Catherine Connolly has said she became a politician in spite of never having liked politics.
The independent presidential candidate was first elected Galway City Council in 1999 as a member of the Labour Party.
After the party refused to select her as a candidate in the 2007 General Election, she quit and continued her career as an independent.
A member of Dáil Éireann for Galway West since 2016, the independent TD sat down to talk to Henry McKean for The Hard Shoulder to talk about what motivates her.
“I’ve never liked politics,” she explained.
“But I feel it was something in me; I do it to the best of my ability.
“I also realise that it’s not about me; people elect you and they give you the privilege of electing you.
“I used that word repeatedly because it is an absolute privilege to represent people.
“But then I can also look people in the eye and say I’ve done my best and I’ve done it as honestly as I can.
“I’m certainly not perfect but I would strive to do the best I can, no matter what I do.”
<
View this post on Instagram
div class="mceTemp">
Deputy Connolly grew up in Galway City, with six sisters and seven brothers.
For most people, that would be an extraordinarily large family, but to them it was “just normal”.
“My Dad was brilliant, my mother was super - but unfortunately, she died at 43,” she continued.
“My Dad minded us then; one sister took over, she was 19 at the time.
“There was good continuity and then she left after a year and a half and my other sister took over at 14.
“Then my Dad remarried, about seven years later.”
Candidate Catherine Connolly outisde Leinster House. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie.It was at home that Deputy Connolly first began to engage in the world around her and she recalls being taught “a sense of social justice and a sense of fairness” from early on in her life.
“That sense of equality, that sense of social justice, the perspective outside of ourselves,” she said.
“We got a perspective on the outside world very early and that other people were less privileged and… were suffering more.
“We’ve had our own upsets, our own joys and tragedies.
“So, we just learned it on the floor [of our home].”
Polling for the Presidential Election will take place on Friday 24th October.
Main image: Catherine Connolly and Henry McKean. Picture by: Newstalk.
