'War is a stain on humanity': Catherine Connolly says Ireland 'must call out the abuse of power'
Catherine Connolly said, as a neutral country, Ireland must continue to call out abuses of power if it wants to be seen as a 'peace-loving country'. File Picture: Brian Lawless/PA
Ireland must “call out the abuse of power” regardless of whether it takes place by America or Russia, Independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has said.
At an event in Harold's Cross, Dublin, Ms Connolly called for ceasefires in Ukraine and Gaza, saying there needs to be negotiations to end the wars.
Amid questioning about the ongoing war in Ukraine and whether or not she would call for the full withdrawal of Russian troops, Ms Connolly said she had never been equivocal on the invasion or on the Hamas attack on October 7.
The Galway TD said she had “never hesitated” to condemn either Russia or Hamas.
Ms Connolly said, as a neutral country, Ireland must continue to call out abuses of power if it wants to be seen as a “peace-loving country”.
“I have absolutely no hesitation in doing that,” Ms Connolly said.
“Should more efforts have been made to stop the slaughter in Ukraine and stop the war? Yes. I think there should have been more diplomatic efforts made to do that,” Ms Connolly said.
“Should more effort have been made in relation to stop the genocide? Without a doubt. How pathetic is it that we have genocide and I’m saying more effort should have been made?
“It is a stain on humanity. War is a stain on humanity and we should be using our voice in every way possible to use diplomatic means as a country that has built up credits over the years to stop that.”
Ms Connolly doubled down on her criticism of the military industrial complex, which originally came up in a debate at UCD on Wednesday night.
“The military industrial complex is not a way to bring peace. The billions that are going into the military industrial complex is at the cost of [reducing] poverty, its at the cost of making the world less safe,” Ms Connolly said.
“I do not believe in the military industrial complex and what the EU is doing. I don’t believe in the billions going in and poverty increases. It’s a madness, and we have nothing to lose by calling out that madness and trying a different way.”
Ms Connolly was also joined by a number of councillors from left-wing parties and Labour leader Ivana Bacik.
In her speech, Ms Connolly addressed her history with the Labour Party — which she left in an internal spat over candidate selection.
Ms Connolly thanked Ms Bacik for her “kind words, because there is a history”.
“This is not about disputes between parties. This is far bigger than any party issue.”
