Catherine Connolly 'did not support' Gemma O'Doherty's bid for presidency when nominating her

The sole current presidential election candidate said she nominated Ms O'Doherty in 2018 'to give her a chance to stand'

Catherine Connolly said she had nominated, but did not support, Gemma O'Doherty in her bid for the 2018 presidential election. A former journalist, Ms O'Doherty was later accused of spreading misinformation about covid vaccines. Picture: Julien Behal/PA

Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has said she does not support former journalist Gemma O'Doherty and has dismissed the notion that she would appoint former TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly to the Council of State.

Ms Connolly was one of a number of Oireachtas members to back Ms O’Doherty’s presidential bid in 2018. 

Ms O'Doherty has since been accused of spreading misinformation around the safety of vaccines by the mother of a man who took his own life. She has also been sued by the brother of slain journalist Veronica Guerin.

Speaking to RTÉ's This Week programme, Ms Connolly was clear that she did not endorse Ms O'Doherty but had agreed to facilitate her nomination.

"That question has been framed in a way... that I didn't support President Higgins. That's not accurate. I have the greatest of respect for Michael D Higgins. 

I did not and do not support Gemma O'Doherty, but I made a decision to be one of many nominees to give her a chance to stand. 

Ms Connolly said that she "can't remember" if she was aware in 2018 that Ms O'Doherty had given an interview shortly beforehand in which she said that there were questions around the safety of the HPV vaccine.

"What I do remember, and what led me eventually, after thinking about it, was that this woman had done some good work in relation to as a journalist, in relation to investigations. 

"And so I made that decision at that time... it's really important to say that's not the same as endorsing somebody."

Visit to Syria 

Asked about a meeting she had in Syria in 2018 with a supporter of former dictator Bashar al-Assad, Ms Connolly said that it was "certainly in retrospect" a mistake, but that she did not regret the visit to Syria to meet with refugees, which she said "empowered and enabled" her to be a stronger voice for peace.

Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly taking part in a demonstration outside Government Buildings on Thursday in support of Oireachtas broadcast workers' bid for better pay and conditions. Cillian Sherlock/PA

Ms Connolly also flatly rejected the idea that if she were to be elected, former TDs and MEPs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace would be appointed to the Council of State.

"Certainly not," she said, adding that many of the media's questions thus far have focused on her relationship with the pair.

"When I declared my candidacy outside the Dáil, one respected journalist from a certain paper asked me, were my friends going to come out of Buswell's [Hotel] to support me? The friends being Clare Daly and Mick Wallace, in case I didn't understand.

"One wasn't in the country and one wasn't near the Dáil... it's a framing of a dialogue, and there are much more important issues to be spoken about in a presidential campaign."