The pacifist won the hearts of the Irish. Her views on NATO and the EU may be surprising
Catherine Connolly, the former mayor of Galway who spent the last nine years as an opposition socialist MP in the Irish parliament, has a clear advantage over her only rival, Heather Humphreys of the centrist Fine Gael party.
Previously, the presidency was a windfall for high-ranking statesmen supported by the dominant Fianna Fail party. Robinson's breakthrough victory broke new ground an era of presidents coming from the opposition benches or from outside political circles. This reflects a clear preference among many voters for the presidency – a largely ceremonial position with no role in day-to-day governance – that can challenge the establishment and, more specifically, the current Fianna Fail-led coalition.
Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland. Kyiv, June 29, 2023Vladimir Shtanko / Anadolu Agency/ABACAPRESS.COM / PAP
Connolly will replace another Galway socialist, Michael D. Higgins, who has spent the last two terms expanding the scope of what the president can say and do.
Without remorse and bluntly
Like Higgins Connolly openly condemns Israel for its two-year war in the Gaza Strip, which certainly won her votes in a country that openly sympathizes with the Palestinians and has terrible relations with Tel Aviv.
But Connolly went further, defending Hamas' right to play a future role in an eventual Palestinian state. This sparked a reaction from Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, and Foreign Secretary Simon Harris, leader of Fine Gael, the other party in Ireland's center-right government.
The article continues below the video
This is hers critical of NATO on Ukraine and opposition to broader European security measures could soon generate the most embarrassing headlines for the Irish government, which is balancing its official state neutrality with its support for EU efforts to strengthen Ukraine.
At one rally in a Dublin pub, Connolly was met with incredulity from supporters when she compared Germany's current plans to increase defense spending to Nazi militarization in the 1930s. She strongly opposed the EU's ReArm Europe plans to increase defense spending by EUR 800 billion. [ok. 3,4 bln zł].
During the final televised presidential debate on Tuesday night, Connolly was asked how she would treat US President Donald Trump and whether she would accuse him of US support for Israel and its war in the Gaza Strip.
Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys during the final debate before the presidential election. Dublin, 21 October 2025PA/Niall Carson / PAP
“The genocide was enabled and financed by American money,” Connolly began. She was asked again whether she would tell that to Trump, who has a golf resort in Ireland and plans to visit as host of next year's Irish Open. “If it's just a meet and greet, I'll meet and greet him. If the discussion is about genocide, that's a completely different matter, she replied.
Connolly reconciled the fractured left
Connolly's dominance of the campaign was partly ensured by her ability to conquer the support of all opposition parties on Ireland's usually divided left wing — primarily the nationalist Sinn Fein, which refused to field its own candidate. Instead, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and the leader of the Home Rule government in neighboring Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, joined Connolly on the campaign trail.
Graffiti of Catherine Connolly in Dublin, October 24, 2025.EPA/BRYAN MEADE / PAP
What was telling was the absence of Connolly's once most important allies, socialist radicals Mick Wallace and Clare Daly – called Moscow Mick and Kremlin Clare by their political opponents.
Connolly joined Daly and Wallace on a tour of government-controlled parts of Syria in 2018, when all three were opposition MPs. Daly and Wallace were subsequently elected as MEPs, but lost their seats in the 2024 European Parliament elections.
In media interviews and television debates, Connolly repeatedly deflected questions about the wisdom of visiting Syria so unilaterally in areas controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown by rebels last year. She dismissed media questions about her connections to Daly and Wallace as attempts to “blame by association.”
Diplomats wring their hands. “Fundamentally anti-EU”
Veterans of the Irish diplomatic service express concerns that President Connolly may mislead the world as to the true position of the Irish government. They emphasize Ireland's economic dependence on hundreds of American corporations and the EU's strong support for Ireland after the devastating Brexit.
Bobby McDonagh, Ireland's former ambassador to the UK and the EU, says Connolly “has made statements and taken positions that I and many people believe are fundamentally anti-EU.”
He calls Connolly's criticism of increased German defense spending in the face of a growing security threat from Russia “ridiculous” and her comments suggesting similarities to Nazi-era militarization “absurd.”
McDonagh says that while “the pro-European majority in this country and the government can simply ignore it”, the position taken by President Connolly “would go on record internationally and could damage Ireland's reputation and interests“.
