Tired of walking the ‘tightrope’

In a candid interview, Michael McGrath, widely tipped to be the next leader of Fianna Fáil, says the party is starting to rail against the constraints of the confidence and supply deal

Michael McGrath: party colleagues have tipped the Fianna Fáil finance spokesman as a likely Picture: Fergal Phillips

When the question comes, the mild-mannered Michael McGrath has his answer ready. He laughs, he says he is flattered, and then insists – unconvincingly – that being the leader of Fianna Fáil is not something he thinks about.

For some in his party there is no alternative to the Cork South-Central TD, if and when his constituency colleague Micheál Martin decides to call it a day. McGrath argues that a lot of his ...