16-07-2025
Catherine Connolly formally launches presidential bid
Independent TD Catherine Connolly has formally launched her bid to become Ireland's next president, saying she wants to 'empower people' to find their own voices.
The left-wing Galway West representative said she wants to show that Ireland can be a 'different type' of country.
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Speaking outside Leinster House in Dublin, surrounded by politicians from the Social Democrats and People Before Profit, as well as Independent TDs and Senators, Ms Connolly said it was a 'privilege' to have their support.
She confirmed that she has the 20 nominations required to stand in the election, which is expected to take place in October.
She outlined her priorities and vision for the role of president, saying that it is possible to make Ireland better and to live up to its Republic name.
Ms Connolly also agreed that the salary for the office of the president is high, saying she would 'look at it'.
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The president's annual salary is just over €330,000 a year.
'I certainly would look at the salary, and I'm open to ideas on that,' Ms Connolly said.
'I would have my own ideas, in due course, how I would use that salary and how I produce it to the best of my ability for the common good.'
'I will discuss that with the team I have. There are lots of decisions to make about the campaign, and how I use the salary is one of those.'
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Ms Connolly worked as a barrister and a clinical psychologist before becoming a councillor for 17 years and spending a term as Galway mayor until 2005.
She resigned from the Labour Party in 2006 after being turned down to be a running mate of then-incumbent TD Michael D Higgins.
She was first elected to the Dáil as an independent candidate for Galway West in 2016.
Independent TD Catherine Connolly speaking to the media outside Leinster House, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)
She also said she supports transparency around the activities and spending of the president's office, but stopped short of calling for further scrutiny.
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She added: 'Well, it's interesting. I'm back on the Public Accounts Committee for my second time, and I was on it in the first term, and I had a difficult role in the sense that I knew Michael D and so on, but we had to examine the accounts.
'I did that to the best of my ability, and I would hope that will continue to be done on the public accounts for the president, where the expenses are closely scrutinised. I did that to the best of my ability.'
Speaking outside Leinster House, she said: 'I'm standing to enable people, to empower people to find their own voices, to stand up and be counted, to say there is a different way.
'We must deal with climate change. We must be a voice for peace. We have to stop the normalisation of war and violence.
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'We have to stop the normalisation of homelessness. We have to say that these problems are not inevitable.
'They are man-made, policy-driven, and we can have a different type of country and a different type of world.
'That is what motivates me, and I understand that's what motivates all of those around me.'
She added: 'I think I have shown my mettle as Leas-Cheann Comhairle (deputy chairwoman).
'I think I've shown that I've been fair, that I'm able to put aside my strong opinions and function as Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
'I'm a Democrat to my fingertips. It was actually interesting for me to serve as Leas-Cheann Comhairle for four-and-a-half years, or approximately, a role I wasn't expecting.
'I stood in that with the help of my colleagues and with the help of the opposition, to show that we can stand together as an opposition and provide a different way of doing things.'
Asked whether she wants the backing of Sinn Féin, Ms Connolly said that it and the Labour Party are going through their own process, but would like to see their support.
'I would like the support of anyone. I'd like to be an inclusive candidate to say, let's do this together. Let's show what's possible,' she added.
She said earlier: 'I will give an ear to everyone. I worked as a clinical psychologist for seven years, and then I worked as a barrister. From that experience, I can hear everyone's opinion.'
On Tuesday, Mairead McGuinness became the first official nominee in the presidential race to replace Michael D Higgins after his term comes to an end in the autumn.
Ms McGuinness, who was a TV presenter and farming journalist before becoming an MEP and EU commissioner, is the nominee to become Fine Gael's presidential candidate.
Fianna Fáil, the party with the most TDs in the Dáil, has not clarified if it will run a candidate and is to make a decision in the early autumn.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has also refused to rule herself out of the running.
Asked about who would pay for her campaign, Ms Connolly said the parties that have backed her 'were happy' to give her any support she needs, but the details had not yet been worked out.
She was also asked about her stance on the war in Ukraine – about the suggestion that she did not clap during Volodymyr Zelensky's address to the Dáil in April 2022, and whether Ukraine should be sent arms by other countries.
She said she had criticised Russia 'many times' and was despondent about the failure of diplomacy in relation to the conflict, but that does not give Russia 'any excuse'.
She said she did clap for Mr Zelensky in April 2022 but said some journalists reckoned her applause 'did not go on long enough or was not strong enough'.
She added: 'I want us to use our voice as a neutral country. I am very worried about the direction Europe, the US and other countries are going in. More war does not bring about peace, that is not the way.
'We're a small country with a particular history and we should use that experience and influence, not just in relation to Russia, but in relation to Israel and Gaza too.'
