Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE SENATOR AND former presidential candidate David Norris is to publish his autobiography in October.
Norris, who ran for president in last year’s election, has spent the last few months writing the book which will be published by Transworld Ireland on 11 October.
The book will be expected to cover the long time senator’s political career as the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland as well as his activism which has included his fight to decriminalise homosexuality at the European Court of Human Rights.
Norris will also likely cover his controversial presidential campaign last year which he withdrew from over revelations that he sought clemency for his former partner who had been convicted of statutory rape in Israel.
He later re-entered the campaign and came fifth out of the seven candidates, receiving 109,469 or 6.2 per cent of the first preference votes.
It is understood that Norris is currently negotiating serialisation rights for the book with a number of media organisations.
He spent a total of €331,974 on his president campaign but did not receive enough of the vote to qualify for reimbursement of expenses up t0 €200,000.
He told TheJournal.ie just before election day that the campaign had left him “in the red”.
“I’ve had a lot of support from a wonderful group of supporters and all my savings have gone into it,” he said at the time.
“I’m out of money and I’m in the red but I’ve always been putting my money where my mouth is, I’ve consistently done this. If I think something needs to be done I will back it up with what ever meagre resources I have.”
Since losing the election Norris has returned to the Seanad where he earns €60,00o plus allowances annually.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
a good decent man
Except for the fact that he was getting sick pay while working :)
actually gary trinty college insisted he take up the sick scheme provided for which he had paid into for years
It would have been nice to have the first openly gay president in the world.
Is Higgins wife female?
He would have missed the boat on that one – Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland’s PM was the trailblazer in 2010.
Yeah but icelands PM isnt the head of state
Whether you agree with David Norris or not, he is a hard working politician and brings a bit of humour and colour to Irish life. He went up against the machines and lost, I wouldn’t begrudge him making a few bob from a book.
Wow how times have changed !!! This article was posted a half an hour ago and mine is the 1st comment. Before last year’s presidential election any article on Norris would already have attracted dozens of comments …
Yesterday’s man.
I hope he puts it out as an audio book….his accent is hilarious!
he’s probably in dire need of cash
God I thought this headache had gone away ..
what can he put in the book that he hasn’t broke our ears telling us a thousand times already. ??
Not David Norris. It was that guy Sharkey who writes poetry. At least I think so.
he can shove it up his hole….just my opinion like!!!
he’d enjoy that I’d say
Will there be anything said for classical pedophilia in the book?
He needs money for another ticket to Nepal
Another? Mixing people up there Jamie…
Why can’t he just go and do his job and be a politician and enough of this nonsense.
He’s making a sequel to Fairytale of Kathmandu
have your say