When Hope and History Rhyme: Why Connolly Speaks for Our Time (Op-ed by Laura Murphy)

History, Heaney reminded us, says “don’t hope on this side of the grave.” Yet once in a lifetime, “the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up and make hope and history rhyme.”

Beneath the chaos of division, violence, and the erosion of human rights globally, something ancient and revolutionary is stirring in Ireland.

Æ (George Russell) wrote that national greatness arises only when a people are moved by a unifying idea. Today that idea is ceartas, justice, grounded in care for the Earth, for Palestine, for our mother tongue, for our culture, for every life made disposable by greed or indifference.

Catherine Connolly stands at the centre of this rising tide. She is not only the voice of the people but the voice of the best in us, attuning the national spirit toward dignity, fairness, and peace. What we choose now will determine whether we drown in cynicism or rise together in the music of our own becoming.

Guth na nDaoine | Voice of the People

For too long, Ireland has been led by parties playing the same tired tune. Policies of power and profiteering have served the few while betraying the many. Corporate and imperial interests are placed above the welfare of people and planet. The quiet dismantling of neutrality without public consent, the inadequate response to the climate crisis, and the complicity in genocide abroad point to a deeply troubling future.

Connolly speaks from another register, one that begins with listening. Connolly understands the lived experience of the Irish people because she is one of us. She represents the heartbeat of who we are and who we might become. She holds an aisling gheal, a bright vision for Ireland, and the wisdom to guide the way.

There is only one way forward, and that is le chéile, together. The mobilisation of a grassroots movement across the country in support of this independent candidate marks the Irish people reclaiming and redefining power, not as divisive dominance but as unifying strength.

Aire | Care

True power is not loud or aggressive. It arises from steadiness and presence, from a regulated nervous system that can, in turn, steady a nation.

When Connolly speaks, the atmosphere changes. Her voice is calm, deliberate, almost gentle, yet it carries a weight that stills the room. This is the authority that comes from a regulated heart, from a mind trained to understand pain rather than exploit it, and a conviction rooted in integrity.

The Irish presidency carries a solemn oath to dedicate oneself to the welfare of the people. Connolly already embodies that oath in spirit and practice. Her record of public service since the 1990s shows unwavering commitment to collective wellbeing, always placing people before politics and principle before power.

During the Mother and Baby Home Commission controversy, Kathy Scott and I called for trauma-informed leadership: leaders who can meet crisis without re-enacting it, who can hold anger without becoming it. Connolly embodied that call long before it was written. Her empathy, courage and truth-telling offered survivors dignity and respect at a time when they were being retraumatised.

For a nation still healing from generations of institutional and colonial harm, this kind of leadership is essential. Catherine shows us that calm can be radical, listening can be revolutionary, and truth must be the anchor. Her consistency builds psychological trust and a much-needed sense of safety in public discourse.

Síocháin | Peace

At a time when war and genocide have been normalised, peace-making is an act of courage.

Our Constitution binds us to seek peaceful resolution to conflict. Our leadership during the peace process in the North of Ireland gives us both authority and responsibility to champion peace internationally.

Our last three presidents have been outspoken advocates for justice and peace. Mary Robinson and Michael D. Higgins have amplified Ireland’s reputation as a conscience-driven nation.

Connolly’s calm legal mind and moral clarity make her distinctively capable of articulating Ireland’s collective wisdom on the world stage. She is among the few leaders addressing both the climate crisis and the psychological toll of normalised violence, revealing how tacit acceptance of these existential threats erodes empathy, reshapes society, and endangers the future of our children, a truth still largely absent from political will or discourse.

Now, perhaps more than ever, we need a president who understands the moral influence Ireland holds to foster peace at home and abroad.

Grá mar Chumhacht | Love as Power

Ireland’s neutrality, peacebuilding capacity, and cultural footprint are among the most remarkable examples of soft power in the world. For a small island on the edge of Europe, our influence far exceeds our size. We shape the world not by force but through example, imagination, and ionbhá, empathy.

Irish culture has travelled through music, literature, and film, carried by the living current of the diaspora. From the poetry of Yeats, Heaney and Boland to the music of Sinéad O’Connor, Kneecap and Hozier, from Ulysses to global storytelling today, Ireland’s creative voice shapes how the world imagines resilience, revolution, and empathy.

Our diaspora, seventy million strong, forms a luminous web of connection across continents. It is a living network of memory, creativity, and care. It carries the spirit of Ireland into every sphere: the arts, activism, diplomacy, and innovation. Born of exile yet rooted in belonging, it embodies our national paradox: heartbreak turned to humanity, suffering transformed into solidarity.

Like Brigid, our ancient goddess and matron saint now re-emerging as a global icon, Connolly is the embodiment of soft power. Holding the paradox of fierce grace, she shows that compassion can be as commanding as courage, that composure can disarm cruelty, and that empathy, when disciplined, is the keystone of humanity’s survival.

Irish creativity has done what politics alone could not: it has made Ireland loved, not just known. That affection, earned through authenticity and imagination, is one of the strongest forms of influence a nation can hold. Connolly, an ardent supporter of the arts, culture, and An Ghaeilge, the Irish language, is beautifully placed to nurture and channel this power for the greatest good.

Aontas | Unity

"Ireland is changing. In the North, a new generation has emerged since the Good Friday Agreement: vibrant, creative, progressive. They want to move beyond division and build a new Ireland. They look to us for leadership, inclusion, and action, and we must not let them down." – Catherine Connolly

Unity happens when the heart of a people begins to beat in rhythm again, north and south, rich and poor, native and newcomer.

If there is one antidote to the division that plagues our world, it is unity. Connolly has made unity the hallmark of her career, from her appointment as Leas-Cheann Comhairle, supported by all parties, to her presidential campaign, which has become the largest coalition of the left in Irish history.

She is committed to a united Ireland, achieved not through coercion or judgment but through care, understanding, and mutual respect. A nation that cannot hold difference cannot hold peace. Connolly allows diversity to become a source of strength rather than a weakness of division. Her vision reaches beyond partition and party politics into something deeper: aontas, unity, the binding energy of belonging.

Am Cinniúnach | Watershed Moment

"The question now, as the feminine energy is rising once again, is whether we as Irish people — and those of other cultures who connect with us — are ready to take back this mantle and begin the process of awakening and reconnecting with our past, with who we are — our land, language and culture. We shouldn’t underestimate the power of this land as a force of transformation." – Manchán Magan

Every generation reaches a moment when it must choose whether to be guided by fear or by vision. This is ours. Connolly stands not above the people but among us, reminding us that guth na ndaoine, the voice of the people, is the true instrument of democracy. She dares us to dream and implores us to use our voice to shape the world we long for.

Connolly reminds us that we can do things differently. As she says, we can “counter the narrative of consensus that has allowed over a hundred years of institutionalisation of women, children, and men in Ireland.” We can rise to the promise of the Republic, where all people and all children are cherished equally, and are happy and prosperous.

This is the moment to choose leadership that heals rather than harms, to let this rising tide of culture, care, and justice carry us toward the “further shore where hope and history rhyme.”

Like Gráinne Mhaol at the helm, Connolly stands steady on the crest of that wave, guiding us with courage, clarity, and fierce grace. If she gives us anything, it is the reminder that the shore we have dreamed of for generations is, in Heaney’s words, “reachable from here.”

About the author:

Laura Murphy is a poet, activist, and cultural healer. Her work bridges ancient Irish wisdom with modern movements for peace, social and environmental justice, exploring how Ireland’s spiritual and poetic traditions can inspire collective healing and cultural renewal.

Laura Murphy. Copyright MIguel Ruiz.