Mick Clifford: Catherine Connolly’s win shows how Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil keep getting elections wrong

Catherine Connolly’s landslide wasn’t just a win — it was a warning to the establishment about how politics now works

President elect Catherine Connolly: Her campaign was organised, slick, controlled yet embracing, and sang with purpose.

Here’s how to lose an election these days. Don’t consult with your base, your membership. Don’t give them the chance to have any notions. Surround yourself with a small group of elected and paid officials. Eliminate internal opposition with extreme prejudice at the earliest opportunity. Decide how it’s going to be and deliver that decision as a fait accompli.

Avoid woolly concepts like a vision. Put the frighteners on the membership and electorate. Let them know they will toil and possibly perish without your candidate, your guiding hand. When the plan is fully formed, go to the pub, have a few pints and hope for the best. Don’t have too many pints in case your imagination inflames and you begin to doubt your own expertise.