Ireland’s next prime minister on June 2 could well be a young doctor turned politician who traces his roots to a town barely 60 kms from Goa, causing excitement among the local community and considerable buzz on social media.
MALVAN
Dr Leo Varadkar (38), who has emerged the clear favourite to succeed Enda Kenny as Ireland’s prime minister, is the son of a doctor from Malvan.
According to locals, Leo’s father, Ashok, was born in Warad village of Malvan and completed his school in the village and later pursued higher education in medicine in Mumbai.
Dr Ashok then emigrated to England in 1960 and later in 1973, married a nurse, Miriam, in England. The couple later shifted to Dublin and have three children, two daughters, Sofia and Sonia, and a son, Leo.
Leo also studied medicine in Dublin and has had a meteoric rise in politics, after winning a seat in parliament in 2007, going on to serve as minister with several portfolios.
Even since Leo emerged as the frontrunner to become Ireland’s next prime minister, the news has begun to spread across the town, while also causing buzz on social media.
Enquiries with locals in Malvan revealed that Dr Ashok Varadkar’s house still exists in Malvan, adding that Dr Ashok had visited his house on a number of occasions along with his wife, Miriam.
“The couple last visited their native house in Malvan two years ago. Leo never visited his home in Malvan, but had once visited India during the 2011 World Cup during a match involving Ireland,” said a relative of Leo.
If elected, Dr Varadkar would be the second head of an EU state after Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa, to trace their roots in the Konkan region, as Costa hails from Margao.
