Taoiseach to appear on Ryan Tubridy podcast
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The Taoiseach has said he does not intend to move into Farmleigh as it would be “very disruptive” for his children.
Gardaí have investigated separate incidents of alleged harassment outside Simon Harris’s family home, as well as a bomb threat against the Co Wicklow property.
It has raised questions on whether Mr Harris should move to a location with heightened security.
There is no official residence for holders of the office of Taoiseach but, on occasion, Steward’s Lodge on the Farmleigh estate has been used by taoisigh for various reasons.
However, Mr Harris has said he has no intention of moving there.
Mr Harris’s comments come as he appears as the first guest on the second season of former RTÉ star Ryan Tubridy’s podcast.
Tubridy was at the centre of a scandal which rocked RTÉ for a year after it was revealed that the national broadcaster had underdeclared payments to the former Late Late Show host.
The crisis later widened out to other governance matters and the controversy around financial mismanagement at the station was seen as a driver behind a fall in TV licence receipts.
It prompted a series of heavyweight Oireachtas committees and resulted in the Government changing how the organisation is funded.
Tubridy now hosts a daily show on Virgin Radio in London, also broadcast on Q102. He also writes a weekly column for The Irish Daily Mail On Sunday.
Mr Harris told the podcast host that the incidents at his home were a “form of intimidation and harassment”.
“I think it’s done to unsettle and unnerve people, and I think it’s done by people to let you know that they know where you live.”
Asked by Tubridy about the possibility of an official Taoiseach’s residence, Mr Harris said: “This has been put to me on occasion.
“The challenge for me – apart from loving Greystones – is that my kids are of an age where one has just started in the local school, and it would be very disruptive.
“I don’t know where the future brings us in relation to this but I can see it happening in the future.”
Mr Harris said he did not imagine that people would be unsupportive of such a measure, but added: “It’s not something that I’m intending to do.”
On The Bookshelf With Ryan Tubridy, Mr Harris will reveal how he “gorged on books” as a child and raised money for MS Ireland by getting sponsored for the Readathon.
The episode is also expected to feature the conflict in Gaza and a gift he received from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The premise of Tubridy’s podcast involves asking guests to bring in three books: a cherished childhood book, a book which brought them to tears, and a book which changed their life.
Mr Harris identified Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing as the book that made him cry.
“This book did make me cry within the first few pages because it is a book that tells the story of the Troubles, particularly the Jean McConville abduction.”
Ms McConville was a recently widowed mother of 10 when she was abducted.
“She was 38 years of age. She was abducted, murdered and then disappeared. Body buried. Disappeared, taken from her kids by the IRA and killed in the Troubles.”
Promotional material for the episode also shows two other books in front of Mr Harris.
These are David McKittrick’s book about the Troubles, Lost Lives, as well as Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, in which the lead character is widely regarded as an autistic boy – although this is not explicitly mentioned in the text.
Mr Harris has attributed his campaigning for better school facilities for his autistic brother to his entry into public life.
The Bookshelf With Ryan Tubridy returns on Tuesday.