Senator Frances Black ‘open to conversation’ on presidential bid

Senator and Irish singer Frances Black has said she is “open to the conversation” on whether to become an Irish presidential candidate.

The Independent senator said that some opposition parties have asked if she is willing to consider entering the race for the Aras this year.

She said that she is “not actively seeking it” but is open to the idea.

“There’s been no decisions made,” the Dubliner told RTE’s The Late Late Show on Friday.

“People have come to me and said ‘Are you open to the conversation?’, and I said ‘I am open to the conversation’.

“But there probably will be other people (who) will be actively seeking this as well.

“So I am not actively seeking it, but look, I am open to the conversation, of course I’m open to all conversations. But no, I haven’t made any decisions whatsoever, and that is the truth.”

Ms Black and her daughter Aoife Scott performed When You Say Nothing At All on the RTE chat show, a song that Ms Black released a cover of in 1996.

Frances Black formed part of the Black family music group before becoming a well-known solo singer.

She is a qualified addiction counsellor and founded the Rise Foundation in 2009, which supports the families of people with addictions.

First elected as an independent senator in 2016, she is the author of the Occupied Territories Bill, which looks to ban trade between Ireland and illegal settlements, such as Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands.

Wearing a Palestine necklace and badge, Ms Black said on Friday that a 2018 visit to Gaza and the West Bank inspired the Bill.

“I remember a young mother saying to me ‘Why have the international community abandoned us?’ and that really broke my heart,” she said.

“This Bill is important to the Palestinian people, it’s a tiny little step for the Israeli government to have consequences to what they’re doing.”

The only confirmed candidate so far is Donegal businessman Peter Casey, who was a candidate in the 2018 presidential election, and general and European elections.

Linda Martin, 1992 Eurovision winner, said she is “mulling” over a presidential bid after being approached by a political party.

The Belfast native, who runs a Dublin dog shelter, told RTE Radio in February: “You’ll have to wait and see now. Can you imagine all the dogs in the Aras?”