Catherine Connolly it was a name practically unknown to most Irish people until a few months agobut managed to become head of state after the presidential elections on October 24th and took office this Tuesday, declaring that he wants to be a “catalyst for the change” that he deems necessary in his country.
When she announced her candidacy in June, she was supported by just two small parties, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit (formed by two Trotskyist forces). Only later did the Labor Party (which Connolly abandoned after not receiving support from the grassroots in the 2007 legislature) decide to put aside old differences and side with the candidate.
None of the centre-right parties that have governed Ireland in recent decades (Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil) supported Connolly. The new President, on the other hand, considered the republicans of Sinn Fein, which governs in Northern Ireland and received the most votes in the last legislative elections in Ireland, in 2024, but had no allies to come to power.