The former TD and MEP said the Presidential candidate from Galway should not have to apologise for her recent comments on Hamas
Ms Connolly came in for widespread criticism, including from Taoiseach Micheál Martin, for stating that Hamas was “part of the fabric of the Palestinian people” and “part of the civil society of Palestine”.
Clarifying the comments, she has acknowledged that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation and that “both sides have to disarm”. She went on to state publicly that she had “condemned Hamas over and over”, but added that the Israeli state was “out of control” and that both sides had committed war crimes and should be held to account.
An ardent supporter of Connolly’s presidential bid, and someone who had accompanied her on a controversial trip to Syria in 2018, alongside Clare Daly, former MEP and TD Mick Wallace has stated that the Galway native should feel no need to apologise for her comments.
Speaking to Alan Corcoran on South East Radio’s Morning Mix, Wallace became quite animated when the furore around Connolly’s Hamas comments was raised.
“Hold on a minute,” he said. “I mean, the ANC were branded as terrorists in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was on a terrorist list for, I’d say, more than 20 years. These people ended up being part of a government in South Africa.
“People should remember Hamas were elected by the people of Palestine in 2006, but the Americans and the Europeans and the Israelis said ‘no, you can’t have them as your leader. We’re not allowing them’. But the Palestinians voted for them. So do we believe in democracy or don’t we?”
Wallace went on to echo Catherine Connolly’s comments that the actions of Israel were clearly of more urgent concern.
“I’m pro-peace and anti-war, I don’t like to see anyone settle their disputes with guns and bombs, I don’t care who they are,” he said. “When Hamas attacked on October 7, they attacked civilians, which I condemned straight away.
“But if you ask me who has been the biggest terrorist organisation in that region in the past two years, Hamas or Israel, it’s no contest. Israel is a far more dangerous terrorist state than Hamas are. It’s no comparison.”
Referencing the trip to Syria in 2018, Wallace continued: “People were attacking Catherine Connolly for going to Syria with myself and Clare Daly. America has dropped more bombs than the whole world put together since 1945 and has killed and destroyed millions of people’s lives and communities. Is it okay to go to America?”
Catherine Connolly pictured with fellow TDs Mick Walllace and Clare Daly in Aleppo, Syria, in 2018.
The former TD for Wexford, who had previously tongue-in-cheek suggested he would consider running for president himself if Catherine Connolly didn’t go forward, then took aim at Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Speaking from a UN summit in New York, the Taoiseach said that there had been a reluctance on the part of Ms Connolly and others in the Dáil “to unequivocally condemn what Hamas did on October 7” in 2023.
“Micheál Martin went to Israel to commiserate with the Israeli government and there’s a picture of him looking at a hole in the ceiling from a Hamas attack,” Wallace blasted.
“Then he comes out yesterday saying that Israel has been committing a genocide from the start. What was he doing over there then? He went over there after the start, commiserating with Israel, giving them credibility and continuing to do business with them.
“The hypocrisy of the politicians is breath-taking. And attacking Catherine Connolly for her comments on Hamas…I mean Sinn Féin were involved with guns, but are we saying that the Good Friday Agreement was a bad idea? Of course it was a good idea.
“All she’s doing is telling the truth, but the media are after her because they don’t want her to be the president,” he concluded.