David Norris out of contention President of Ireland race

Sceala Philosopher Location: Kildare

New reports today are suggesting David Norris is finished. He will not be President of Ireland.
Irish Community Images

A letter has surfaced that has shown he supported a pedophile rapist, who was also former partner of Norris.
Headlines make it clear Norris is finished in the race for the Presidency.
Rapist was still Norris lover four years after conviction.
Blow to Norris campaign as three TDs withdraw support
Call on David Norris to withdraw from Áras bid.
Norris hopes in tatters

Call on David Norris to withdraw from Aras bid
Fergus Finlay has said he believes Senator David Norris should immediately announce he is no longer seeking a nomination for the presidency.
David Norris's presidential hopes were fading fast last night after key supporters, TDs Finian McGrath, John Halligan and Thomas Pringle, all withdrew their support for his nomination.

Rapist was still Norris lover four years after conviction
By Michael Brennan, Fiach Kelly, Greg Harkin and Independent.ie reporters
David Norris had a relationship with convicted rapist Ezra Yitzhak Nawi for almost 30 years and the couple were together until 2001 – four years after his partner’s conviction for having sex with a 15-year-old Palestinian boy.

Senator Norris told a Foreign Affairs Committee in 2006 that he was proud of his former partner of “nearly 30 years Ezra Yitzhak, whose work in the villages around south Hebron was seen by the committee on its visit to the area”.

The presidential hopeful, who has been unavailable for comment since it emerged at the weekend that he wrote letters appealing for clemency for Mr Yikzhak on Seanad headed paper, gave an interview to journalist Joe Jackson for the Sunday Independent in 2002.

In it he said that his relationship with Mr Nawi had lasted 26 years and ended in 2001. The letters to the Israeli court after Mr Nawi’s conviction for statutory rape in 1997, do not mention that the pair were former lovers.

Senator Norris’s presidential hopes have all but vanished as three of his key backers withdrew their support over the controversy.

Independent TDs Finian McGrath, John Halligan and Thomas Pringle made the move after it emerged that he wrote a letter in support of his former partner who was facing jail after having sex with a teenage boy.

It means that Mr Norris now only has the public support of 11 TDs and senators -- and needs nine more to get into the race.

He had been expected to hold a press conference to try to salvage his campaign by answering questions about his letter, which was on Seanad notepaper.

But he was dealt a severe blow by the departure of three supporters in advance -- and it is now highly unlikely he will be able to recruit new backers.

Mr McGrath told the Irish Independent last night that Mr Norris was disappointed when he told him of his decision.

"He apologised for the anxiety of the last few days," he said.

Independent Waterford TD John Halligan said Mr Norris was a decent man who had done "great work". But he said it was a great error to write the letter to the Israeli authorities appealing for leniency for his former partner.

"The office of the president must be beyond reproach and so, after consulting with my supporters, I have decided it would be inappropriate of me to support his bid," he said.

Independent Donegal South West TD Thomas Pringle last night said if he had known about Mr Norris's letter in support of a man convicted of statutory rape beforehand, he wouldn't have supported him.

"This decision was not taken lightly," he said.

Mr Norris has made no public comment since the publication of letters showing he had sought clemency for Ezra Yizhak Nawi, then 45, who was convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Last night, Mr Norris's supporters were mounting a desperate lobbying campaign to keep his presidential bid alive as he prepares to publicly explain why he sought clemency for Nawi.

His supporters have appealed to people to start emailing TDs and senators to persuade them to allow him into the race.

The administrator of his official Facebook page asked them to use a website which allows them to contact all TDs and senators at the click of a button.

Mr Norris will also not host TV3's 'Tonight with Vincent Browne' show this week as had been planned -- as he pulled out at short notice last night.

Mr Norris's campaign manager Liam McCabe could not be contacted. His campaign team has been left in disarray following the resignation of the communications director Jane Cregan, director of elections Derek Murphy and at least eight other members.

But there were two Independent TDs who firmly stood by Mr Norris last night. Independent Dublin Central TD Maureen O'Sullivan said Mr Norris had been determined to carry on when she last spoke to him.

Independent Wexford TD Mick Wallace also said that it would be "tough going" for Mr Norris to get the nomination.

Although Mr Wallace is still supporting Mr Norris, he said he was wrong to plead for clemency for his former partner Ezra Yizhak Nawi.

- Michael Brennan, Fiach Kelly, Greg Harkin and Independent.ie reporters
independent.ie/national-news/rapist-was-still-norris-lover-four-years-after-conviction-2836968.html

Blow to Norris campaign as three TDs withdraw support
David Norris's presidential campaign suffered a serious blow last night when three Independent TDs withdrew their pledge to support the Trinity Senator’s nomination.

Dublin TD Finian McGrath said he could no longer support the nomination. Expressing deep regret for his decision, he said “children and the presidency have to come first”. Mr McGrath was the co-ordinator of the campaign to get the backing of 20 Oireachtas members for Mr Norris’s nomination.

Mr McGrath said the content of letters sent by Mr Norris appealing for clemency in the case in which Mr Norris's former partner was convicted of statutory rape, had been key to his decision.

"It was a very very tough decision for me to make. But I had to put the interests and the protection of children first and I had to put the integrity of the Irish presidency first," he said.

Waterford TD John Halligan also announced he was withdrawing his support, as did Donegal South West TD Thomas Pringle. “I believe Senator Norris is a decent man and I acknowledge the great work he has done for the less well-off in our society, particularly on civil rights issues,” said Mr Halligan. “However, I feel it was a great error of judgment on his part to write the letter to the Israeli authorities appealing for leniency for Ezra Yitzhak Nawi,” said Mr Halligan.

“The office of the president must be beyond reproach and so, after consulting with my supporters, I have decided it would be inappropriate of me to support his bid for nomination,” he added.

Other members of the Dáil and Seanad who had pledged support for Mr Norris are also considering their position in the light of the disclosure that the Senator wrote a letter pleading for leniency for his former partner, who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy.

Senator Marie Louise O’Donnell told The Irish Times yesterday that she had a lengthy conversation with Mr Norris and had “made him aware what I feel about the situation”. Senator Mary Ann O’Brien is also considering her position.

Five of Mr Norris’s 14 Oireachtas backers have reiterated their pledge to nominate but another five have not said how they will respond.

Mr Norris is expected to hold a press conference in Dublin this afternoon.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a number of letters written by Mr Norris on behalf of Mr Nawi have not come into the public domain. Ex-campaign workers said he wrote letters appealing for clemency for Mr Nawi to a range of public figures in Israel and beyond. After they were shown the letters last Thursday a number of Mr Norris’s campaign team resigned.
irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0802/breaking2.html?via=mr

David Norris’ bid to become a candidate in the presidential election remains in doubt this morning after 3 Independent TDs have withdrew their support for him overnight.

Finian McGrath, Thomas Pringle and John Halligan said they all believed his position was no long tenable.

The news comes after it was revealed over the weekend that Senator Norris had written a letter to an Israeli court back in 1997 seeking clemency for his former partner who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy.

It is expected David Norris will make a statement on the controversy later today.

Donegal TD Thomas Pringle told Breakfast here on Newstalk that after much consultation with his supporters he decided to withdraw his support.
newstalk.ie/2011/news/3norris-presidential-campaign-suffers-triple-blow96/
John Waters confirms David Norris pedophilia views
David Norris refuses to answer legal age of consent question
Child abuse survivor Says David Norris views are disturbing
Irish Community Images

Register

The Irish Community have posted
6 REPLIES TO THIS TOPIC
for logged in members to view.

Irish Forums Message Discussion :: David Norris out of contention President of Ireland race

David Norris out of contention President of Ireland race