By Robert Inlakesh
Irish President Catherine Connolly. (Photo: Houses of the Oireachtas, via Wikimedia)
A self described socialist, Ireland’s new President, Catherine Connolly’s views on foreign policy are anti-colonial and anti-imperialist, with strong pro-Palestine views. A victory for the left, this could have enormous implications for Ireland’s foreign policy stances.
Ireland is a nation renowned for its passionate support of the Palestinian people. The election of its new President, Catherine Connolly, reflects this long-held position of solidarity and could pave the way for a left-wing government, which would lead to a more anti-Israel position.
Born July 12, 1957, in Galway City, Catherine Connolly was raised in a working-class household and was the ninth of 14 siblings. She grew up in one of the first social housing developments in her city, studying to become a practicing clinical psychologist and, later, earned a law degree, becoming a barrister in 1991.
By 1997, Connolly had decided to join the Irish Labor Party and, only two years later, was elected to the Galway City Council. By 2004, she was elected Mayor of Galway, but by 2007 decided to leave the Labor Party and run as an independent. After a number of failed runs, she managed to get elected as an independent to the Irish Parliament (Dail Eireann) in 2016, where she would serve for nearly a decade.
On Saturday, she was announced as the landslide winner of Ireland’s Presidential election, receiving support from a coalition of left-wing parties to do so. She will now serve a 7-year term as the most left-wing President in Irish history.
Connolly’s ability to bring together Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit, 100 percent Redress, the Green Party, the Labor Party and a range of independent leftists has also led to hopes that the often divided left will manage to make greater strides come the next Irish elections.
Although the role of President in Ireland is largely ceremonial, this victory for the left has sent a strong message about the way Irish politics could be headed. A self-described socialist, her views on foreign policy are anti-colonial and anti-imperialist, shaped by sensibilities rooted in the Irish struggle against British oppression.
Connolly is an advocate for Palestinian rights, fiercely criticizing Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip and taking aim at US President Donald Trump, stating that the “Genocide was enabled and resourced by American money.”
She has also taken criticism for standing up and taking anti-interventionist stances on a range of other foreign policy issues. On Ukraine, while condemning Russia for invading, she has also pointed out NATO’s role in the conflict.
In 2018, she also visited Syrian cities Damascus, Maaloula, and Aleppo, joined by Clare Daly, Mick Wallace and Maureen O’Sullivan, on a self-funded trip. For doing so, she received criticism during the presidential campaign, due to her anti-interventionist stance and calls for the lifting of sanctions being conflated with support of former Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, whom she had also criticized.
Connolly’s stances are consistent with the anti-imperialist and anti-interventionist positions of the left, as she attacks “the warmongering military-industrial complex” and has been particularly vocal on how the international arms trade has worked to forward the assault on the Gaza Strip.
In the new Irish President’s words, Israel is a “genocidal state” and should be punished for its crimes committed against the Palestinian people. These views align with the majority of the Irish public, 71 percent of whom said they believe that Palestinians lived under Apartheid conditions back in 2023, and 60 percent of whom stated they sought to see Ireland take a stronger public stance on the issue.
Since 2023, pro-Palestinian sentiments have not only been on the rise in Ireland but across the globe. Therefore, electing a President who holds these positions reflects the public’s support for candidates willing to call a spade a spade.
Catherine Connolly has been labeled Ireland’s Jeremy Corbyn, while others have even compared her rise to other staunchly pro-Palestinian socialist politicians across the world, including the likes of Zohran Mamdani.
Whether Connolly’s victory will translate to a leftist coalition winning the Irish Parliament in the next elections or not, it has provided hope for such a prospective victory, one that will have enormous implications for Ireland’s foreign policy stances.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.
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