facility like this,” said Senator McCarthy proudly.

“Because I am not party-affiliated I have been able to be a consistent advocate for homelessness and social inclusion for 20 years,” he added.

“I have to say the Kildare County Council, especially through Annette Aspell and CEO Sonya Kavanagh, are doing their very best, and that usually doesn’t happen outside of Tusla.

“I have shown a consistent commitment to homelessness, and I will have at least one dinner a week at The Lighthouse.

“I’ve always tried to be authentic with both Tiglin and in the Seanad,” he concluded