Presidential hopeful Catherine Connolly has said we should all “learn from” past instances of racism, following controversy surrounding a TD supporting her campaign who was involved in a “blackface” incident, reports Breaking News.
Ms Connolly’s campaign is supported by a mix of independents, along with some members of the Labour Party and the Social Democrats.
The Social Democrats faced internal turmoil this week after one of their TDs admitted to using brown make-up to portray Barack Obama at a Halloween party 16 years ago, reports Breaking News.
Photographs of Eoin Hayes with dark make-up on his face and hands were published in the Irish Daily Mail on Tuesday.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns stated that “there is no circumstance where blackface is OK” but said Mr Hayes should still be given an opportunity to rebuild public trust.
When asked about the controversy on Tuesday, Ms Connolly said it was an issue for the Social Democrats to handle, while reaffirming she was “delighted” to have the party’s backing, reports Breaking News.
Speaking to reporters at the National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore, she commented: “Different issues arise at different times for parties, for all of us in our lives to reflect on what we might have done or said.”
Ms Connolly noted that Mr Hayes had apologised “profusely” and “in good faith” and had acknowledged the harm caused, reports Breaking News.
When questioned about whether she still welcomed support from Mr Hayes, she responded that she believed she had more than 20 nominations and hoped they would all remain in place when the nomination period officially closes.
She continued: “If I go more general than that, we have all said and done things in our lives and we have said many racist things, actually, in our past that we didn’t even think was racist. It was appalling, unacceptable – and we should all learn,” reports Breaking News.
Ms Connolly also spoke about her past work with the Traveller community and the racism they’ve endured, saying: “It is not something to decry as such, it is something to learn from.”
In a separate part of the interview, Ms Connolly said she would bring a strong “work ethic” to the presidency and would use the platform to speak out on peace and climate-related issues, reports Breaking News.
She said: “It is important that we have a president that has courage, who can take courage in her hand and stand up against consensus that is not in our interest,” reports Breaking News.
Though it was her first time at the Ploughing Championships, Ms Connolly noted it was the fourth agricultural show she had attended this year.
She also called for a wider debate on how presidential nominations are currently structured, reports Breaking News.
Candidates must be nominated by at least 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities, and must be Irish citizens over 35 years old in order to run.
Ms Connolly has defended her past decision to nominate former journalist Gemma O’Doherty for a presidential bid, but reiterated that she “never supported” her.
She said: “On a general level. In a healthy democracy we need a debate on the nomination process,” reports Breaking News.
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