Bertie wanted me to be Fianna Fáil TD, says Dana

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern wanted former Eurovision winner Dana Rosemary Scallon to run as a Fianna Fáil TD, it has emerged.

The singer had just caused a surprise by coming third in the 1997 presidential election when Mr Ahern made the offer in his Drumcondra constituency office.

Dana claims in her new book 'All Kinds Of Everything' that the Taoiseach wanted her run for Europe or appoint her to a Government think-tank.

She said his private secretary contacted her after she won 175,458 votes in the presidential contest and came third behind Fianna Fáil candidate Mary McAleese and Fine Gael's Mary Banotti.

Speaking of the meeting in a upstairs sitting room in St Luke's, Dana said: "Bertie Ahern made it clear that there was room for me in Fianna Fáil, that if I wanted to run for a seat in a by-election I could more or less name the constituency of my choice.

"He felt, however that I might not enjoy life in the Dáil and working in politics at the local level.

"He then strongly suggested that I run for a seat in the European Parliament where again there was a choice of constituencies.

"He asked that if neither of these options appealed to me, I would consider being part of a Government-appointed think-tank in any area that interested me."

Mr Ahern had studied Dana's election campaign and found that 70% of voters under 35 had swung towards her in the final week.

"He was amazed at this and felt it was unrelated to my pro-life stance," she commented.

Derry-born Dana said the Taoiseach gave her his private telephone number after the meeting for future contact.

She added: "I explained to the Taoiseach that while I was looking at all options at this time, the decision to become involved in Irish politics was a difficult one with four children to consider and there was also the alternative of continuing to work in the field of entertainment and media."

Dana later went on to run as an Independent MEP for Connaught/Ulster and won a seat against all the odds with 51,086 first preference votes.

The singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970, has just released her new album, 'A Thing Called Love'.