Labour Party representatives and members in Galway West look set to support Catherine Connolly’s presidential campaign, notwithstanding the controversies surrounding her decision to leave the party 18 years ago.
The Independent presidential candidate ceased to be a Labour member in 2007 after the party refused to add her to the ticket for that year’s general election alongside sitting party TD Michael D Higgins.
It led to a bitter row between her and members of the party in Galway West that lingered for years. She has been an outspoken critic of Labour since leaving it.
All three Galway City councillors have said they support Ms Connolly as a united left candidate, although one has said he will not be actively canvassing for her in the election.
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During the party’s internal debate on whether or not to back Ms Connolly, its strategists were aware that there remained a coolness between Ms Connolly and her former colleagues in Galway West. Labour’s general secretary Billie Sparks travelled to Galway and spoke to the three local councillors there to gauge their response to a party endorsement of Ms Connolly.
Long-standing councillor John McDonagh said he would be supporting Ms Connolly and canvassing for her. “I would hope we have a clear choice between a left-wing candidate and a centre-right candidate from the established parties. I think Catherine would make a good candidate for that,” he said.
Outlining the circumstances of the split, he said Labour was a growing party at the time, there were different viewpoints and there was competition within the party locally. He said that some people in Labour did not get on with Ms Connolly as well as others did.
Cllr Helen Ogbu, who joined the party after Ms Connolly’s departure, said she had no hesitation in backing her and had been particularly impressed by her positions on equality and women, as well as her activism.
Cllr Níall McNelis said he supported Labour’s decision to endorse her. However, his support is more conditional than his colleagues, based on the events surrounding her departure in 2007.
“At the end of the day. we need to have a united left candidate and this election is an opportunity to do that,” he said. “We in Labour will be very much united and won’t be slating anybody.”
Cllr McNelis said he would not be actively canvassing during the campaign because of business responsibilities and personal commitments.
Former councillor Billy Cameron, who served with Ms Connolly on the council, said she was a politician of fine calibre and he would support her candidacy.
“The way I look at it, if there’s not a united left candidate, we’re leaving a vacuum to be occupied by somebody else,” he said.
