A group of overseas children's aid workers, describing itself as A Concerned Group Not Campaigning for Adi Roche, which criticised the Labour Party presidential nominee, Ms Adi Roche, last night, denied it was politically motivated or waging a personal vendetta against her.
"We are a non-political group. This is not a personal vendetta," said a group spokeswoman, Ms Anne Norman, who co-founded the Chernobyl Children's Project with Ms Roche in 1990, but who has since resigned.
"If it was a personal vendetta, we would have gone public before now; the reason we have not gone public before now is because we did not want to damage the work of the project," Ms Norman said in a prepared statement.
A group member, Mr Tom O'Hanlon, said the group had no motive other than to let the public know what he claimed was the truth about Ms Roche.
"We want to put out the truth and people can decide for themselves. We are not telling people how to vote one way or another," said Mr O'Hanlon.
He pointed out that all they were trying to do was put into the public domain material that they felt was relevant to Ms Roche's bid for the Presidency, and he made a comparison with recent revelations about some politicians.
If people knew then what they knew now about some politicians they would never have been voted in, he said.
Another former worker, Mr Denis Murphy, said he dreaded Ms Roche becoming President. Her style of running the organisation was "Stalinist".
"The organisation became too big for her and power went to her head" he said.
Ms Norman, speaking after the group had met at a member's house, in Blackrock in Cork city, said they had received calls from many other former members who wished to have an input into substantiating their allegations against Ms Roche.
She said the group was preparing a fuller statement that they will give to the media later this week.
Fifteen members of the group had begun gathering at the Blackrock apartment yesterday afternoon to discuss the issue after a number of Sunday papers ran with the story of their criticisms.
They denied they had leaked the story, but said they were contacted by Sunday papers and they admitted they were unprepared for meeting the press.
For over 1 1/2 hours they deliberated as to what they were going to say in their statement, but before Ms Norman read the brief prepared script. However, they were adamant they would be able to substantiate their claims of Ms Roche's style of management, but said they wanted to have them cleared first of all by their legal advisers.
Mr O'Hanlon said: "We know a different side to Adi Roche and we just want to make that public."
Mr Murphy said: "What we were getting was propaganda."
In its statement the group said: "We would like to cover a number of issues raised today by Adi Roche.
"We are a non-political group. This is not a personal vendetta. If it was a personal vendetta, we would have gone public before now. The reason we have not gone public before now is because we did not want to damage the work of the project.
"When we have a fuller statement we will contact the media this week. We have many more people who have contacted us and wish to have an input into substantiating these allegations."