Catherine Connolly has launched her bid to become Ireland’s next president.
The Galway West TD who sits as an Independent in the Dáil is being supported by the Social Democrats and People Before Profit and other Independents in her bid to win the race to the Áras, which is expected to take place in October.
Ms. Connolly said she was announcing her candidacy at what she described as “a critical state in our country."
“Firstly, I want to say that it has taken me a long time to come to this decision,” she said outside Leinster House flanked by supporting TDs.
“It wasn’t something I did overnight. Indeed, it was a tortuous decision for many reasons, my own personality included and my own background. It has taken many months and I finally reached that decision last week and I’m confirming it today.
“I’m standing to enable people and to empower people to find their own voices, to stand up and be counted, to say there is a different way.
“We must deal with climate change; we must be a voice for peace; we must stop the normalisation of war and violence; we have to stop the normalisation of homelessness and that these problem are not inevitable, they are manmade policy driven and we can have a different type of country and a different type of world.
“That is what motivates me and I understand that’s what motivates all of those around me. We don’t have to agree on everything. We agree on core values and we want a country that reflects those core values, not just in words, not just in policies, but in deeds.”
Another declared candidate for the presidency is former European Commissioner and Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness, while it is being reported that former chief medical officer Tony Holohan and Riverdance star Michael Flatley may also seek to enter the race.
It has also being reported that Ulster University professor Deirdre Heenan is Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s preferred candidate to run for the presidency for Fianna Fáil.
