Catherine Connolly accuses Fine Gael of 'engendering a negative campaign' 

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One on Monday, Ms Connolly said that questions about her judgement on international affairs had come from her opponent Heather Humphreys' party. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/ Photocall Ireland

Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has accused Fine Gael of "engendering a negative campaign" as the race for the presidency reaches its final full week.

Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys over the weekend distanced herself from the party's former minister Ivan Yates, following comments he made on a podcast. 

Mr Yates said he would "smear the bejaysus out of" Ms Connolly in the last two weeks of the campaign if he were her opponents. 

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One on Monday, Ms Connolly said that questions about her judgement on international affairs had come from her opponent Heather Humphreys' party.

"A lot of this has come from a Fine Gael campaign that's engendering fear, that's engendering a negative campaign, and we know exactly what Ivan Yates said."

Asked if this meant she should not be asked to account for her views, Ms Connolly said that she had been campaigning since July and had faced the media dozens of times.

Everyone is entitled to ask questions, and I must be the only candidate that has stood repeatedly before people since July. I have held four open forums — Carrick on Shannon, Dundalk, Drogheda, Sligo — I have lost count of how many press conferences; straight after a debate, straight down to a press conference. 

"I have done my best to answer every question, perhaps the answers I give are not liked."

Asked about incidents in which she had had to clarify comments, Ms Connolly said that "everybody should clarify things".

"Everybody should clarify things. Everybody should be open. But however, if we go back to my record in the Dáil and prior to that in the various roles I've had. I've been a clinical psychologist, I've been a barrister, I taught for three years to the traveling community and many other jobs as a student, and then 17 years at city council. And then the Dáil since 2016, the first female Leas Ceann Comhairle."

Asked about a 2018 trip she took to Syria, Ms Connolly said that she had initially thought she was visiting a refugee camp.

"I went to Syria on a fact finding mission," she said.

"I foolishly thought I was going to a camp with tents, it was a city where Palestinian refugees were housed. It was a scene of hell.

I absolutely condemn the regime, we listened to people and I came back with a horror of war. I am a pacifist.

Meanwhile, former Labour leader Alan Kelly said that he would back Ms Humphreys "by default". Mr Kelly has previously refused to nominate Ms Connolly and took issue with a remark she made about him in his native Tipperary last week.

Asked by reporters in the county if she was winning the former minister over, Ms Connolly said:

“I’ll leave Alan Kelly to deal with Alan Kelly. That’s a full-time job perhaps.”

Speaking to Tipp FM today, Mr Kelly said the remark was "snide".

"It was a very snide remark. It was kind of a degrading remark. That's the Catherine Connolly I know. It was nasty," he said.

"I've spoken to Ivana (Bacik) about it, she reached out to the parliamentary party, she said she was going to deal with it. It wasn't a very nice thing for a presidential candidate to say."

Asked during Monday's interview if she was concerned about the Labour Party's backing, Ms Connolly said that Ms Bacik had "played a blinder" for her campaign thus far.