Catherine Connolly elected as Ireland’s 10th president with largest number of votes ever

13 comments

1. Don’t worry europe. The president is mainly a ceremonial position in Ireland. We aren’t letting the hard left into government or anything.

2. I’m not much familiar with Irish politics, does this change anything?

3. Is the the tankie one?

4. Not particularly proud of this as an Irish person. Given our complete and utter reliance on the rest of Europe for defence, not to mention our status as a tax haven, having a head of state that lectures NATO member states for their defence spending (purely to keep Russian aggression at bay) isn’t a good look.

   But I wish her luck. And hopefully she plays things more diplomatically over the next 7 years.

5. But does she have a dog?

6. Oh no, what happened to the guy everyone loved? He may not run again and chose her as his successor? Why do I not see more posts about him?

7. The tankie? Honestly I’d rather have a monarchy than have to wheel this commie out to shake hands at the rugby then hope she doesn’t say something dumb

8. Tough boots to fill. Even my Belfast-born, Unionist father liked and respected Michael Higgins.

9. Once again, I would like to remind people that CC is NOT “Anti-EU” “Anti-Defense” or “Pro-Russia” as people keep attempting to claim.

   There are 2 quotes that are often taken out of context.

   The first is her saying “Ireland doesn’t need an army”, which has been taken to mean she opposes all military. She does not. In the very same sentence that quote is taken from, she talks about how valuable the Irish Defense Forces are, and how proud she is of everything that they do.

   The other, is her criticism of EU defense spending. Her criticism has been attempting to use Military development as an “investment” is incredibly dangerous, because once Russia is defeated, the investment’s value is drastically decreased…. unless you put it to work elsewhere.

   Happy to answer any questions. I’ve had to debate wayyyy too many people about this recently haha

10. It’s the largest number of votes ever for a single candidate mainly because the left coalesced around one candidate. The total votes of her nominating parties’ candidates is actually down on 2018 and 2011 totals. 

    The main story here is the completely insipid performance of the right and centre due to trying to force in an establishment cypher and block alternative choices during a wave of mass disillusionment with the establishment.

    The figure of almost 13% spoiled votes is unprecedented in a western election and really makes me feel proud of the popular democratic culture of the Irish who will nevertheless make sure they’re to be heard even if they can’t possibly win. Belief in democratic principals remains strong even if the government of the day tries to undermine it.

11. She was easily the most qualified candidate during the race; she has decades of experience being in politics both at the local level and also as a TD in the Dáil and our first female Leas-Cheann Comhairle (deputy speaker of the parliament). She’s been a clinical psychologist and lawyer and she was the only candidate who could speak Irish (or more than just English as far as I’m aware).

    Irish fluency is relevant since the Constitution is written in both Irish and English, but wherever discrepancies could be found between the two versions the Irish copy takes precedent. When issues with new laws need to be referred to, an Irish speaker is best suited to the role. It also helps promote the language.

    Just safe to say, she wasn’t elected as some populist rando. She was elected because she’s a well-spoken, experienced, intelligent woman who ran as an independent against the upopular government candidates and her domestic politics were simply far more popular.

    I’m glazing her more than I’d normally ever would, but since this is r/europe I wanted to give a perspective that wasn’t just tearing her to shreds because she isn’t pro-NATO. She is far from ideal, with her old connections to Daly and Wallace who are a pair of pro-Russian tankie gobshites, but overall I would say she has more going for her in terms of the presidency than against her.

12. Wtf I thought Conor MacGregor was supposed to be the Irish president? He dropped out in mid-Sept 2025? Sadge… At least, this female is apparently opposed to the future NATO invasion of Russia, so that’s something.

13. The overall stance of her is awesome actually. Definitely the most qualified individual out of all participants. Only thing I have a hard time with is her stance on NATO but I’m not Irish and NATO hasn’t been too good lately imo

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