Enda Kenny: Golfgate is in the past, time to move on
' A 'that's Picture Lesson By On Everybody, Move Kenny Learned Golfgate: File Enda On
Former taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the Golfgate controversy is "in the past" and people should "move on".
Mr Kenny attended the first day of the two-day golf event in Clifden, Co Galway, last summer. However, he did not go to the dinner which was attended by 80 people, including former EU commissioner Phil Hogan and former minister Dara Calleary who were both forced to resign in the wake of the controversy.
Asked about the reaction to the event on , Mr Kenny said: "The mood was such that that was the outcome, that's in the past now, that's a lesson learned by everybody, move on."
When host Ryan Tubridy broached the Golfgate event, Mr Kenny initially joked: "When was that?"
However, he went on to explain his attendance at the Oireachtas Golf Society event.
"I had notified them that I would not be there on the second day. On the first day, I went out and I played golf. I had my son with me and we played golf with the captain of the Oireachtas team, and a person well known to RTÉ.
"I was one of the last groups, I came back to the car park, the place was empty, and I went home."
He added that as captain of the Oireachtas Golf Society in the 1980s, he had brought members over to England to play members of the House of Commons which, he said, built relationships.
Separately, Mr Kenny hit out at the Dublin GAA team for arranging an early morning training session, claiming there was "no excuse" for it.
He said standards have to be set and the ban on Dublin trainer Dessie Farrell "is not really of any great impact".
Mr Kenny also ruled out running for Áras an Uachtaráin, claiming he has no interest in becoming president.