Derry businessman Peter Casey secures nomination in Irish presidential contest

DERRY born businessman Peter Casey has secured a nomination to contest the Presidential Election after receiving the support of four local authorities.

Earlier today, Limerick City and County Council endorsed the former Dragon’s Den TV star, followed later this afternoon by Tipperary County Council.

Yesterday, he was endorsed by Kerry and Claire councils to contest the election on 26 October.

In Tipperary, Mr Casey secured 13 votes to eight votes for journalist Gemma O’Doherty.

There was one abstention and 18 councillors were absent from the vote.

In Limerick, he was proposed by Fianna Fáil and seconded by Fine Gael.

Ms O’Doherty was nominated by Cllr John Loftus (non-party) and seconded by independent Cllr John Gilligan.

Mr Casey received 21 votes from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil councillors and Ms O’Doherty received three votes from proposer and seconder and Independent Cllr Emmet O’Brien. There were eight abstentions.

Mr Casey attended Nazareth House PS and St Columb’s College, and is CEO and Chairman of Claddagh Resources – a global recruitment and search firm that operates in four continents and places high-level executives with many of the world’s Fortune 500 companies.

“I grew up in the worst of the Troubles,” he says.

“I was on the Bloody Sunday march with my mother and brother and sister. I heard Bernadette Devlin say: ‘Stand your ground.’

“My father was a member of the Bogside Community Association along with John Hume, Michael Canavan and Ivan Cooper – they were a body elected to run the area during the no-go times.

“My father was the secretary. When you grow up in a political situation like that… I couldn’t get out of Derry fast enough.”

His first business venture was selling plastic bullets as souvenirs to tourists and he wanted to leave school at 16 to become a truck driver – but his mother insisted he get a third-level education. This resulted in a move to Birmingham in 1976 to study economics and philosophy.

He rose fast through the world of business, owning and losing businesses three times.

Presidential Election hopefuls must secure the support of four local authorities or 20 TDs and senators to stand in the election.

A sitting president can nominate themselves to seek a second term and President Michael D Higgins has already indicated that he intends to run.

Seán Gallagher, Joan Freeman, Gavin Duffy and Liadh Ní Riada have all been nominated to run in the election.

The closing date for nominations is 26 September.

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