The final days of the presidential campaign look set to be dominated by confrontational exchanges between the two candidates after both traded strongly-worded personal criticism of each other over the weekend, including claims of “new lows” and “hypocrisy”.
Independent candidate Catherine Connolly accused Heather Humphreys of a “new low” in the manner she described the Galway West TD’s work as a barrister before entering national politics.
The Fine Gael candidate said in a newspaper interview on Sunday that she (Ms Humphreys) “never tried to make money out of people’s misfortune”. This was a reference to Ms Connolly’s work representing banks in home repossession cases.
Ms Connolly has maintained that as a barrister she was under an obligation to accept the briefs that were offered. “For a candidate for the presidency to misuse that in the way that she has, it’s just a new low,” she said
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Speaking while campaigning in Galway, she said in Irish that Fine Gael was “scared to death” that she would win and would resort to anything to damage her campaign, irrespective of evidence.
For their part, Ms Humphreys and Fine Gael colleagues intensified their criticism of Ms Connolly on Sunday, focusing on what they claimed was the difference between her Dáil statements denouncing banks for evicting people from homes, and the fact she represented banks in repossession cases while working as a barrister.
Ms Humphreys, speaking in Roscommon, said there was a difference between herself and Ms Connolly before they both entered national politics. “Catherine was working for UK banks which Sinn Féin called vulture funds, and they were repossessing houses. I was working in a credit union and was actually helping people to stay in their houses.”
Minister for Education Helen McEntee accused Ms Connolly of “hypocrisy” claiming she “built a political career denouncing what she delivered in her legal career”.

On Sunday, Ms McEntee claimed Ms Connolly was dodging questions about appearing for banks in repossession cases.
“Catherine Connolly had no problem taking work from banks. And then goes into the Dáil to castigate the banks’ criminal behaviour which cost people their homes, health and their lives.
“This type of hypocrisy is extraordinary, particularly from someone seeking to be president,” she said.
Ms McEntee said that Ms Connolly needed to state how many times she appeared in repossession cases and why she had not declared this work when speaking on the issue in the Dáil.
Fine Gael also posted an attack video on social media, which included contributions made by Ms Connolly in Dáil debates, where she criticises bank repossessions. In one speech in October 2017, Ms Connolly decried banks as “criminal” for repossessing homes.
“I want to (speak) on behalf of those people who have lost their homes, their health and, on occasion, their lives because of the absolutely criminal behaviour of the banks,” she said.
“A serious question must also be asked about the banks themselves, two of which we substantially own. They have done this in our name, but I say clearly that they have not done it in my name. What they have done is criminally wrong.”
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In an atmosphere of growing tensions between both sides, senior figures backing the Connolly campaign, accused Fine Gael of a blatant smear campaign and of Trumpian tactics.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty said in a statement that Fine Gael had “scraped the bottom of the barrel with their smears”. On X, Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats stated that Fine Gael was “resorting to Trumpian attack videos”. Labour TD Conor Sheehan said the Fine Gael tactics were “desperate” and was indicative of a scrambling campaign.
Separately, Taoiseach Micheál Martin criticised Ms Connolly for her stance on the European Union (EU) on Sunday.
During his speech at the Theobald Wolfe Tone Commemoration at Bodenstown, Co Kildare, he said: “You’re not pro-EU if you stand against every treaty which has built the union over the last quarter of a century.
“You’re not pro-EU if you constantly say that it’s destroying our neutrality and is in the hands of a military-industrial complex.”
This was taken as a reference to Ms Connolly. The Irish Times Ipsos B & A opinion poll, published on Thursday, suggested Ms Connolly has a commanding lead entering the last phase of the campaign. The poll showed her support at 38 per cent, compared to 20 per cent for Ms Humphreys.