The new party leader will be “guest of honour” at a party fundraising event in Cork on February 18.

The Fianna Fáil Cork Finance Committee Breakfast, which will take place at the Clarion Hotel in the city centre, will raise funds for local party branches and candidates. Tickets are priced at €100, or €950 for a table of 10.

The organisers have written to supporters to notify them of the fundraiser.

“Deputy Micheal Martin will be our guest of honour on the above-described occasion and, as this will be the first formal event attended by Deputy Martin since his election as leader of Fianna Fáil, we anticipate a keen demand for tickets which are priced at €100, or €950 for a table of ten,” the letter states.

“Our regular supporters are offered an early option to subscribe and if, as I hope, you are available to attend, I will be delighted to forward ticket(s) on receipt of the appropriate remittance.”

A party spokesman last night said the fundraiser was an annual event for the Fianna Fáil organisation in Cork North Central and Cork South Central. All the proceeds go to the local organisation and candidates in those two constituencies, he said.

The fundraiser has traditionally been an evening dinner, but the local organisation opted for a breakfast this year. The format is not the only thing that has been changed, however.

Perhaps in recognition of the times — or of Fianna Fáil’s disastrously low levels of support — ticket prices are half what they used to be in the Bertie Ahern era.

Back then, the local organisation charged €200 a head for the “Cork President’s Dinner”, as it was known. The event dates back to the late Jack Lynch’s time as Fianna Fáil leader.