Veteran unbiased lawmaker Catherine Connolly is ready to be Eire’s new president after Superb Gael’s Heather Humphreys conceded within the election.
It brings to an finish the seven-year time period of common incumbent Michael D Higgins, a former Labour Occasion tradition minister.
The election additionally marks the third time a girl has held the presidency after Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.
The Irish president, whereas head of state, has restricted constitutional powers and is seen as a largely ceremonial function, with centre-right Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin having much more affect and energy.
But the winner says a lot in regards to the state of Irish society and the nation’s politics.
Here is what it’s essential to find out about Ms Connolly.
Connolly united the reeling left
Picture:
Connolly with Social Democrats chief Holly Cairns (left) and Sinn Fein Chief Mary Lou McDonald (proper). Pic: PA
The left-wing unbiased candidate, 68, a self-proclaimed “underdog”, has referred to herself as a consultant of a “movement” and a “voice for peace” and “unity”.
Regardless of being an unbiased, Ms Connolly has united the vast majority of left-wing events, together with the biggest opposition member Sinn Fein, which opted to not put ahead a candidate of its personal within the election, together with the Social Democrats and Labour.
Her election comes barely a yr after Sinn Fein’s bid to interrupt the governing Fianna Fail and Superb Gael events’ century-long grip on energy fell quick.
Ms Connolly was a Labour councillor for 17 years, spending a time period as Galway mayor till 2005.
She left the Labour get together in 2007, and, after an unsuccessful marketing campaign in 2011, was elected as an unbiased Teachta Dala (TD) – the equal of an MP – in 2016.
She turned the primary feminine deputy chairperson of the decrease home of the Irish parliament in 2020.
Her election comes at a tumultuous time within the nation’s capital, the place every day riots have been happening following an alleged sexual assault involving a 10-year-old woman outdoors a resort on Monday.
Controversy over hard-line views on Gaza
She has been a number one pro-Palestinian voice in parliament, strongly criticising Israel’s actions within the Gaza battle.
Eire is likely one of the most pro-Palestinian EU member states, with the centre-right coalition authorities voicing help for a two-state answer, together with main opposition events.
However Ms Connolly’s views have been branded extra excessive by her critics, together with Mr Martin, who in September accused her of being “reluctant to unequivocally condemn” the 7 October 2023 assault by Hamas in Israel.
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Connolly addressing a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Dublin in September. Pic: PA
She had informed BBC Radio Ulster: “What happened on October 7, I’m on record for condemning, but history did not start on October 7.
“It is necessary to level that out and to look again on the historical past and the numerous, many atrocities dedicated by the Israeli authorities by their military.”
She later added that “what occurred on October 7 was unsuitable, completely unsuitable,” but that it was “not comparable” with what she called the “genocide” in Gaza.
She also criticised UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer after he announced the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state, saying he should not have stipulated that Hamas could have no role in the new government.
She said Hamas was part of the “cloth of the Palestinian individuals,” adding: “I come from Eire which has a historical past of colonisation. I’d be very cautious of telling a sovereign individuals find out how to run their nation.
“The Palestinians must decide, in a democratic way, who they want to lead their country.”
Hamas is a proscribed group within the UK and thought of a terrorist organisation.
What else does Connolly stand for?
All through her time in authorities, she has remained a long-time critic of the European Union in one of many bloc’s most pro-EU member states.
Authorities ministers have repeatedly attacked her monitor document of opposing referendums to deepen Eire’s integration with the EU, however it didn’t turn into a serious speaking level throughout her marketing campaign.
Picture:
Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys throughout the remaining presidential debate. Pic: PA
She has additionally been a vocal critic of Eire’s elevated navy spending, which it plans to up from $1.1bn in 2022 to $1.5bn by 2028 to handle shortages.
However her marketing campaign was stored largely mild, specializing in Irish tradition and serving to residents to “find their voice”, along with her branding aimed toward paying homage to conventional craftspeople and shopfront signage.
Ms Connolly additionally gained consideration on-line for her footballing expertise after a video was posted on-line of her doing ‘keepy uppies’.
There was hypothesis her soccer expertise had been edited with AI, however the former marathon and triathlon participant mentioned she gained the talent from her “athletic” household and from skipping – including that she used to have the ability to do 100 per go.
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Celebrities dropped out of race
This election marked the primary two-candidate race for Irish presidency since 1973, as an initially competitive-looking race ended up predictable.
A 3rd candidate, the Fianna Fail-backed Jim Gavin, pulled out of the race simply weeks earlier than the vote over claims he owed a former tenant €3,000 (£2,600) in overpaid hire relationship again 16 years.
The previous Gaelic soccer supervisor apologised when the claims surfaced, saying he “made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character”.
Landlords are sometimes reviled in Eire on account of historic and cultural causes relationship again to the Nice Famine and earlier.
The largely symbolic function of president additionally attracted controversial MMA fighter Conor McGregor and the creator and former star of Riverdance Michael Flatley to enter the race early on.
Picture:
Conor McGregor on the White Home in March. Pic: Reuters
McGregor acquired worldwide backing from the likes of Elon Musk and Andrew Tate, however he would have wanted to be nominated both by 20 members of the Irish parliament or 4 native authorities – a job which proved not possible.
He withdrew his identify in September, claiming the election eligibility guidelines in Eire’s “outdated constitution” have been a “straitjacket” that prevented a “true democratic presidential election being contested”.
Flatley additionally dropped out in September, saying he “must put my family and my health first” and that he felt he might “better serve the Irish people by continuing my work promoting Ireland and Irish culture globally”.
What’s Connolly’s background and household life?
Earlier than politics, she labored as a barrister and a scientific psychologist.
Her opponent for the presidency tried to make use of her background as barrister in opposition to her, suggesting she capitalised on Eire’s property crash by representing banks in residence repossession circumstances.
Ms Connolly, who referred to as Ms Humphreys’ feedback a “new low”, accepted that she did work for monetary establishments, however mentioned she represented all varieties of shoppers.
Ms Connolly is a mom of two kids and has been married to husband Brian McEnery for greater than 30 years.
She grew up as considered one of 13 siblings – seven boys and 7 ladies, 5 of whom have been youthful than her – in Shantalla, Co Galway.
Her mom died when she was 9, and he or she was raised by her father, who she mentioned was a “very principled” man.
As a scholar, she labored as a cleaner, a nurse’s support in Germany, and a resort chambermaid, all of which she mentioned helped form her as an individual.
She additionally held a instructing function for a Traveller horticultural venture in Oranmore for 3 years whereas finding out regulation.
