Gay Irish presidential candidate quits in scandal over rape of teenage boy

A GAY senator who was the front-runner to win Ireland's figurehead presidency has quit the race after admitting he used his office to plead for clemency for a friend convicted of having sex with a minor.

David Norris, a charismatic scholar of Irish writer James Joyce, surged into the lead for the largely ceremonial role with the approval of 42 per cent of voters in a July poll, surprising many in predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland.

But the admission that he asked an Israeli judge to be lenient on his Israeli former partner over a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old Palestinian boy, considered legally as rape, caused several former supporters to call for him to step aside.

Mr Norris said he had made a mistake because the letter, sent from his office in Ireland's upper house of parliament in 1997, did not show sufficient compassion for the victim of the crime. But he added: "I have … demonstrated that it is now possible for a gay person to be seen as a viable candidate."