Catherine Connolly's comments on Germany would cause 'serious' damage if she were President, says Taoiseach
Catherine Connolly: 'I made my comments about the ‘30s because of the similarities in the fear – the fear that is being felt on the ground.' Photo: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie
Comments likening German re-armament to the 1930s could damage international relations if Catherine Connolly were President, the Taoiseach has said.
Micheál Martin told the that they could cause “serious” damage and impact on the Irish economy, trade and development aid work.
Ms Connolly, who is contesting the election as an independent candidate, on Friday once again stood by the comments.
At a meeting of the European Political Community in Copenhagen Mr Martin suggested there was a “degree of naivety” in Ireland about the threats facing Europe.
When asked to expand on this, he started to talk about Ms Connolly, branding her recent comments "shocking".
“When Catherine Connolly said about Germany being like the Nazis, I mean, that's either extreme naivety or just a political partisan position,” he said.
“Russia has violated the airspace of Poland, of Romania, of Estonia, there's been a drone violation in Denmark just in advance of the EPC meeting.
“It's terrible that Sinn Féin and the far left, Catherine and [People Before Profit] Paul Murphy and others have been at this for a long, long time. They spend all their time attacking the EU and America.
“They don't give anywhere near as much time condemning the Russian aggression. They have condemned it. But there's a naivety."
When asked if he believes Ms Connolly’s comments would damage international relations if she made them as president, Mr Martin said there was “no question”.
He continued: “If a comment like that was made, it would be very serious in terms of relationships with a very important European partner for Ireland, in terms of trade and economics, and in terms of our work in Africa and the development aid programmes that we do.”
When asked about Mr Martin’s comments during a visit to Millstreet, Ms Connolly stuck by her initial remarks, saying “as a woman who is deeply concerned about the normalisation of war”, she is worried about re-armament.
Ms Connolly said: “I made my comments about the ‘30s because of the similarities in the fear – the fear that is being felt on the ground.
"I am meeting young people all of the time in different forums. You can feel the sense of hopelessness coming from young people because of the way the world is going.
"I think we have an extra obligation – I have an extra obligation – as president of Ireland and for the people of Ireland, given our history, our specific history of colonisation, of famine, and the successful resolution to the conflict in the North.”
She said she would “leave Micheál Martin to comment on himself and his own comments”.
Responding to her hiring of Ursula Ní Shionnain in 2018, shortly after her released from prison for a firearm conviction, Ms Connolly said Ms Ní Shionnain’s name should not be part of public discourse.
“There are serious questions to be asked here as to how this became a public story. Where do privacy rights come into it? How was this released? Who released this? For what benefit?" Ms Connolly said.
"If somebody, or an entity, wants to get me into trouble, surely an innocent person shouldn’t be used, whatever about trying to damage me, which is another question.”
She added: “What are the consequences for releasing that information, what are the consequences for other people going through a vetting process, knowing that at any stage in their life that vetting process is going to be made public?”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
