Sligo politicians congratulate Catherine Connolly as she is elected President of Ireland

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

Before a box was opened in The Mercy College on Saturday morning, the indications were that it would be a day to remember for Catherine Connolly supporters as the early tally figures confirmed what the polls and political commentators have been saying for the last number of weeks.

Amidst the hustle and bustle as the tally counts progressed ‘landslide’ and ‘spoiled vote’ were phrases that cropped up regularly. In following with the national trend, the Sligo/Leitrim count offered few surprises with representatives and supporters of Heather Humphreys congratulating Catherine Connolly’s team from a very early stage.

A win for the left was the early theme with one local representative taking note of the number of spoiled votes saying, it is up to the politicians to listen to the people to ensure they don’t become disenfranchised.

With the national trend following what was happening in The Mercy College, local representatives were quick to pay tribute to the incoming President

Deputy Martin Kenny described the victory as “clear and decisive.”

Speaking while counting was ongoing but with no doubt about the result, Deputy Kenny gave his assessment of the campaign saying Catherine Connolly, “Will make an excellent President for Ireland.

Deputy Frank Feighan put his personal disappointment to one side as he congratulated Catherine Connolly on her resounding success saying, “I congratulate Catherine Connolly and I wish her all the best as President of this great country.”

In the aftermath of the election Fine Gael’s disappointing performance will be analysed in depth but Deputy Feighan felt Mairead McGuinness’ early withdrawal from the race had little bearing on the final outcome.

“I don’t think Mairead McGuinness would have done any better than Heather Humphreys in the current climate.”

Deputy Marian Harkin, who endorsed Heather Humphreys but also signed nomination papers for Maria Steen was also quick to congratulate Catherine Connolly on her victory.

“It’s a great win for her. I have known her for the last five years. I was one of the five people who nominated her for leas ceann-comhairle, I knew she would do a good job. The reason I didn’t vote for her; politically, I agree with her on lots of things but other things that are very dear to me we have our differences. At no point did I say what they are, I left that to other people but some of the differences would be quite substantial in certain areas.”

Despite those differences Deputy Harkin believes Catherine Connolly, “Will make a good president. She is a barrister, she understands the constraints of the office and she will push the boundaries which people expect her to do. Good luck to her and her family, it is a great vote.”

Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council, Donal Gilroy also extended his congratulations saying, “On behalf of the people of Sligo I wish to congratulate our President-elect Catherine Connolly.”

With the result in no doubt and Heather Humphreys conceding defeat all that remained was for the counting to be completed and for an official result to be declared.