Catherine Connolly, presidential hopeful, gave her first press conference today — here's what she said

THE SALARY, SYRIA and a vision for the next presidency.

These were just some of the topics Galway TD and presidential hopeful Catherine Connolly spoke about today during her first press conference of her campaign. 

Connolly said she is a not a politician seeking office, but a “citizen” looking to serve as president of Ireland. 

She said she battled with the decision to run, calling it a torturous decision, but said she told reporters she made the call last week to put her name forward.

So what did we learn? 

‘United Ireland’ coming very soon

Connolly told reporters that she believes Northern Ireland is “extremely important”.

“I think we’re going to have united Ireland very soon.  

“I think the Good Friday Agreement has set the framework for that… I think tremendous work has been done on the ground with cross-border bodies, and I look forward to the day when we have a united Ireland.

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“I absolutely value the diversity, and we must value the different backgrounds in Northern Ireland,” she added. 

On the €350,000 salary and would she take a reduced amount? 

The salary for the presidency is approximately €350,000. President Michael D Higgins has waived a portion of it over his two terms. When The Journal asked if she would take a reduced salary, Connolly said she will “look at the salary”.

She added that she is “open to ideas on that”.

“I’m certainly going to use it for the common good,” she said. 

She said she would discuss it with her team and set out how she would use the salary “in due course”.

On her trip to Syria during dictator Bashar al-Assad’s time

When questioned about a trip to Syria she undertook with former TDs Clare Daly, Mick Wallace and Maureen O’Sullivan, she told reporters that she funded the trip herself: 

“We went there for a purpose of fact finding. I met no member of government. Indeed, our whole thing was a Palestinian activist… I saw firsthand the destruction of a whole city. I mean, my idea up to then of a refugee camp wasn’t up to scratch really, I was looking at demolition of a city.

“We were shown around by Palestinians. We stayed with them all of the time. After that, we went down to Aleppo. We met the Chamber of Commerce. We had a meeting with UNICEF. We went into a convent, and met a nun, unfortunately who has since died, and many other, many other aspects of that trip. On no occasion had I anything to do with the government, nor did I ever utter one word of support for Assad,” she said. 

Does she regret signing the nomination papers of Gemma O’Doherty in the last presidential election? 

Connolly says she doesn’t regret her decision to sign O’Doherty’s papers at the time, stating that she did not know her personally but saw her as a journalist who had done some very good work in the past.

“Do I support her in any way? Not at all,” she said, stating that her “judgment call was right at the time”. 

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Will she make spending in Áras an Uachtaráin more transparent? 

There has long been a debate on creating more transparency around the spend on the presidency. While most State bodies are subject to the Freedom of Information Act, the office for the presidency is not.

The office of presidency spends about €7m per year, but the breakdown of that spending is kept under wraps.

Would Connolly change that? She wouldn’t commit to that, only telling The Journal that while she sat on the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee closely scrutinised the spending, stating that she would hope such scrutiny continues.  

She says she’s not a Michael D Higgins continuity candidate

Connolly told reporters today that she is proud of President Micheal D Higgins and how he has spoken out about Gaza. “He showed courage when courage was necessary,” she said. 

“I would never describe myself as a continuity candidate. I come from a family of 14, and we have all striven to have our own personalities, and indeed, we would take great exception to say we’re following somebody else. I have my own vision and my own support and my own values,” she said.

How does she plan to fund her campaign?

Connolly said that she will be asking for contributions from supporters, but said parties that are backing her have also offered cash.

“If I had thought about the cost and what’s been estimated, a quarter of a million or a half a million [Euro], I think I’d be overwhelmed, and you wouldn’t stand,” she said. 

Connollys said she wants her message to be that “you do not need to be rich. You do not need to have wealth to stand, nor should you need it”.

“Having said that, I will need money, and we will be asking for contributions, because obviously we need a campaign. But the stronger message is we can do this. This is bigger than wealth and money. This is about having a voice, having a vision, and reflecting the people on the ground, in all its diversity, north and south,” said Connolly.

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