Kerry MEP won’t comment on who he will support as Fine Gael’s presidential candidate after ruling himself out

Kerry MEP Seán Kelly has declined to comment publicly on who he will support as Fine Gael’s presidential candidate, after ruling himself out of the race.

The closing date for those seeking the party’s nomination to run in the presidential election is next week.

MEP Seán Kelly had been considering putting his name forward, but this morning confirmed he will not seek Fine Gael’s nomination.

He says a number of factors influenced his decision, among them the fact he is only one year into a five-year term as an Ireland South MEP.

Seán Kelly agrees that former EU Commissioner Mairéad McGuinness, who appears to be the party’s frontrunner, would be a strong candidate.

However, he did not want to comment publicly on who he would support.