Main points
- Catherine Connolly holds a commanding lead in the presidential election, a new Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll shows.
- Ms Connolly has almost double the support of her nearest rival Heather Humphreys.
- The poll suggests Ms Humphreys has not benefited significantly from the halt to Jim Gavin’s campaign.
- Ms Humphreys has said she attended “in good faith” a charity function that is now the subject of a Garda investigation over concerns about how funds raised at the event were used.
Key Reads and Listens
- Opinion Poll analysis: Only an earthquake can deny Catherine Connolly victory
- Damian Loscher: There’s either a reluctance to accept or a lack of awareness that Jim Gavin is out of the race
- Election Daily podcast: Poll leaves Humphreys in need of unprecedented turnaround
- What does the Irish president actually do?
- Presidential Election full coverage
That’s all for tonight - read Ellen Coyne’s wrap of the day’s events, including Heather Humphreys’ words to journalists in Slane on the subject of the defamation case.
Patrick Freyne was also along to gather farmyard colour.
Presidential coverage continues tomorrow - beginning with a Morning Ireland debate - and until the election and beyond. See you then.
Earlier today, Catherine Connolly spoke about her upbringing with Henry McKean for Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder, reports Cian O’Connell. “The first thing you do in a family of 14 is you don’t tell about your siblings,” Ms Connolly said.
“It wasn’t something extraordinary – we had seven boys and seven girls and it was just normal,” she added.
Ms Connolly’s “super” mother died at the age of 43, and she was subsequently raised by her “brilliant” father and two sisters who stepped into more parental roles. They “never used the word politics” in the house but “were imbued with a sense of social justice”.
Speaking on the same programme, Heather Humphreys described growing up on the border in Drum, Co Monaghan, as a “great childhood”. She was raised on a farm with her parents, two brothers and grandparents.
“Borders do cause problems,” Ms Humphreys added, saying the Troubles “changed everything” and the period “wasn’t easy”.
“When you go back to when the border was formed, you had unionists going to sleep, as they thought, as British citizens, woke up as Irish. And then, of course, in the North, you had nationalists going to sleep as Irish citizens, woke up as British citizens,” she said.
Ms Humphreys reaffirmed her desire for a united Ireland, but would not put a timescale on when it might happen.
Over the course of the campaign, Labour TD Alan Kelly has been critical of his party’s decision to back Catherine Connolly’s bid for the presidency. Jack Horgan-Jones reports on a private party meeting this week in which some of Mr Kelly’s fellow party members voiced their opinion on his interjections.
More than 500 of the country’s leading trade union officials and activists have signed a letter to The Irish Times backing Catherine Connolly and calling on union members to vote for her next week, work correspondent Emmet Malone writes.
In the letter, they say there is an opportunity to elect a candidate with “a very different and better Ireland” in mind, which they say includes collective bargaining, workers’ rights and access to affordable housing.
Connolly herself has acknowledged that while she supports the union’s aims on these issues, she will not be in a position to directly progress them in the event she is elected president.
The letter is signed, in a personal capacity, it is stated, by various senior officials in unions including Siptu, Mandate, Fórsa, Unite and Ictu.
Mandate, which represents about 20,000 retail workers across the country, is one of the unions to have formally endorsed Connolly.
Heather Humphreys has pledged to be a strong voice for Irish farmers and the agricultural sector if she is elected, writes Cian O’Connell.
In a statement released by her campaign team, Ms Humphreys said farmers are “worried about changing regulations, about climate action, about succession and fear being left behind”. She vowed to promote farming’s value to society and encourage younger generations to take it up.
“I was born, raised and lived all my life on a farm,” Ms Humphreys said, adding that she is “deeply proud” of her background.
Paul Murphy, who is suing Heather Humphreys over allegedly defamatory remarks made during an RTÉ radio debate at the weekend, has responded to her claim that he is Catherine Connolly’s campaign manager.
Béibhinn O’Connor is Ms Connolly’s longtime parliamentary assistant. Read more on Ms Connolly’s campaign in Jack Horgan-Jones’s long read from the weekend.
Where are the candidates now? Catherine Connolly’s campaign itinerary for Thursday includes events across Dublin.
She has announced that, if elected, she will establish a presidential initiative on disabled citizens and care.
This would involve a forum of people with lived experience to guide the initiative, public conversations across Ireland on the issue, annual reporting on care in the country, and an award scheme.
Heather Humphreys’ campaign was destined for Co Meath.
She recently proposed a presidential initiative which would see the Defence Forces involved in the delivery of national flags to every school.
“As a Presbyterian, and a proud Irish republican, I feel strongly that our flag symbolises the spirit of inclusion, and the aspiration for unity between people of different traditions on this island,” she said. —PA
Heather Humphreys has claimed that defamation proceedings taken against her by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy are part of a “hard left” strategy.
The Fine Gael presidential election candidate said she does “accept the decision of the courts”, which found Mr Murphy not guilty of false imprisonment of former tánaiste Joan Burton in 2017, Ellen Coyne reports.
“But I am disappointed that Catherine Connolly’s campaign manager Paul Murphy has decided to take legal proceedings against me,” Ms Humphreys told RTÉ Radio 1’s News At One programme on Thursday.
“And of course, this is the tactic of the hard left and Sinn Féin when they don’t like what you say. That’s it, they take to the court.”
She added: “I’m focused on my campaign and not on Paul Murphy, who is Catherine Connolly’s campaign manager.”
Mr Murphy is not Ms Connolly’s campaign manager but has been heavily involved in her presidential campaign over recent weeks.
Sinn Féin accuses Government of doing all it can to ‘block accountability’ as Dáil will not sit next Thursday
Sinn Féin Chief Whip Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has accused the Government of doing all it can to “block accountability”, after the Dáil business committee decided that the House will not sit next Thursday and for a half day on Wednesday.
In a statement, Mr Mac Lochlainn described it as a blatant attempt to silence the Opposition and to avoid scrutiny ahead of the presidential vote next Friday, October 24th, Marie O’Halloran reports.
“This do-nothing Government are doing all they can to block accountability in the Dáil next week ahead of the vote for president next Friday, 24th October,” the Donegal TD said.
“They have cynically cut the Dáil time in half next week – making Thursday a non-sitting day and Wednesday a half day. This removes the usual time for votes on Wednesday evening to avoid votes that could embarrass them ahead of the presidential vote.
“This is a brazen attempt to silence the Opposition from a Government that is utterly allergic to scrutiny and accountability. They are running scared of being held to account for their litany of failures and broken promises.
“Clearly, they are more interested in protecting themselves than doing their job. They are fooling no one. People will see this for what it is.”
Catherine Connolly insists she is firmly committed to the European Union
Independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has insisted she is “firmly committed” to the European Union and has “always been constructively critical”.
It comes after she faced criticism for views she expressed shortly after the Brexit referendum in 2016, Cormac McQuinn reports.
During an appearance on TV3’s Tonight with Vincent Browne show, she expressed shock at calls to rerun the referendum and said she could not believe what the “establishment” had done prior to Brexit.
She said: “I’m absolutely full of admiration for the English people who have stood up to a terrible bullying campaign.”
Left-wing Independent TD Ms Connolly also said she had “no truck” with racism or a famous Leave side poster showing refugees, saying: “I abhor it.”
But she added that 17 million people that voted for Brexit in the UK “stood up and said we see the EU for what it is, or at least that’s what I’m taking out of it”.
She added: “Is it the start of a new dawn? I do not think so, but I think it’s the first step in exposing the EU that was exposed when we were forced to rerun the Nice Treaty.
“I thought it was exposed when we were forced to rerun the Lisbon Treaty.
“I thought it was exposed during the financial crisis but unfortunately the establishment, the politicians that were in power plus the media by and large helped to stop that exposure. I think it’s exposed again now.”
She said she had canvassed against the Lisbon Treaty after reading it in detail and argued that the “emphasis is on the militarisation of Europe page after page”.
Ms Connolly also said the Brexit result was “not necessarily bad for Britain whatsoever”, pointing to its “strong economy” while saying: “certainly there are serious implications for Ireland,”
Fianna Fáil Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne shared a clip of the broadcast on social media platform X on Wednesday.
He said: “Brexit was a threat to Irish people’s jobs and to peace across the island” and it is “horrifying to hear a candidate for the president of Ireland speak admiringly of Brexit”. He asked: “where does Catherine Connolly stand on our European Union?”
Asked about his criticism on Thursday, Ms Connolly said: “I don’t know how many Ministers and junior ministers have come out now with comments, most of them not based on anything.”
She said: “I’m absolutely firmly committed to the European Union. I have always been constructively critical.
“My comments in relation to Brexit was the manner in which the electorate were being commented upon.
“I was talking about the importance of democracy.
“Whether I liked the result or not that was a decision, a sovereign decision.”
Earlier this week Ms Connolly confirmed she voted against EU treaties in both Nice referendums and in both Lisbon referendums.
Ms Connolly clarified her position after telling reporters on Sunday that she had “probably” voted for some of the referendums on EU treaties. She said: “I would have to think back.”
In an interview on RTÉ’s News at One on Monday, Ms Connolly confirmed she had voted No in all four votes.
She said she had absolutely canvassed against the Lisbon Treaty on both votes because she had concerns about it. “The first was the building up of the military of Europe and the second was the neoliberal ideology.”
Ms Connolly said that her political consciousness had been “awakened” by the Nice Treaty and was “fully awake in Lisbon”.
Asked if she had voted against the Nice Treaty twice, she said: “Absolutely. I have often said publicly, in a sense, that I felt ashamed is too strong a word for it, I wish I had awakened sooner.
“And I pay tribute to the people on the ground who (were aware) sooner than I was in relation to the militarisation of Europe.”
Heather Humphreys promises to spend rest of campaign telling her story to people in wake of disappointing poll result
Heather Humphreys has responded to The Irish Times poll, which puts Catherine Connolly at almost double the support of the Fine Gael candidate, by saying she would spend the last week of the campaign trying to tell her “story” to people, Ellen Coyne reports.
“Well, I’ve been in many different elections, and I always say ... the decision will be made on the day of the election, and I’m going to get out there,” Ms Humphreys said on Thursday.
Asked what her strategy was to try to challenge Ms Connolly’s lead, she said: “I’m just going to keep talking to the people and keep getting my message out there and asking them to put their trust in me.
“Ultimately, it’s a decision for the people, but I feel I have a good story, and I do know I have a huge amount of experience, and I have been constant and consistent in my approach to different issues over the years … I haven’t been flip flopping, or I haven’t had one view one day and another view another day. I’ve always been consistent, and I have totally supported everything to do with our membership of the EU.”
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has begun defamation proceedings against Fine Gael presidential candidate and former minister Heather Humphreys.
The proceedings were lodged by Prospect Law on behalf of the Dublin South-West TD on Wednesday and are believed to be in relation to comments made by Ms Humphreys on RTÉ Radio 1 at the weekend.
Ms Humphreys referenced Mr Murphy’s role in an anti-water charges protest in Jobstown in Dublin in November 2014.
Mr Murphy was one of six men charged with the false imprisonment of then-tánaiste Joan Burton and her assistant in their car on November 15th, 2014. All six were acquitted of the charges at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in 2017.
‘I don’t think polls win elections,’ says Catherine Connolly
Catherine Connolly has reacted to today’s poll indicating that she has a substantial lead over her presidential election rival Heather Humphreys, saying; “I don’t think polls win elections” and “I’ll be canvassing every day until next Thursday.”
Today’s Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll shows Ms Connolly on 38 per cent, almost double the support of Fine Gael’s Ms Humphreys on 20 per cent.
Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin, who stopped his presidential election campaign last week, but is still on the ballot paper, is at just 5 per cent.
The undecideds stand at 18 per cent with little more than a week to go until voters cast their ballots on Friday, October 24th.
Ms Connolly spoke to reporters after visiting a social inclusion voting campaign in Belmayne on Dublin’s northside, Cormac McQuinn reports.
She said there has been “momentum” for her campaign and people have engaged since “day one” and people are “particularly interested in getting the president to reflect their concerns, their values and their vision.”
She said her strategy of being “on the ground” meeting people will remain “exactly the same”.
Put to the candidate that it was her race to lose, Ms Connolly replied: “The use of language fascinates me all the time. I’m going to go out canvassing and continue with my message.”
She said her team are “all short of sleep” and “I’m going to continue to do what I’ve done from July which is to say to the people of Ireland, you have a choice” and “it’s important to make that choice.”
She said she has a record “as a rational, reasonable, pragmatic woman”, as a mother and as a national and local politician and other “different privileged roles”.
The poll also contained evidence of voter disillusionment with the slate of candidates offered to them with almost half, 49 per cent, saying they “don’t feel represented by any of the candidates”.
Asked about people feeling disconnected, and what she would do about that as president, Ms Connolly said: “I would have an open door in the Áras to listen to people.”
She said the first group she would invite is carers “because we’ve utterly neglected them as we have other groups in society”.
Can Jim Gavin still become president? Art O’Leary, chief executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin (The Electoral Commission), takes us through the detail around names on ballot papers and voting, in a video with Dan Dennison.
‘Blaming me for Heather’s difficulties is like blaming Roy Keane for the problems of Man Utd,’ says Ivan Yates
Broadcaster and political commentator Ivan Yates has defended the “smear the bejaysus” remarks he made last week about the presidential election campaign.
Speaking on the Newstalk podcast Calling It last week, Mr Yates outlined what he would do if Fine Gael were to contact him and ask him for advice on how to improve Heather Humphreys’s campaign.
“I would go bullheaded – ‘do you want a provo in the park? Is she a Russian asset?’ I would smear the bejaysus out of her, simply because you’ve nothing to lose,” he said in relation to left-wing Independent candidate Catherine Connolly.
Speaking on the same podcast this week Mr Yates said to suggest he has been involved in the Fine Gael campaign was “nonsensical” and that he left the party in 2009 when he joined Newstalk.
“From those on the Fine Gael side who felt that this was damaging to Heather in terms of reaction and so on. I would say ... let’s be clear – blaming me for Heather’s difficulties is like blaming Roy Keane for the problems of Man Utd,” he said.
The former Fine Gael minister added that he “couldn’t buy this type of publicity” and that the ratings and subscriptions for his Path to Power podcast with Matt Cooper have “gone through the roof”.
“The biggest beneficiary of this is Matt Cooper and Noel Kelly,” he said.
Can the president criticise the Government? Prof David Kenny from Trinity College’s school of law outlines some of the key powers of the presidency in a video with Dan Dennison.
Former taoiseach and former Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern has endorsed Heather Humphreys in the presidential election
“I know Heather very well, she is very caring, very kind, very efficient, a very friendly person,” he told Newstalk Breakfast, Vivienne Clarke reports.
“I do think she’s a person who could do an awful lot of work on the reconciliation and the partnership that we need to build the communities and because of her, both her religion and her involvement and the fact that she’s very involved in her own church and community. I see that as a positive thing of building community spirit and understanding on this island.
“I think she would be a fine president.”
We also have a special Election Daily podcast following on from the latest poll results.
Pat Leahy joins Hugh Linehan to talk about the significance of Connolly’s lead, why Jim Gavin’s exit has not helped Humphreys as Fine Gael had hoped and what the Humphreys campaign may do in the final week of the race.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Elsewhere, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has said his party will think “long and hard over the next 24 hours” about whether to bring a further Dáil motion next week after Tánaiste Simon Harris won a confidence motion by 94 votes to 65.
The Government pre-empted an Aontú proposal on Tuesday to bring a motion of no confidence in Mr Harris by instead bringing forward a motion of confidence.
Mr Tóibín proposed the motion over Mr Harris’s “failed promise” in 2017 that no child would have to wait more than four months for scoliosis surgery, in the wake of the death of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt.
He said his party may bring a motion next week “but we won’t come to a decision until at least Thursday night or maybe Friday morning”.
Miriam Lord was back on the campaign trail with Catherine Connolly in county Meath on Wednesday.
Lord writes: “This campaign is proving a doddle for Catherine Connolly. If only the media would stop persisting with those really legitimate questions, she’d be in measuring for curtains in the Áras by now.”
Her piece can be read here.
Political editor Pat Leahy writes that although presidential elections have seen dramatic late swings before, it would now take an earthquake for Catherine Connolly to be denied victory in next week’s vote.
His full analysis of the latest poll can be read here.
Good morning.
Catherine Connolly holds a commanding lead in the presidential election with just over a week to go before votes are cast, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll.
The poll finds that Ms Connolly, on 38 per cent, has almost double the support of her nearest rival, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys, on 20 per cent. Support for the Fianna Fáil candidate, Jim Gavin, who stopped his presidential campaign last week but is still on the ballot paper, is at just 5 per cent.
All the details of that poll can be read here.
