Presidential Election 2025

I wonder were the guns produced by the German "military industrial complex"?

She seems fond of certain types of company. Maybe it is just "naivety" or maybe it is ideology, or both. But either way she is unfit for the presidency.

The Irish tour group was also shown around Aleppo by the pro-Assad commentator Fares Al-Shehabi, who was described as the head of the city’s chamber of commerce.

Al-Shehabi, who appears in photos with Connolly, had been put under sanctions by the EU for supporting the Assad regime. The year before the Irish delegation’s visit, he posted on social media that a seven-year-old who said Assad was committing a Holocaust should die. He would later go on to say that anti-Assad journalists should be raped.

Speaking in the Dáil the week after the trip, Daly called for the government to issue a visa to Al-Shehabi “so that he might come to Ireland as a businessman and Sunni Muslim who believes in secular values and talk about what has happened in Syria”.

A spokesperson for Connolly said that the tour and its itinerary were arranged by a travel agency that had been active in Syria for decades. Meeting with Al-Shehabi was “not an endorsement”, a spokesperson said, and Connolly “wasn’t entirely aware of who he was” at the time. 

FactFind: What do we know about Catherine Connolly's visit to Syria in 2018?

Seems the Journal got the Garda vetting info wrong according to Connolly on Clare Byrne.

😁 Just admitted?

She has always wanted to see it abolished and reformed.

Opportunity for Humphreys and Gavin if they dont blow it, to make an issue of CCs views on the .SCC

Yea i would agree with that to a certain extent.

As it stands i would say CC will definitely get the most first preferences. And unless the election takes a radical turn, i cannot see Jim Gavin surviving into the second count. So he will be eliminated. The question will then be about transfers from JG going to HH. Will there be enough to push her on front? There will only be two counts this time around so. Of course that assumes CC doesnt win outright, but i cannot see that happening.

Gavin really had the most to gain from the first debate. Despite being a popular man for his sporting achievments, he was a dark horse going into the first debate. I think more than a few people were especting him to surprise us, and come out swinging with assuredness, confidence, and energy. I heard a few FF-ers i know claim that there had to be a reason for Martin to back him. And perhaps he had really impressed behind closed doors. Its easy to look back at this with 20-20 hindsight and find it laughable, but in many respects i get it. Martin stacked the FF deck on Gavin, so FF supporters put their faith in that, and were expecting him to hit the ground with speed.

The exact opposite happened, and barring a complete turn-around, id say he comes last. Will he get enough 1st prefs for his redistribution to ACTUALLY MATTER? This, for me, is a really interesting question. Hypothetically lets assume CC wins, with HH coming in second; what if JG polls so low that he is unable to alter the outcome?

Its with this in mind, that leads me to believe HH goes after CC in the subsequent debate(s). And really she should ignore JG entirely, regardless of what he does or says.

Im not going to return to yesterdays 'story' - iv said my piece on it, and barring more revelations, im just leaving it aside.

The above however, is precisely the thing to discuss in relation to CC's judgement. This fits in with the radical left path, which is well trodden by Clare Daily et al. And yes it strikes at the heart of CC's judgement and credibility. And its not unexpected at all, given her radical views on global affairs.

From the article

A spokesperson said Connolly has had no contact with the Assad regime..

[later in the article]

Photos published on Syrian social media accounts show Daly and Wallace being shown around the Yarmouk refugee camp by men dressed in military fatigues.

A spokesperson for Connolly said that these were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GP), which fought on the side of Assad during the civil war. The PFLP is now, and was in 2018, designated a terrorist organisation by the EU.

Im not sure if it was the same spokesperson but - is he/she aware that the above statements are more or less mutually exclusive? In the normal run of things i would seek clarification, but really if we are honest, there is no point. Daly's inclusion is no surprise of course. Iv spoken in another thread about her history of insane opinions. If CC had an ounce of sense she would back away from such fringe figures, but that is literally out of the question. She is rapidly identifying herself as all to similar in character and credibility.

If i were a CC supporter i would be pleading, begging her at this stage, to back away from foreign policy. Her history of batty opinions and takes on global affairs, should be quarantined in a black box for the remainder of the campaign. I would also tell her that its not as if she will 'run out' of domestic things to debate, especially considering her opposition are both FFG.

But there is no chance of that happening; its not a question of IF another damaging story emerges - simply a question of WHEN

That worked wonders for Sean Gallagher, didnt it?

This is an echo chamber too!

CC is unlikely yo win because as you say she would need a very substantial lead over HH and while she could top the poll I'm not convinced it'll be a big enough gap. That said Gavin is so out-of his depth and broadly vaccuuos and HH is poor will their supporters be as motivated to vote as CC's - we'll see...

This is turning out to be an entertaining election. It seems that FFG supporters thought that Connolly was sunk with the Journal article and now Eamon O'Cuiv is one of those who recommended the woman. The Clare Byrne show clip is worth watching. Far from being an election killer, this is now turning into something quite positive. This is some amazing spin and shows FF/FG to be quite cack-handed with their candidates.

https://www.rte.ie/news/presidential-election/2025/1002/1536435-presidential-campaign/

No because FG are in no way implicated in this and it's Humphries Connolly has to outdo here. Also Martin will have no problem fecking O'Cuiv under the bus if it comes to that.