Catherine connolly

Saturday

Patrick Gibbons

Can Trump and Ireland’s President get along?

I realised I was sat next to the Irish President when she sent back her sandwich for being too spicy. I had just climbed Errigal, the tallest mountain in Donegal, on a blustery day, and had stopped at a cafe nearby in the Gaeltacht, the part of Donegal where the Irish language is predominant. It was clear that the small group next to us had done the same – wearing leggings, trainers and zip-up workout gear – and my boyfriend could understand their discussion about how windy the mountain had been. Then, as it became clear a chicken wrap was being sent back – ‘I’m so sorry’ in Gaeilge – I looked up and realised that the apologetically polite voice came from Catherine Connolly.

Sunday

Patrick Gibbons

Catherine Connolly’s election is a humiliation for Ireland’s establishment

‘I will be an inclusive president for all of you,’ Catherine Connolly declared as she was announced the winner of Ireland’s presidential election – a landslide victory over Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.  The independent TD received 63 per cent of the vote (with spoiled ballots excluded) to become Ireland’s tenth president. The result was officially confirmed early yesterday evening, but Connolly’s victory was clear from the moment counting began. ‘Catherine will be my president,’ Humphreys conceded, having received just over 29 per cent of the vote. Connolly defeated Humphreys in Ireland’s first head-to-head presidential race since 1973.

Thursday

Patrick Gibbons

How Catherine Connolly could change Ireland

‘How could you possibly say the EU is good as it stands?’ the woman says. Brexit, she continues, is a ‘first step [in] exposing the EU’. The speaker is Catherine Connolly. She is the frontrunner to win Ireland’s presidential election tomorrow. The footage stands out for two reasons. One, it’s rare for an Irish politician so close to high office to be seen as critical of the EU. Two, the video has only just resurfaced, despite being nine years old. While support for EU membership in Ireland typically polls between 70 and 90 per cent, opinion is becoming less homogenous, an interest in alternative views about the bloc is growing. The video of Connolly surfaced and entered the national conversation a week ago.