Representatives of the Chernobyl Children's Project last night expressed their "strong and unanimous support" for the presidential candidate Ms Adi Roche, following allegations by some former colleagues that she bullied and harassed staff.
Members of the charity expressed "absolute astonishment" at the allegations aimed at her, "which bear no relation to the reality of working with Adi Roche".
Ms Roche, the Labour Party candidate, meanwhile said she was saddened by the "extremely hurtful" allegations, but vowed not to be "bullied out of the race."
She dismissed claims by former members and employees of the charity that her "dictatorial, harassing and bullying attitude" prompted them to resign.
"I'm saddened by what has happened and it is difficult to respond as to why they are doing this. The allegations are extremely hurtful, rather than damaging, but I have taken great strength from the phone calls of support which have been flooding into my office in Cork," Ms Roche said.
"It is very encouraging to see that the project is receiving such support from the general public and there is a sense of outrage among some people at the allegations made.
"I'm not going to be bullied out of the race. I want to put my heart and soul into it."
Ms Roche said she was very pleased and encouraged by an IMS/Sunday Independent poll which showed her set to win the presidential race, narrowly ahead of the Fianna Fail candidate, Prof Mary McAleese. She said she looked forward to consolidating that support.
Asked about the poor showing of both Ms Banotti and Dana in the same poll, she said: "I have made a pact with myself to run a very honourable campaign, without reflecting on the other candidates or how they are doing."
On her own campaign, Ms Roche said that through her organisation she had demonstrated great commitment to the cause and she was full committed to fulfil the role of the presidency.
However, she stressed she was not a one-issue candidate.
She said: "There is an awful lot more to Adi Roche than what has been in the media in relation to the Project. I have been involved in several campaigns over a 20year period. If anyone looks at my CV, they will see that there is a lot more substance."
Mr Pat McDonagh, leader of the CCP Mallow outreach group, said of the reported criticism of Ms Roche: "Personal egos do not come into this type of work and if people persist with this kind of publicity they cannot have the interests of the children of Chernobyl at heart.
"We are all here for the sake of the children and I have been working with Adi for many years and I plan to continue working with the Project for a long time."
A statement issued by key representatives of CCP said that messages of support had flooded into the project's offices.
"Everyone involved pledged not to allow these petty attacks to disrupt the vital and lifesaving work of the Chernobyl Children's Project and all are united in their support and respect for Adi Roche," it read.