Simon Coveney refusing to call time on leadership ambitions

Spurred on by support from Fine Gael grassroots members, Simon Coveney tells Juno McEnroe he believes he can still steal the crown from firm favourite Leo Varadkar

Simon Coveney, spurred on by support from grassroots members and his unyielding stamina-fuelled determination, believes he can still narrow the Fine Gael leadership election race and steal the crown from rival Leo Varadkar.

In a large conference room in Carlow a few hours before the second leadership debate, Coveney is studying his notes assiduously in silence when I step in to interview him for the Irish Examiner.