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Mind if I go? Emotions run high as Enda takes just seven minutes to say goodbye

“Let the games begin,” Kenny declared, tongue-in-cheek, as he set out his plans to step down.

15/5/2017.  Enterprise Ireland Reports Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

IT WAS ALL done and dusted in just seven minutes, in the end.

His colleagues – Dublin TD Catherine Byrne among them – did their best to try and persuade the Taoiseach to hang on at their parliamentary party meeting for a little longer.

But Kenny wanted to avoid the plamásing, and asked if it was okay for him to go.

After more than 40 years as a TD, more than six as Taoiseach and after a long goodbye that many political observers imagined would already be over by now, Kenny had said all he needed to say in a statement issued to the media just as his party meeting was due to begin.

He received a standing ovation from TDs and senators as he walked out of the room at Leinster House – but wished his potential successors well for the campaign ahead as he left, declaring “Let the games begin”.

Kenny had put off making any detailed announcement about his departure plans before – and there was speculation around Leinster House that he might once again attempt to hang on a little longer.

But instead, it was all dealt with quickly and relatively painlessly – and it was left to his colleagues to rush to the Plinth to sing his praises and send out gushing press releases.

4597  Enda Kenny_90512050 Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

A busy afternoon 

Will he? … Won’t he?

The muttered questions could be heard throughout the room at an event to launch a report on bereavement yesterday afternoon.

The venue, at Government Buildings, was unusually packed.

Senior Fine Gael figures like Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan, Junior Minister Damien English and the party’s Chief Whip Regina Doherty, as well as a raft of senators and other TDs, squashed into the Italian Room – sparking speculation that Kenny might make an earlier-than-expected announcement.

Senator Marie Louise O’Donnell, a close friend of the Taoiseach (he has nominated her to the upper house on two occasions) was moved to tears as she thanked him for giving her such opportunities in politics.

4603 Enda Kenny_90512043 Enda Kenny and Marie Louise O'Donnell embrace at the launch of her Finite Lives report on death and bereavement. Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

They hugged as the launch came to a close, there was applause, and Kenny departed to make his way down the long corridor to greet his fellow party members.

No-one was quite sure how the Taoiseach would make his announcement – but it was thought he wouldn’t want his big news simply leaked out by a random backbencher.

In the end, Twitter was the medium of choice.

“Last year I indicated that I would not lead the Fine Gael Party into the next General Election. I have decided to implement that decision today,” his statement read.

I will continue to carry out my duties as Party Leader in an acting capacity, until my successor is elected through the Fine Gael Leadership election process.

As the short meeting ended, TDs and senators flooded out to the Leinster House Plinth to speak to the media and to pay tribute to the man that had lead the party for close to two decades.

There were only kind words for Enda Kenny – even from some who have criticised him in the past.

“It’s an end of an era,” Dublin TD Noel Rock said.

“A man who had his finger on the pulse and always put the party ahead of himself and put the country ahead of the party,” said James Reilly, the senator and former Health Minister.

“We can be very proud of him,” Fergus O’Dowd reckoned. Party’s chairman Martin Heydon said he had displayed “a leadership style that has been compassionate, pragmatic and inclusive”.

Reporters huddled around supporters of Kenny – some of whom insisted many people had wanted the Taoiseach to stay on a bit longer.

There were even nice words from the opposition.

One notable tribute came from Labour’s Joan Burton, who observed that the Fine Gael leader had often worked 14-15 hours per day – adding that this came easy to him largely because he was very physically fit.

Even Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams was more restrained than usual, telling reporters that the Taoiseach had done “his best” (but stressing that he didn’t think that was good enough).

The likely contestants to succeed him kept their powder dry – there were no major announcements, just the sort of press-released statements you’d expect.

Don’t expect that state of affairs to last very long though.

Read: International politicians pay tribute to ‘strong leader’ and ‘good friend’ Kenny >

Explainer: How does Fine Gael go about electing a new leader? >

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66 Comments
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    Mute Fiona Wyse
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:16 PM

    Watched it live in New York, managed to head to head over for the first one, attendance last night was compulsory. The atmosphere was ELECTRIC, lovely banter between us and the Serrano fans. Not the most exciting fight, trilogies tend to be like that, felt like it might go Amanda’s way at times but Katie really pulled it back in the last two rounds. I’m a very proud Bray woman today, we are from the same parish, she is my ultimate hero and all the baked beans the last few months were worth it.

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    Mute JoeJoe Kilbride
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:36 PM

    @Fiona Wyse: you’ve a night of memories, that’s for sure

    20
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    Mute Clash
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    Jul 12th 2025, 5:20 PM

    @Fiona Wyse:
    Deadly.
    The Garden is great.The Irish always show up.
    Nothing wrong with Bray either.
    C’mon the Wanderers.
    NYC. ✌️

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    Mute Fiona Wyse
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    Jul 12th 2025, 10:09 PM

    @Clash: When you are there you really understand why they call it the meca of boxing!

    5
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    Mute brendan C5
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    Jul 12th 2025, 10:54 PM

    @Clash: id rather a real garden.

    3
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    Mute Joseph
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    Jul 13th 2025, 3:12 AM

    @Fiona Wyse: Congratulations!

    2
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    Mute john kenny
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:04 PM

    Good tactical fight. Katie boxed to her strengths and skill came through. Didnt get involved in a dog fight battle.
    Brilliant trilogy.

    139
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    Mute Brian Corrigan
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:30 PM

    She should run for the park ! !
    A lovely lady.

    112
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    Mute Ben F
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:07 PM

    @Brian Corrigan: Fairly brain dead though…

    38
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    Mute Ian Cryan
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:45 PM

    @Ben F: i bet you wouldn’t say that yo her face or you end of brain dead

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    Mute Clash
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    Jul 12th 2025, 5:22 PM

    @Ben F:
    Yep you are.

    34
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    Mute p gert
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    Jul 13th 2025, 8:41 AM

    @Ben F: Numpty!

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    Mute Alan d
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    Jul 13th 2025, 2:18 PM

    @Ben F: Best to shut up if you don’t have anything to say

    1
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    Mute Ian Cryan
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:38 PM

    Stayed up until 4am couldn’t stay awake any longer

    61
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    Mute offside again
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:50 PM

    @Ian Cryan: sleep and set the alarm.
    It’s not complicated.

    16
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    Mute Jay Nsilentb
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:55 PM

    @offside again: Just because something isn’t complicated doesn’t mean people actually want to do it. Stop trying to sound patronizing for no reason, you just come across as petty and insecure.

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    Mute Ian Cryan
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:01 PM

    @offside again: muppet

    90
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    Mute offside again
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:14 PM

    @Ian Cryan: I thought boxing was for tough lads. Maybe not.

    7
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    Mute offside again
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:15 PM

    @Jay Nsilentb: yawn

    3
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    Mute Joe Beirne
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:39 PM

    @offside again: Also thought it wasn’t your thing yet here you are

    55
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    Mute offside again
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:43 PM

    @Joe Beirne: ah Joe, I’m only here for the banter. This place is not as funny as it used to be.

    4
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    Mute Jay Nsilentb
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:18 PM

    @offside again: Go to bed if you’re feeling sleepy. Just make sure to set your alarm, tough lad ; )

    40
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    Mute John McEvoy
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:25 PM

    I thought it was on tonight

    54
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    Mute Johnny Wilson
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:43 PM

    Boxing isn’t a sport, it’s brutality that attracts criminality and should be banned

    74
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    Mute Fergus O'Connor
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:49 PM

    @Johnny Wilson: Your spiteful arrogance is astounding

    123
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    Mute Joe Beirne
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:37 PM

    @Johnny Wilson: Tell me what else you would ban, actually don’t, nobody cares what you think.

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    Mute Johnny Wilson
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:51 PM

    @Joe Beirne: your type

    9
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    Mute Joe Beirne
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:35 PM

    @Johnny Wilson: What’s my type?

    24
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    Mute Gor bern
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    Jul 12th 2025, 10:58 PM

    @Johnny Wilson: you sound like a soppy windbag

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    Mute Alan d
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    Jul 13th 2025, 2:20 PM

    @Johnny Wilson: Yawn

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    Mute Yvonne McGowan
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:28 PM

    3rd time to win, we can only hope it’s the last we see of KT, she has enough in the bank by now,

    51
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    Mute JoeJoe Kilbride
    Favourite JoeJoe Kilbride
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:13 PM

    @Yvonne McGowan: how exactly does her boxing impact on your life? Don’t want to see her? Don’t watch.

    97
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    Mute offside again
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:25 PM

    No, didn’t even know it was on. Boxing is not my thing.

    48
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    Mute Joe Beirne
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:36 PM

    @offside again: Well that explains why you wouldn’t know it on.

    111
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    Mute don rennie
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:05 PM

    None of the options in the survey were appropriate for me. A simple NO option would have been better.

    38
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    Mute paulinlavally@gmail.com
    Favourite paulinlavally@gmail.com
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:14 PM

    I don’t like boxing -imo it should not be classified as a sport.

    34
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    Mute Liz O'Neill
    Favourite Liz O'Neill
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:05 PM

    Perhaps it’s just me,but the spectacle of two grown women knocking the 5h1t out of each other isn’t my idea of entertainment.

    46
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    Mute Joe Beirne
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:37 PM

    @Liz O’Neill: And that is your prerogative, listening to someone playing a violin isn’t mine but I don’t go on violin articles criticising

    41
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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Jul 12th 2025, 4:04 PM

    @Joe Beirne: She doesn’t approve of the brutality,there’s no need for you to resort to violins.

    27
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    Mute Jay Nsilentb
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    Jul 12th 2025, 4:10 PM

    @Larry Betts: Smallest violin in the world is playing for her now ; )

    24
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    Mute Joe Soap
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    Jul 12th 2025, 4:35 PM

    Didn’t see a mention of Katie on sky news . How did they know she was Irish

    29
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    Mute JoeJoe Kilbride
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    Jul 12th 2025, 6:27 PM
    5
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    Mute Richard Starling
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:48 PM

    I wouldn’t watch her in a fit!

    25
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    Mute p gert
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    Jul 13th 2025, 8:42 AM

    @Richard Starling: Try radio if you have an aversion to it.

    4
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    Mute John arse
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:25 PM

    Katie probably has enough in the coffers for the church roof now or is she going to continue fighting the same girl for another few years maybe???

    21
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    Mute Brian Murphy
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:32 PM

    Fell fast asleep just as it was starting……

    17
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    Mute ciaran o dowd
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    Jul 12th 2025, 1:33 PM

    Was planning to, struggling to stay awake then the walk-ins started and I fell asleep.

    13
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    Mute RIP
    Favourite RIP
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:24 PM

    Used to love boxing but have lost interest. There was a time when you would know who all the world champions were. Don’t like Women boxing, but we’ll done Katie

    10
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    Mute Ailbhe MacThomais
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    Jul 12th 2025, 2:16 PM

    Maybe now to retire and set up a female boxing only club

    8
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    Mute daz Carroll
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    Jul 12th 2025, 7:02 PM

    SerrNo got robbed again today

    7
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    Mute Johnny frankson
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    Jul 12th 2025, 6:56 PM

    Not being an utter k nack er, that would be a no.

    9
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    Mute John Moore
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    Jul 12th 2025, 4:10 PM

    I did stay up and watch it but to be honest it was boring and just seemed like a draw.

    6
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    Mute Ann Reddin
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    Jul 12th 2025, 6:50 PM

    Where’s the “don’t have Netflix” option?

    4
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    Mute brendan C5
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    Jul 12th 2025, 10:53 PM

    I didn’t even know she was fighting until I saw this, that’s how much interest I have in it.

    3
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    Mute Peter Byrne
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    Jul 12th 2025, 3:19 PM

    Maybe he best of 7

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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Jul 13th 2025, 6:52 PM

    Now Katie can retire as undisputed world champ. At 39 she can start a new career and forget worrying about the next fight.

    1
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