Family and friends welcome Taoiseach Micheál Martin home to Cork
New Taoiseach Micheál Martin was today welcomed back to his Cork home in Ballinlough by a guard of honour from his proud neighbours.
Due to social distancing restrictions, Mr Martin’s family were not in Dublin on Saturday for his formal nomination and election to the position of Taoiseach, but Mr Martin returned home to spend some limited time with his family.
The country’s 15th Taoiseach was greeted on arrival by his wife Mary, his son Micheál Aodh, daughter Aoibhe who told reporters of their pride at his success.
Speaking to reporters, Mary Martin said: “As Micheál said earlier, yes we think of our parents and lots of people here, friends, their loved ones, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers who canvassed for Micheál when he started.
"We know that yesterday for a lot of them, they told us, they watched it on TV and they cried from the beginning to the end because they were thinking of our parents.
"One side of me was glad that I was able to do it from the privacy of my own home because it was quite emotional.
"But we are just thrilled and we wish Micheál well and we’ll do what we can to help.”
The excitement among neighbours built all morning ahead of the new Taoiseach’s return home from Dublin.
“Proud” neighbours of the Martin family erected bunting and performed a guard of honour as he returned home.
Mr Martin will not have long to spend with his family today as he is to return to Dublin tonight ahead of his first full Cabinet meeting on Monday.
During proceedings on Saturday, Mary Martin and her children watched from home the proceedings unfold at the Convention Centre in Dublin, as they were unable to travel due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Their eldest son Micheál Aodh said he went to senior football training in Nemo Rangers GAA this morning meaning he missed the beginning of the broadcast from the Dublin Convention Centre.
However, he told RTÉ News he did make it home in time to watch his dad formally elected as the country’s 15th Taoiseach.
