Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis: Best Micheál Martin can hope for? There’s simply nobody else

It was the elephant in the ard fheis room and it took less than 10 minutes to come trundling into view. But if grassroots Fianna Fáil voters are to be believed, it is unlikely to stamp the party’s leader into the ground just yet.

Minutes into the first media engagement to launch the party’s annual conference at the RDS in Dublin, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was asked about the recent criticism of his time in charge.

Responding to the suggestion that this last ard fheis before the general election will also be his final one at the top table, the Cork South Central TD replied sharply “absolutely not”, then paused, laughed, and told one reporter that it was “very cheeky”.