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05 Apr 2026
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05 Apr 2026
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Taoiseach Simon Harris meeting and greeting Fine Gael supporters at the opening of the constituency office of Fine Gael General Election candidate, Cllr Michael Murphy
An Taoiseach, Simon Harris, was in Clonmel over the weekend but it was a very exclusive affair it seems.
For some reason, some local media, namely The Nationalist and Tipperary Star from what we can see online, were not invited and so the only coverage we could have had of his trip to Tipp, along with Justice Minister Helen McEntee, is a press release sent in by Cllr Michael Murphy on the opening of his new constituency office and a few photos of a walkabout.
Cllr Murphy is the Fine Gael General Election candidate for South Tipperary.
Looking at the videos of the Taoiseach over the weekend in Clonmel, I’d say brace yourselves, he certainly looked like a party leader in a General Election mood.
I’m sure the Taoiseach was surprised at the lack of media presence and we would have loved the opportunity to discuss Tipperary’s issues with the leader of the country and hope he wasn’t offended by our absence.
It’s disappointing that such established local media like The Nationalist and Tipperary Star were not invited to cover the marking.
There was even a big Government press release on Friday about “over €60m euro being invested in the garda estate in Tipperary on projects that will be delivered between 2024 and 2026” and lovely pictures too.
With so many live and contentious issues in Tipperary right now, one could understand why a General Election candidate might want to shield An Taoiseach and himself from a media doorstep?
But to exclude only a certain sector of the local media, and invite others, is a slippery slope for any prospective TD.
Scrutiny should be welcomed, not suppressed.
When asked why we were not invited and made aware of the details of An Taoiseach’s visit, we were told our omission from the guest list was “not intentional”.
I take that, and the apology at face value.
It seems it was an unfortunate oversight.
Pity, it was a real missed opportunity and we still have many questions for the Taoiseach and his Justice Minister.
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