Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou MacDonald was among those canvassing on the North Strand Road, Dublin 1 when two females in the group were assaulted yesterday. The man, aged in his 30s, is currently being detained in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, according to a garda spokesperson. Ms McDonald and a group of about 10 campaigners were delivering leaflets at the time of the incident.
The decision by leader Mary Lou McDonald not to put herself forward will no doubt disappoint some of her supporters. She is a skilful campaigner and has repeatedly proven herself as a formidable debater - invaluable traits on the hustings. Some argue she is such a totem for Sinn Féin that were she to lose, she could damage both her own prospects and those of the party, so inextricably are their fates linked.
'Some encouraged me, others said stay the course [as Sinn Féin president]' - Mary Lou McDonald Sinn Féin leader still does not definitively say if party will have their own candidate - or if they will back Catherine Connolly Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys to kickstart her campaign next week Fianna Fáil to vote for their presidential candidate tomorrow
Mary Lou McDonald called the Government's redevelopment plans for the GPO a "betrayal of history", emphasizing that she does not want a shopping centre on sacred revolutionary ground.
