Her name is Catherine Connolly and she is the new President of Ireland. Raised in a public housing complex in the city of Galway, a former psychologist and lawyer, left-wing independent and supported by an alliance of progressive parties and a strong youth following, she is the tenth President of the country and the third woman to hold this position.
Why do we like it? Because in the midst of an increasingly less democratic Europe and increasingly kneeling before the US, he explicitly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and promised to use his presidency to be a “voice for peace”, opposing the growing militarization of Europe.
Coming from a family of 14 children, I grew up understanding the importance of listening to diverse voices, she explained. As a lawyer, I have acted for several parties. As a clinical psychologist, I have listened to people’s pain. As an independent MP and as Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I have worked to bring dignity and respect to public life, to hold the center in times of deep political division.
Catherine Connolly won the Irish presidency with over 63% of the vote. A plebiscite? Not exactly, if we consider that less than half of those eligible showed up at the polls: a landslide victory which however rests on a tired country, disappointed by a policy now perceived as distant and self-referential.
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Connolly does not seem like the classic institutional figure: a law degree, a career as a psychoanalyst and lawyer and a political path that is always outside the box, guided more by civic conscience than by party convenience. And in fact, traditional parties such as Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have been criticizing them for years, without fear of isolating themselves.
His campaign? Radical in the noblest sense of the term: social justice, housing rights as an absolute priority and a clear message against the arms race.
“Ireland doesn’t need more weapons but more confidence”: a slogan that sounds like a manifesto of peace in a Europe that is re-inhabiting its military and borders.
His election marks the turning point of a movement that demands real human rights, not only in official declarations. Connolly comes to the top job with limited powers, sure, but the Irish presidency could be the country’s moral compass. And she promises to use it to indicate a different path: more equitable, more human, more courageous.
A breath of fresh air, which Ireland, perhaps, had been waiting for for some time. And which, yes, would also do well in the rest of the Old Continent.
