Catherine Connolly says her presidential election campaign has Fine Gael ‘very worried’
Independent presidential election candidate Catherine Connolly meets Niamh Ní Mhainnín and her seven-month-old daughter Roisín, in Navan Shopping Centre, Co Meath. Picture: Niall Carson/PA
Fine Gael is “very worried” about the momentum behind Catherine Connolly’s campaign, the left-wing Independent candidate claimed as she campaigned at a shopping centre in Navan, Co Meath on Wednesday.
She said: “I think they’re very worried that this movement is gaining momentum with every day, every minute, every hour. That’s been the response since I went out in July, it has just gained in intensity.”
Ms Connolly led Sunday’s Red C/Business Post poll on 36%, with Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys on 25%, and Fianna Fáil’s withdrawn candidate Jim Gavin on 12%.
When Mr Gavin’s first preferences are redistributed based on second preference patterns, Ms Connolly’s support rises to 39%, while Ms Humphreys’s increases to 31%.
Both have said that they believe there are still a large number of votes to be won, pointing to the 20% or so of people who are undecided.
Later on Wednesday, Ms Connolly took part in RTÉ’s Katie Hannon interview and said she had not asked former TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace to “stay away” from her campaign.
“I have fairly little contact with Clare Daly and Mick Wallace, because most of the time they’re not in the country,” she said.
Ms Connolly was also asked about her previous comments on Brexit, but denied that she was celebrating the UK's 2016 referendum result.
“I wasn't pro-Brexit. What I was doing was having respect for the democratic process.
"That's very important that we have respect for the democratic process. And with the EU, it has definitely gone down a route of further and further militarisation.
“That has always been a concern for me, and it remains a concern for me,” she added.
Ms Connolly also rejected that previous comments about the militarisation of Europe were insulting to Germany.
“I expressed my serious concerns about the similarities between now and the ‘30s, and I used the example of Germany, which is rebooting its economy, buying more arms.”
“We have Putin, and I’m on record for absolutely condemning the invasion of Ukraine.
“As a woman and as a mother, I’m seriously concerned at the direction that countries are going — spending more money on arms and militarisation, while we reduce the money spent on welfare.
“I think those concerns are shared by the majority of people in Ireland, particularly brought into acute focus because of the genocide in Gaza, perpetuated by Israel and funded by America,” she added.
Asked why she wanted to be president, Ms Connolly said: “I think we’re at a juncture in our country and in the history of our country, where a choice has to be made by the people of Ireland in this presidential election, and the choice is a stark one.
“Will we elect an Independent candidate with an independent mind as president, who will have the courage to speak out, a person who is bilingual, and a person who will be able to listen, to hear, to listen, and to reflect the values that we hold dear as people?”
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