Amidst attacks on Indians, new Irish President vows to be leader for all

Ireland chose their tenth, and third female, president since 1938 after an election that saw outdated selection rules trigger street protests and a three-horse race turn into two when one candidate fell foul of a tenant who waited 16 years to raise the issue of a deposit. Ireland and democracy proved awkward bedfellows.

The tallying had only gotten underway when the vicious attacks began from Ireland’s state broadcaster RTE, when they chose to focus on ‘spoiled votes’, rather than the rejection of the elite who replaced British rule in the 26 counties of Ireland after independence. Following an election campaign which saw ‘populist’ hopefuls not get sufficient backing to land on the ballot paper, and one candidate quitting after personal attacks, it was down to a choice of two established female politicians.

And Then, There Were Two…Kind Of

In the blue corner stood former government minister Heather Humphreys of centre-right Fine Gael [pronounced Feena Gale], who quit politics last year saying she was tired and wanted time with her family, landed with the unenviable position of representing one of the two hated ruling parties. Driven by external online operators, some nasty elements in Irish society attacked her religion [Presbyterianism] and her husband’s former links to the Orange Order, a sectarian anti-Catholic group. This soured the atmosphere and left anyone who didn’t vote for Humphreys being labelled a sectarian bigot.

In the red corner was former deputy speaker of the Irish parliament Catherine Connolly, a sitting independent lawmaker with a reputation for asking hard questions of the government. A resolutely anti-war, pro-peace person, once she built up a head of steam and the ‘left’ all backed her candidacy, vicious attacks began. She was pro-Assad (for having visited Syria), anti-Israel (for calling for peace in Palestine), pro-Putin (for pointing out NATO’s aggressive posturing), anti-European Union (for criticising destructive policies within the bloc), and anti-German (for drawing comparisons between the country’s current arms drive and that of the 1930’s). If you voted for her, you were antisemitic, Eurosceptic, and a Kremlin supporter.

A Very Irish Election

And that wasn’t all. When ‘populist’ candidates like former MMA fighter Conor McGregor, family-first campaigner Maria Steen, and anti-corruption advocate Nick Delehanty, all failed to get the support required for a place in the race – all hell broke loose. As well as street protests, an online campaign to #spoilthevote got so bad that one ballot paper on Friday was daubed with excrement, nobody knows if it was human or not. Ultimately over 200,000 spoiled votes were registered, one of the highest ever in an EU member election. This campaign drew supporters from all political viewpoints, though has been largely painted as - far right, patriot, anti-immigration, lower class, racist, anti-EU. However, I got this from a former uni classmate.

“I went in, got my paper and simply wrote NOTA [None Of The Above] at the bottom, put it into the box and left. I would have voted for Catherine, but seeing who was hanging onto her coattails, I couldn’t in good conscience.”

My friend is a green-hearted Sinn Fein [Socialist Republican Party] supporter who wants to stop human trafficking into Ireland. Married to a woman from Bihar, he believes Indians are being shipped into Ireland for cheap labourm with the government using them as political playthings. He was angered that while his party backed Connolly, the People Before Profit Party also attached themselves to her campaign. While he is friends with some of their leading members, he detests others who “cos play at being socialists but simply divide through race, gender and class.” But of course, he’s a far right, racist who’s anti-EU, despite being a trade unionist and teacher who’s an unadulterated fan of the bloc.

My friend was one of 45.8% of the electorate who showed up on Friday, which was an increase on the last presidential vote. Yet the ‘screecherati’ who lined up to face each other claim the election had a poor turnout or that the winner danced home in a landslide. While foreign-owned media were resolutely anti-Connolly in the weeks leading up to decision day, the state-owned media were equally dismissive of her qualifications, and chances. Both segments ended up killing off one of the 3 who officially began the journey to Ireland’s top job.

Media Madness Mashes Male Hopeful

Jim Gavin, a retired Air Force officer and legendary sportsman, was nominated by the ruling party Fianna Fail [pronounced Feena Fall]. Having met the man numerous times, through sports, and cheered on his All-Ireland winning teams, I owe him one abiding emotional moment. September 1st, 2013, sitting with my Dad and watching the All-Ireland Gaelic Football Semi-Final. Gavin, then coach of the Dublin team, saw his team trail bitter rivals Kerry by 1 point with under 5 minutes to play in front of 81,553 fans - only to fight back and win by 7. (link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiPtHjiCgbg) My Dad and I celebrated in joyful silence, as my young son was asleep in the next room. Dad passed 3 months later and it was the last real shared moment of unadulterated delight for us.

However, Gavin made poorly thought-out statements on Gaza and fluffed every single topic in debates. Then a rumour about his private life surfaced and the pressure built on a man who had always gone out of his way to help communities the length and breadth of the country. Finally the media turned fully on him. Gavin, it turned out, had refused to repay a deposit he’d taken from the tenant of an apartment he owned, in 2009. A foreign-owned newspaper ran with it and with zero chance of becoming president, Gavin withdrew from the race. It emerged shortly afterwards that the tenant was the deputy editor of a sister newspaper that broke the story. To many it seemed that the Irish media couldn’t have him take votes from Heather Humphreys, who they claimed was the only hope to keep Vladimir Putin away from the Irish presidency - this was said on Irish radio.

Yet Gavin’s torture wasn’t finished.

Is The Wild Ride Just Beginning?

Although he’d left the race, Gavin’s name remained on the ballot where he got 7.2% of 1st preference votes. For comparison, 12.9% of votes were spoiled. Connolly won 63.36% of 1st preferences, Humphreys 29.46%. In her victory speech, the president-elect said she was a president for all and that she was looking forward to enjoying a “gin and elderflower” with the runner-up. It was a genuinely heartwarming moment from a genuine person. Importantly it stood at odds with foreign media and commentators who decried Ireland’s “far-left turn”. Or British media reporting that Catherine was Ireland’s first female president [fact: she’s our 3rd]. Yet she faces a massive battle at home, and abroad.

While Ireland’s president is largely a ceremonial figurehead, they can question the legality of laws put on their desk for signing. The majority of times they’ve referred laws to the apex court, the documents have been found lacking. Given that Catherine Connolly is a qualified lawyer, as well as psychologist, she is ideal for the role. The two governing parties have beaten war drums since at least 2022 and are keen to remove Ireland’s sacred neutrality. Even voters for Humphreys recognise the wisdom of putting a pro-peace person in the “Park” [the president’s residence is in Dublin’s Phoenix Park].

What It Means for Indian Immigrants in Ireland

Neither Heather nor Jim are anti-immigrant, and neither is Catherine. One of the sticks used to beat her with is the nuanced understanding she has of migrant life. During her higher education, the president-elect studied psychology in Germany and is a fluent speaker of the language. Indeed, she delivered the first part of her acceptance speech in the Irish language. Yet even with her history of community building, there were some in the Indian community in Ireland who were unhappy with her win.

“It’s a dangerous slide into socialism [to elect her] and this can change Ireland forever and for the worst,” one Indian-origin member of Humphrey’s Fine Gael told the Dublin Live outlet on Saturday. Which did raise chuckles as outgoing, two-term President Michael D. Higgins is a socialist with strong anti-authoritarian views. Last time I was home, Ireland hadn’t yet erected any ‘Dear Leader’ monuments, though 4 months is a long time.

Others in the Indian community were not so worried. I spoke with three Indian nationals who actively followed the campaign.

“I think it makes it safer for us [immigrants] with the win. She’s such a nice lady and she seems to care,” Meena (24) said on our Sunday Zoom call. She had worried that “one of the anti-foreign candidates” would win.

“Now, I don’t worry, not one bit. The job [president] is just like in India and the real power is still with the PM,” Shabaz (27) reflected and believed that she is the best person for the job.

“There is less fear among my friends now, here, because she has spoken against racism. We won’t see like America and [ICE] raids. And she came to our campus, spoke with international students and thanked us. That, you know, I think now and…” Sabina (22) got emotional at the memory. She went on to say that “I hope Ireland know what they have gotten.”

Personally, I met both Catherine and Heather over the years. Heather was always polite, warm, and helpful. She is a true patriot, like Jim and Catherine, who loves Ireland. Though I didn’t believe she was the right person for president. She retired from politics and was forced to run. It was the first election she lost in the 6 she took part in.

Catherine, like Heather, was polite, warm, and helpful. She reached out to me on a personal matter in 2012, even though I wasn’t a constituent. While unable to resolve the problem, she gave advice that provided both comfort and guidance.

“Right now you see only darkness, but that’s only right now. When it’s the right time, you’ll lift your head, open your eyes and see that this world has a lot of light.”

I truly hope that is the case as those who made their voices heard and went out to vote lift their heads and open their eyes. And just as importantly, open their hearts and minds too.