{"id":96837,"date":"2025-10-22T11:11:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/96837\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T11:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T11:11:08","slug":"catherine-connolly-supporters-accused-by-fg-of-negative-campaign-against-heather-humphreys-over-her-religion-and-family-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/96837\/","title":{"rendered":"Catherine Connolly supporters accused by FG of negative campaign against Heather Humphreys over her religion and family \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main Points Catherine Connolly<\/a> supporters have been accused by Fine Gael of a negative campaign against Heather Humphreys<\/a> over her religion and family.Last night\u2019s debate largely went<\/a> over ground that has become familiar in recent weeks. The tenth President of Ireland will be decided by voters this Friday, with polling stations open from 7am to 10pm.The result should be known by Saturday evening. Rest Reads <\/p>\n

Speaking at the same event, Cathy Bennett, one of Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s TDs for Cavan-Monaghan, said: \u201cWe are not just voting for a president, we are voting for the future of our Republic.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us reject the dirty tricks and fearmongering of the old parties,\u201d she told a crowd of about 150 people, where Tricolours and Palestinian flags are being displayed.<\/p>\n

Her constituency colleague Matt Carthy spoke of the diverse coalition behind Connolly, saying it included those who had never been involved in political campaigns before.<\/p>\n

Connolly campaign \u2018marks a change in Irish politics\u2019, says First Minister<\/p>\n

In Monaghan, First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill has told a rally that Catherine Connolly\u2019s campaign \u201cmarks a change in Irish politics, it very much marks a new beginning\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jack Horgan-Jones reports:<\/p>\n

The Sinn F\u00e9in vice-president addressed Connolly, saying: \u201cOn this occasion, I cannot vote for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that it must be the last presidential election where citizens in Northern Ireland did not have the vote.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the event, Connolly said she has been \u201coverjoyed\u201d by the support of young men and women over the campaign, before telling Ms O\u2019Neill: \u201cI\u2019m sorry you can\u2019t vote, hopefully it will be the last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connolly said many issues have been raised during the campaign, and in a seeming reference to the controversy over her hiring of Ursula N\u00ed Shionn\u00e1in, she condemned \u201cthe trespass of the privacy of a woman over and over\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cA real, honest discussion has to take place after this election on that and other issues,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Connolly added that a new Ireland must value diversity and people coming from abroad, saying anger over issues in the country should never be focused on people entering the country seeking asylum or work.<\/p>\n

\"CiaraCiara Lynch and her nine-month-old, Darci Lynch-Murray, meet Catherine Connolly and Michelle O’Neill at an event in Monaghan.
\nPhotograph: Jack Horgan-Jones <\/p>\n

Ms Carroll MacNeill contended the issues Fine Gael had raised were ones of substance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are issues about making disclosures to the D\u00e1il before you speak on something. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is certainly something that I\u2019ve done, it\u2019s something that Jim O\u2019Callaghan has done. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn respect of defamation, he very clearly stood up and said: I work in defamation in that area, I represent clients on both sides,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cThat\u2019s what you do in the D\u00e1il, it\u2019s what you do in councils.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connolly supporters conducting negative campaign against Humphreys over her religion and family, Fine Gael Ministers claim<\/p>\n

Some supporters of Independent candidate Catherine Connolly have been conducting a negative campaign against Heather Humphreys, particularly in relation to her religion and family, Fine Gael Ministers have claimed.<\/p>\n

Harry McGee reports that Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill both rejected claims from Opposition leaders that Ms Humphreys\u2019s campaign was using smear and Trumpian tactics by attacking Ms Connolly.<\/p>\n

Mr Heydon and Ms Carroll MacNeill were speaking during a canvass of morning commuters at St Stephen\u2019s Green Luas stop on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Asked if they regretted the negative tenor of the Fine Gael campaign, both Ministers said they did not accept that portrayal, and that it was the Opposition that was involved in negative campaigning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely regret the fact that there has been so much sectarian content about Heather Humphreys and her family online,\u201d said Mr Heydon. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Catherine Connolly\u2019s family circumstances. I don\u2019t care. It\u2019s not part of it, but I haven\u2019t read anything about it on social media yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI read some very sinister comments about Heather Humphreys, her family, her culture, her tradition. It is wedge politics at its worst.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said most of the claims of a smear referred to a video critical of Ms Connolly that Fine Gael issued on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely stand over that as a video that showed Catherine Connolly\u2019s words, her statements in the D\u00e1il, calling out criminal activity on banks when it was clear and evident, even though it took her seven weeks to actually admit it, that she worked for financial institutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

We tuned in hoping for an earthquake. What we got was a seismic snooze, writes Miriam Lord on last night\u2019s debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue, a substantial tremor pulsed through the land at around a quarter to midnight. But it wasn\u2019t caused by anything said in the last TV \u2018debate\u2019 of this God-awful presidential election.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just the reverberation from a nation sighing a heartfelt \u2018thanks be to Jaaysus\u2019 when the thing was finally over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read her piece here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"CatherineCatherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys on the set of Prime Time in RT\u00c9 for last night\u2019s televised presidential election debate. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Catherine Connolly is set to unveil a presidential initiative in the home county of her rival Heather Humphreys on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

The initiative, Future Voices \u2013 Guthanna an Todhcha\u00ed, will aim to \u201clisten to young people from all communities\u201d about the future they wish to create and the \u201ckind of Ireland they want to live in\u201d.<\/p>\n

It will include regional youth assemblies and cross-Border exchanges, with Connolly saying it will ensure young voices are \u201cheard and respected \u2013 North and South, urban and rural, at home and abroad\u201d.<\/p>\n

Connolly is due to announce the initiative at about 11am at the Diamond, Monaghan, with Sinn F\u00e9in vice-president and First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill and local Sinn F\u00e9in TD Matt Carthy.<\/p>\n

With two days to go until voters head to the polls, Heather Humphreys is visiting counties Cork and Clare on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

She will first travel to Cork City, before moving on to Banteer and Mitchelstown in Co Cork and Ennis in Co Clare.<\/p>\n

Catherine Connolly, meanwhile, is scheduled to visit Monaghan, Cavan, Athlone and Mullingar.<\/p>\n

Good morning, the last debate of the presidential election<\/a> saw Independent candidate Catherine Connolly<\/a> stand over her views on the United States and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n

However, Connolly said she understood that her role as president would be different from her role as politician.<\/p>\n

Fine Gael\u2019s Heather Humphreys<\/a>, meanwhile, apologised for her failure to support the family of Shane O\u2019Farrell, a young man who died in her constituency after being struck by a motorist who should not have been on the road.<\/p>\n

Humphreys sought to take on her opponent on a number of issues, but failed to land any knockout blows, Pat Leahy and Ellen Coyne write.<\/p>\n

Read more on the final debate here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Main Points Catherine Connolly supporters have been accused by Fine Gael of a negative campaign against Heather Humphreys…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43,37118],"class_list":["post-96837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-presidential-election-debate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}