On the 25th of October, Catherine Connolly was elected as the 10th president of Ireland. She will be the third woman to be elected as she succeeds Michael Higgins, Ireland’s president for the last 14 years.
The election of Connolly is a stark diversion from the historically bi-polar political representation on Ireland, with the two major parties being Finna Fȧil and Fine Gael. Connolly was backed by major left wing parties throughout the election, most notably Sinn Fėin who decided not to run their own candidate and instead supported Connolly.
This election was heavily anticipated not only in Ireland but internationally, as it has been over a decade since new leadership was seen in Ireland. Many key issues in Ireland were very prevalent in this election; candidates and voters alike were concerned about Ireland on the international stage, genocide in Palestine, war in Ukraine, immigration and Irish unity. The election represented for many the direction of Ireland and what it wanted to represent.
Michael Higgins has been a consistently left-wing leader in Ireland. He has stood for equality and human rights during his presidency, and a Connolly presidency is expected to be similar.
Connolly, like Higgins, has been a vocal advocate for Palestinian people. She has condemned Israel for committing a genocide in Gaza throughout her campaign and thinks the rebuilding of Palestine should not be a decision made by international actors.
She stated, “I come from Ireland, which has a history of colonisation. I would be very wary of telling a sovereign people how to run their country.” She drew criticism by the media for not calling for Hamas to be excluded in future Palestinian governance.
Connolly is also supportive of Irish unity. She is welcoming of the idea of a united Ireland, saying that politics “need to prepare for that”.
“Article 3 of the [Republic of Ireland’s] constitution has set out that it is the firm will of the Irish people, with consent and with all diversity and all different communities, that we would have a united Ireland.”
She is working with politicians both within the Republic and in the North of Ireland to advocate and educate on what a united Ireland would be. According to an opinion poll conducted by the Irish Times as of 2024, 64% of people asked in the Republic would vote for Irish unity in a referendum, and 34% of people asked would vote for it in the north of Ireland.
Ireland, like many other countries, is seeing a rise in right-wing politics and anti-immigration sentiment. Over the last year there have been several incidences of large scale protests against immigration in Ireland, often ending in violent rhetoric.
Most recently, 23 people were arrested in Dublin after protests outside as accommodation housing asylum seekers due to a reported rape being perpetrated. Connolly commented on the public’s attitudes saying “their anger is being channelled to the wrong people”.
Despite Connolly winning by a landslide, the election was not all smooth sailing. A reported 13% of voters spoiled their vote – the highest number of invalid votes in a modern Irish election.
