Wounded Martin rounds on Ahern

FIANNA FÁIL leader Micheál Martin defended his running of the party as he turned fire on Bertie Ahern.

Stung by criticism of the way Fianna Fáil tried and failed to woo a celebrity presidential candidate in the shape of Gay Byrne, Mr Martin insisted he would push on with a “new style” of politics.

Mr Martin said he was right to offer the former chat show king his party’s nomination publicly as voters did not understand “old-style backdoor politics”.