Former Labour leader Alan Kelly has thanked party members for the support they gave him when he was ousted last year.
He vowed to back new leader Ivana Bacik just 12 months after he was forced to resign by his party’s TDs and Senators just two years into his reign.
The Tipperary TD was speaking at his party’s annual conference in Cork on Friday evening. He made the remarks while speaking to a motion about rural affairs.
READ MORE: Labour leader Ivana Bacik defends sending legal warnings to newspapers.
Mr Kelly resigned as leader of the party in March 2022 after being approached by his parliamentary party and told that he had lost their confidence.
At the time, the party’s poor showing in the polls was given as one of the reasons for his departure.
At the event in the Clayton Hotel in Cork, Mr Kelly said that he was glad to be back in the county, noting that he went to college in the county.
He said: “This is the first national conference we have had since I was elected leader by you, the members, in 2020.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank you, each and every one of you, for giving me the most special honour of my life. It will always be the most special honour of my life.
“I also want to thank you each and every one of you who has shown me such support and solidarity in the last 12 months.
“This weekend is not about looking back. As a party, we must look forward under what is now Ivana’s leadership.
“We must do so united together with a clear focus on the challenges that face us now and in the near future."
Mr Kelly said that there has been “too much talk” about the future of the Labour Party and that the party needs to determine its own future.
He said that he “loves the party” and its members are “decent, hardworking and thorough”.
Mr Kelly also acknowledged that Labour is "facing huge hurdles in regaining the trust" of the people. He said that other competitors have "come and gone down the years" and that the party "must return to its roots" and no longer be part of "cosy consensus". He also said there must be a "third choice" for voters.
He added: "It wasn't yesterday we became Social Democrats."
During her opening speech at the conference, the Labour Party’s General Secretary paid tribute to Mr Kelly as she acknowledged that things had changed over the last year.
She said: “He led the party with passion and true commitment to Labour values through extraordinarily difficult times.
“I know it's not been easy this past year for you Alanm but it's a measure of the man that you are and your commitment to this party that you are here with us tonight. Thank you.”
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