'We have cut off one of our limbs’: Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly talks Irish unity and more during Leitrim visit

Between walking around the stalls in the market yard in Carrick-on-Shannon and meeting pro-Palestine activists on the main street, presidential hopeful Catherine Connolly sat down with the Leitrim Observer to talk about her campaign and her goals if she makes it to office.

“We're at a point where we need a courageous president. We need somebody with the courage to speak out against a narrative and a consensus, when that consensus is inappropriate,” said Connolly.

The presidential race remains in a fledgling stage with only two candidates having secured formal nominations - Connolly and Fine Gael’s nomination, Heather Humphrys - the final list of candidates is still to become clear before the election on October 24th.

Firmly on the campaign trail, since the day the Dáil went into recess, the former Leas Ceann Comhairle made the trip to Leitrim last Saturday after a busy week of engagements, visiting Dublin and Sligo earlier in the week. 

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But with much of the country left to canvas, the Galway West TD, who was the first candidate to formally announce her candidacy for president in July, says she will need “to put tiredness to the side” for now.

The Galway city native, who entered the Dáil in 2016 has a record of supporting Ireland’s neutrality, the triple lock, Gaza, and disabilities while opposing institutionalisation in Ireland and the housing crisis, which she describes as “an obscenity” that was “based on government policy.”

She has praised the legacy of former presidents and the “courage” of Michael D Higgins, in speaking out against the housing crisis and the plight of the Palestinian people, saying that she would bring her own personality to the presidency and would similarly use the role to be a voice on important issues.

She has said she would aim to be a president for peace, supporting military neutrality, and speaking out against Israel's campaign in Gaza. “We need to call out what's happening in Palestine - Genocide - we need to call it out over and over.”

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United Ireland 

Connolly has said that she believes in a united Ireland, a point she reiterated during a public conversation with renowned journalist Carol Coleman while in Leitrim.

“I would love to see a united Ireland in my lifetime and I would use my voice as president in a most positive way to bring that about,” she said.

“When I go over the border, I use this imagery, and I always feel like we have cut off our limb … This country is too small to be divided, and we need to work towards that with consent and bringing people along, and obviously, there will need to be changes north and south in relation to that.“

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Irish as a solution

Connolly, a former cleaner, psychologist and barrister who became a Gealghoir later in life, highlighted the importance of learning at every age and her hope that she could be an example that “it's never too late to bow in and out of education.”

She has also pledged to put Irish at the centre of her presidency, highlighting her intention to use the office to promote the role of the language in the country.

“I would use my voice bilingually, and I also think that the Irish language is part of our solution. And I would like to use my voice to stop looking on Irish as a problem. Irish is not a problem. Irish is part of our solution.”

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“We've a lot to learn from the Irish language … particularly to climate change. Because in the Irish language. There's no artificial distinction between the human being and nature. Irish language is not a language of domination. The English language is a language of domination.”

Division 

When asked how she would address divisions in the country around issues like migration.

She says listening to all sides is key, she feels that the majority of Irish people believe in helping those who are in need.

“We need to draw on the DNA that comes from a country that was colonised for hundreds of years,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Connolly criticised the country’s direct provision system, which was temporarily put in place 25 years ago, but still exists to this day, and the government's handling of asylum seekers since the beginning of the Ukraine war. 

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“We had to open our doors, we had to welcome them, but we did it in a divisive manner. We did it without analysing the consequences for a country with a huge housing crisis.”

She believes much of the current anger towards migrants is misplaced. “I think in some groups, the anger is turning on people who are less fortunate and not turning on the government. It should be directed anger for the policies of different governments.”

The campaign 

It has not been an easy campaign so far for Connolly with her decision to visit Syria on a fact-finding mission, where she and other TDs visited refugee camps in the country during the Assad regime, coming in for criticism. A decision she has stood by.

An Ireland Thinks poll released over the weekend showed Catherine Connolly as having 20 per cent of the vote, tied with Jim Gavin, and one per cent behind Heather Humphry.

Connolly says she is proud that her campaign has run on grassroots support and donations, and the sale of merchandise, as she stands as the only independent candidate. However, she has garnered the support of a host of left-wing opposition parties, including the social democrats, People Before Profit, and Labour.

Though the big fish of Sinn Féin is yet to make their allegiance known, party leader Mary Lou McDonald has ruled herself out of the campaign for president, and the party's support may yet come Connolly's way if they choose not to run a candidate for their own over the next fortnight.