TikTok Taoiseach-in-waiting Harris happy to get the snaps in Salthill

Ahead of the 82nd Fine Gael ard fheis in Galway, party leader Simon Harris told small businesses in Salthill that he wants to 'be on their side'. Picture: Dan Linehan

As Simon Harris strolled up and down the streets of Salthill, Galway, it became clear that the moniker of “TikTok Taoiseach” is very likely to stick.

Not only was he happy to pose for photos with gathered supporters and other locals, the new Fine Gael leader even went as far as to take selfie videos pledging support for local football teams getting ready to play in upcoming competitions.

After years of speaking into his phone camera on TikTok, it was quite clear that it is second nature for him.

There was no end to people seeking photos, including a group of five 12-year-old boys who approached the incoming Taoiseach whispering in hushed tones: “That’s Simon Harris.”

The canvass itself had been kept shrouded in secrecy the entire day, with journalists only finding out moments before he departed from a media doorstep at the Clayton Hotel in Galway that he was bound for the seaside village.

It was a quick visit, purely focused on local businesses in the area, with stops in O’Connor’s Famous Pub, Colm’s Pharmacy, and a quick chat at the door of a Boylesports.

He avoided going for a leap into the icy water off the top of the famous Blackrock diving tower, though that would certainly have got him even more attention on social media.

His sherpa — Fine Gael’s local election candidate Clodagh Higgins — brought him from place to place on the Upper Salthill Rd.

As he entered into his final stop of his canvass in the area, the local cafe Mocha Beans, he received a firm message from the business’s operating manager Edwina Rickard: The 9% Vat rate for the hospitality sector needs to be restored.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner after his visit, Ms Rickard said that small businesses are able to take hits from increased wages and other operating costs, but that help through reducing the Vat rate would be welcomed.

The message was also echoed by Ms Higgins, who directly requested that Mr Harris do “everything in your power” to support hospitality.

“When we look at the business sector at the moment, it is in a difficult position. I would ask you to do everything in your power to ensure that we can support the hospitality businesses as much as possible,” Ms Higgins said, describing the reduced Vat rate as “incredibility important”.

“I know that there’s challenging times and everything else, but please do whatever you can to support the businesses here in Salthill.”

Speaking to the gathered crowd in Mocha Beans, Mr Harris informed them that he wants to “be on the side of small businesses”.

“I know the enormity of the challenge we have to face, but I wanted to be here in small businesses and family businesses in Salthill today to let you know that we have your back,” he said.

Taoiseach vote

He also said that he has had a “surreal” few weeks, but that it is now beginning to sink in that he will become Taoiseach in just a few days.

He did, however, remain somewhat coy about the prospect — telling the gathered crowd that he would need to get through Tuesday’s votes first.

While the Government does have a very slim majority, with the support of multiple Independents, Mr Harris has a clear path to the top job in Irish politics.

Among those who came to talk to the new Fine Gael leader was Amelie Gardiner, a 14-year-old Fine Gael diehard with a calendar marking down the days until she can join the party’s youth wing at 15.

Meeting her at the door of the cafe, alongside Galway West TD Hildegarde Naughton, Mr Harris offered her to take a trip up to the Dáil and to Government Buildings.

“Come up and come in and see me, I’d love that,” Mr Harris told her.

During the time which any media managed to catch him, there were no hecklers to be found though some passersby were somewhat bemused by the crowds gathered as Mr Harris made his whistlestop tour of their local haunts.