{"id":27923,"date":"2025-08-28T03:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T03:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/27923\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T03:44:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T03:44:10","slug":"alan-kelly-criticises-labours-decision-to-back-catherine-connolly-for-president-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/27923\/","title":{"rendered":"Alan Kelly criticises Labour\u2019s decision to back Catherine Connolly for president \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labour Party<\/a> TD Alan Kelly<\/a> has criticised his party\u2019s decision to back Independent candidate Catherine Connolly<\/a> for president, saying he will not support the Galway West TD in this autumn\u2019s contest<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Mr Kelly said he would not nominate Ms Connolly, despite his party undertaking to support her candidacy in July<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Ms Connolly will not need Mr Kelly\u2019s vote to meet the threshold of 20 Oireachtas members\u2019 support to get on to the ballot paper, but his refusal to back her risks causing difficulties for her and Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Speaking to local radio station Tipp FM on Wednesday, Mr Kelly said: \u201cI\u2019m not sure what Catherine Connolly did to deserve our support … I respect everybody\u2019s views in the party, but I was against this.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he has much in common with Ms Connolly, who was a Labour Party councillor before becoming an Independent. <\/p>\n

However, he said there is a large cohort within the Labour Party with the same view as him. <\/p>\n

\"IndependentIndependent TD Catherine Connolly who is running in the presidential election. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n

Mr Kelly was critical of Ms Connolly\u2019s views on international relations, mentioning Syria, Russia and the EU, as well as her association with former Independent TD and MEP Mick Wallace. <\/p>\n

He was particularly critical of the party\u2019s decision in light of Ms Connolly\u2019s criticisms of Labour\u2019s time in government, after which she said the party had lost its soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the party has to have some self-respect. Catherine Connolly has shown disdain for us since 2006,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He asked if the \u201cshoe was on the other foot would it be reciprocated? I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another \u201cfundamental\u201d issue, he said, was Ms Connolly\u2019s support for Gemma O\u2019Doherty in her bid to run for the presidency in 2018, especially in light of views Ms O\u2019Doherty expressed about vaccines at the time. At the time she felt Ms O\u2019Doherty was a \u201cbetter option\u201d than Michael D Higgins, who has been an \u201cexceptional\u201d president, Mr Kelly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible for many people in the Labour Party in all conscience, with self-respect, to support a presidential candidate who seven years ago thought Gemma O\u2019Doherty was worth nominating against him.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Who is Catherine Connolly? The outspoken left-wing campaigner running for presidentOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t alone in not supporting,\u201d he added, saying he has received \u201ctonnes\u201d of communications about the matter. <\/p>\n

However, he insisted that his position was not indicative of a broader split within Labour. <\/p>\n

A Labour spokesman said the party \u201cdemocratically\u201d decided to endorse Ms Connolly after \u201cextensive\u201d consultation with members. <\/p>\n

Asked to comment on Mr Kelly\u2019s remarks, Ms Connolly said she was \u201cvery grateful\u201d for Labour\u2019s support of her presidential campaign, \u201cjust as I am grateful for the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and a range of Independents who have weighed in behind me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is heartening to see parties and politicians of the left coming together to achieve our common goal of putting a progressive, unifying voice in the \u00c1ras. I am beyond proud to have their backing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis showing of left cohesion indicates a bright future for Irish politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Co Down academic Deirdre Heenan has hinted she may run for president, saying \u201cwatch this space\u201d when asked if she will join the contest.<\/p>\n

Ms Heenan\u2019s name was floated as a possible Fianna F\u00e1il presidential candidate, but this has been overshadowed in recent days and weeks as speculation mounts around potential runs by former GAA manager Jim Gavin and MEP Billy Kelleher. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin as Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s presidential candidate? The pros and consOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Ms Heenan suggested a decision on Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s candidate will be will be \u201ccoming very soon\u201d.<\/p>\n

Prof Heenan is the former pro-vice-chancellor of Ulster University and a political commentator and academic in social policy. In 2012, President Higgins appointed her to the Council of State, which is a constitutionally-established body that advises the President.<\/p>\n

On BBC Radio Ulster\u2019s The Nolan Show on Tuesday, Ms Heenan was asked directly if she will run. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo comment,\u201d Ms Heenan responded. \u201cWatch this space, is what I would say.\u201d <\/p>\n

When it was put to her that this meant the answer to the questions was \u201cyes\u201d, she said: \u201cNo it doesn\u2019t; it means watch this space.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"ProfProf Deirdre Heenan suggested a decision on who Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s candidate will be will be ‘coming very soon’ <\/p>\n

Asked what made her think she thought she had a chance, the academic said: \u201cWell, couldn\u2019t anyone have a chance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the time will be coming very soon when decisions will have to be made. Very soon, I would imagine.\u201d <\/p>\n

Asked if she is the front-runner to be Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s candidate, Ms Heenan said: \u201cI have no idea … that remains to be seen.\u201d <\/p>\n

Fianna F\u00e1il is expected to meet next week to consider its options but it is unlikely a candidate will be selected until later in September. <\/p>\n

While former taoiseach Bertie Ahern\u2019s name was floated by some TDs last week, it is understood Miche\u00e1l Martin does not support him as the party\u2019s candidate. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Fintan O’Toole: The pain and shame that Bertie Ahern caused this country are not forgottenOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Mr Gavin, a former member of the Defence Forces, has yet to rule himself in or out of the competition. Mr Kelleher also declined to give a definitive position on whether he would run, saying: \u201cIf a party approached a person and asked them, obviously you would have to give it serious consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Labour Party TD Alan Kelly has criticised his party\u2019s decision to back Independent candidate Catherine Connolly for president,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[22055,9,10,1921,18,13,14,6,19,17,9170,9171,11,12,15,16,5,59,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-27923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-alan-kelly","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-breakingnews","11":"tag-catherine-connolly","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-featured-news","14":"tag-featurednews","15":"tag-headlines","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-ivana-bacik","19":"tag-labour-party","20":"tag-latest-news","21":"tag-latestnews","22":"tag-main-news","23":"tag-mainnews","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-presidential-election","26":"tag-top-stories","27":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}