Catherine Connolly: "I think we have to unite. We’re a tiny country. We should have never been divided"

Independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has shared her views on religion, music, a united Ireland, the EU, Conor McGregor, Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, and more, in a fascinating, in-depth Hot Press Interview, which features in our new issue.

Connolly – who made history in 2020, as the first ever female TD to become Leas-Cheann Comhairle – is currently one of only three candidates certain to contest the upcoming presidential election on October 24.

In her six-page Q&A, the Galway West TD reflects on her upbringing in a family of 14 – telling Jason O'Toole that her mother's death, which occurred when she was nine-years-old, had an "absolutely profound, lifelong effect" on her.

"It takes nearly a lifetime to understand, actually, the importance of a mother and the consequences of losing her," she says. "I suppose we all dealt with that very differently. I certainly, for a while, had the feeling that it was better to be without a mother, in the sense that was my coping mechanism. There was nobody to tell you how to wear your coat or how to dress, and so on. But as life went on, I realised that was a coping mechanism that served me to a point, but not well."

Elsewhere in the interview, she emphasises the importance of Irish neutrality – noting that "there's nothing to be gained by a country like Ireland, that has a proud tradition of neutrality and peacekeeping, giving that up. And there's everything to be gained by using our voice to promote peace in the world."

Catherine Connolly at Leinster House on August 26th, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

She also voices her support for Irish reunification.

"I think we have to unite," she states. "We’re a tiny country. We should have never been divided. It was detrimental to the country and to the people. And I would hope that we could do that with consent, while respecting all sides and all groups. It doesn’t make sense to have a divided country."

The interview also finds Connolly condemning what she calls the "very dangerous narrative that has been promoted by well-placed articles in so-called respectable papers", regarding Clare Daly and Mick Wallace's position on Putin and Russia – stating that she has "never heard either of them not condemn" Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"As a former psychologist, that narrative frightens me completely," she remarks. "It frightens me that we could single out an individual or a second individual for a particular purpose to demonise them. To reduce what they’re saying is totally unacceptable to me..."

Connolly was also asked whether she'd like Sinn Féin – whose leader Mary Lou McDonald has now ruled herself out of the presidential election – to support her candidacy.

"Yeah, I would like as much support as I can get," she says. "I met with the Green Party, and I’ve talked to Sinn Féin. They have their own internal processes, and they’re going through those processes. As an independent, I needed to declare. And I’m happy that I declared, although some people said I declared too early. But once I made my decision, I had to stand up, be counted, and say to people, 'I am standing, this is who I am, this is what I stand for.'"

Also in the interview, Catherine Connolly discusses Conor McGregor's wish to become President; how Ireland should respond to Trump's attack on democracy in the US; and what she'd have to say, as President, about US military transport refuelling at Shannon.

Read the full interview with Catherine Connolly in the current issue of Hot Press – in shops now, and available to order online below: