‘Dublin’s Corbyn’ Catherine Connolly pledges to unite Ireland: Far-Left radical who called Hamas ‘part of the fabric of the Palestinian people’ claims landslide win in presidential elections

A far-left radical who campaigned for a united Ireland and believes terror group Hamas is ‘part of the fabric of the Palestinian people’ won the Irish presidential election in a landslide victory last night.

Catherine Connolly, 68, who has been likened to the ‘Irish Jeremy Corbyn’, said she was ‘absolutely delighted’ to defeat former cabinet minister Heather Humphreys in the bid to replace Michael D Higgins as the republic’s president.

The former clinical psychologist and lawyer will replace Mr Higgins next month.

His election adds to the turbulent politics of the Republic of Ireland; There were riots on the streets of Dublin on Monday sparked by the alleged sexual assault of a ten-year-old girl outside an immigration hotel.

Ms Connolly’s victory will send a chill through Western foreign ministries, particularly in Washington and Ireland’s closest neighbour, Britain, after a series of hard-line Left and pro-unification statements.

He accused Israel of acting like a ‘terrorist state’ after the 7 October attacks and criticized Sir Keir Starmer after he announced that Britain recognized the state of Palestine; He said Hamas should not stipulate that it could have no role in the new government.

He said: ‘I come from Ireland, which has a colonial past. I would be very careful about telling a sovereign people how to govern their country. Palestinians must decide democratically who they want to govern their country.’

During a visit to Belfast as part of the election campaign, he declared that he would use his voice ‘in every way possible’ to achieve a united Ireland.

Ms Connolly’s campaign was supported by former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams (pictured holding the ‘Connolly for President’ leaflet).

Denying it was a ‘waste of time’ to visit the province – where people could not vote in the election – she said: ‘Absolutely the opposite. ‘I have always felt that we cut off a limb when Northern Ireland left us.’

Ms Connolly, who will work alongside centre-right Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin, is an independent member of the Dail and has managed to unite the majority of Left parties (Sinn Fein, Social Democrats and Labor) behind her candidacy.

But the election of Ireland’s tenth president saw an unprecedented number of deliberately corrupted ballot papers; Many of these were held in protest of the country’s immigration crisis, which sparked last week’s riots. The number of blank votes is estimated to be around 13 percent. Turnout was 45 percent of 3.6 million voters.

The official announcement at Dublin Castle last night revealed Ms Connolly had won a record 63 per cent of first preference votes, more than double the 29 per cent achieved by her Fine Gael rival Ms Humphreys.

Fianna Fail’s Jim Gavin won seven per cent despite withdrawing from the campaign three weeks ago.

Ms Connolly, who is backed by controversial Belfast rap group Kneecap, told reporters in Galway after it became clear she had clinched victory: ‘I’m absolutely delighted with the result and I’d like to thank all my supporters.

‘Actually, I want to thank everyone; Even to those who didn’t vote for me. ‘I understand their concerns about who will best represent them.’

Ms Humphreys conceded defeat after early voting showed an unbridgeable gap between the candidates.

Ms Humphreys, 62, said: ‘Catherine will be president of all of us and she will be president of us and I would really like to wish her all the best.’

Taoiseach Mr Martin congratulated Ms Connolly on her ‘comprehensive victory’, describing her campaign as ‘effective’ and saying he had ‘no doubt’ she would ‘serve the country well’.

Ms Connolly (pictured at a pro-Palestine rally) accused Israel of behaving like a ‘terrorist state’ following the 7 October attacks

During a campaign visit to Belfast, Ms Connolly (pictured in September) said she would use her voice ‘in every way possible’ to achieve a united Ireland

Irish presidents have traditionally held symbolic roles, but since 1990 Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese and current head of state Michael D Higgins have used the office as a more visible platform.

Speaking on Irish broadcaster RTE’s Morning Ireland program last month, Ms Connolly said she ‘completely condemned’ Hamas and the October 7 attacks, but added that Israel was behaving like a ‘terrorist state’.

He continued: ‘[Hamas] He was elected by the people when the last election was held. There was huge support for them in 2006 or 2007. They are part of Palestinian civil society.’

Ms Connolly added: ‘Both sides committed war crimes.’

Ms Connolly, who has taken a firm stance on Irish neutrality, has been a vocal critic of the European Union’s rearmament programs aimed at deterring Russian aggression and criticized the ‘militarisation’ of the EU.

During his campaign, he likened Germany’s arms spending to its Nazi-era past, causing uproar among rival candidates.

In an Instagram post last week, Ms Connolly, whose campaign is backed by Gerry Adams, called for a ‘border poll’ on Northern Ireland’s separation from the Republic of Ireland, writing: ‘The Good Friday Agreement makes clear that only the people will decide our future.

‘We cannot delay, deny or hinder this right. ‘The Irish and British governments must agree a border poll date and begin preparations to ensure it is inclusive, fair and respectful of all traditions.’

Anger over immigration, the housing crisis and the rising cost of living, combined with flawed campaigns by Ireland’s leading political parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, have increased Ms Connolly’s appeal.

He has also managed to excite young people by skillfully using podcasts and posts that have gone viral on social media, including videos of him playing “cautiously” with a football.

Singer Bob Geldof, Riverdance’s Michael Flatley and disgraced MMA champion Conor McGregor have expressed interest in running for president but failed to gain the necessary support to get on the ballot.

The real concern for many will be the extent of protests from voters who have made their displeasure known by spoiling their ballots. Messages such as ‘there is no democracy’ and ‘a puppet of the EU’ appeared on his social media accounts.

Others named anti-abortion campaigner Maria Steen, who failed to receive enough nominations to run, and referred to the alleged attack that sparked recent anti-immigration demonstrations in Dublin.