Fine Gael attacks on presidential candidate Catherine Connolly’s work as a barrister are “dangerous” and Trumpian, opposition leaders have said.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik, who worked as a barrister and criminology lecturer before becoming a politician, said the attacks were “craven” and represented a “new level of nasty”.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said a social media video focusing on Ms Connolly’s work as a barrister was a “Trumpian” attack and said Fine Gael were in “panic mode”.
Fine Gael minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill hit back at those claims on Monday, calling on opposition parties to comment on why Ms Connolly did not declare her previous work for financial institutions during Dail statements on repossessions.
Independent left-wing candidate Ms Connolly and Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys are in the final days of campaigning for the Irish presidency ahead of polling day on Friday.
Opinion polls have indicated Ms Connolly is ahead of Ms Humphreys.
A war of words has emerged over the weekend after Ms Humphreys told the Sunday Independent she “never tried to make money out of people’s misfortune”, referring to Ms Connolly’s time working as a barrister during the economic crash.
Ms Humphreys said Ms Connolly worked for “UK banks” before she went into politics, while she worked in a credit union, “actually helping people to stay in their houses”.
Education Minister Helen McEntee, who is the deputy leader of Fine Gael, also said on Sunday that Ms Connolly had “said one thing and her actions have said the complete opposite”.
“Whether its her work as a barrister working with banks, repossessing homes, and then coming into the Dail chamber and absolutely castigating those same people,” she told RTE Radio on Sunday.
Ms McEntee also raised questions about Ms Connolly’s stance on the EU and Brexit during the interview, and claimed there was “a contradiction and a hypocrisy” in relation to her work as a barrister.
Ms Connolly responded to the comments by saying they were “a new low” and said the “cab-rank rule” for barristers obliges them to accept any case in their area of practice.
On Monday, opposition leaders came out to defend Ms Connolly, accusing Fine Gael of a “craven” attack and “mudslinging”.
Labour leader Ms Bacik said she was “outraged” at the video published on X by Fine Gael on Sunday afternoon that focused on Ms Connolly’s work as a barrister.
The video includes a clip from Ms Connolly speaking in the Dail in 2017 where she questions the actions of banks, and questions how many home repossessions she represented.
Catherine Connolly's hypocrisy. pic.twitter.com/46ZE30e6eY
— Fine Gael (@FineGael) October 19, 2025
In a statement, Ms Bacik said: “As a public representative who practised as a barrister over many years, including years when I was also serving as a senator for Dublin University, I am outraged at the emergence yesterday of an attack video by Fine Gael focusing on purported areas of practice engaged in by Independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly when she was working as a barrister.
“Fine Gael should know better.
“This attack video is not only a new political low – a new level of ‘nasty’ in this presidential campaign.
“It also represents a craven and dangerous attack on a fundamental principle of the rule of law in our democratic system.”
The Council of The Bar of Ireland issued a statement on October 9 to say that barristers “cannot discriminate in favour of or against any person” seeking the services of the barrister.
The Bar Council also said that barristers “should not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes”.
Ms Bacik said: “The duty of barristers to accept instructions and the right of clients to be legally represented are cornerstones of our constitutional order. To chip away at these principles is dangerous.”
She said that under the “cab-rank rule”, as a barrister, she had represented clients before the Special Criminal Court and other courts.
“Of course, in no individual case did the fact that I took instructions or represented a particular client mean that I shared the views of those whom I represented.
“Indeed, it is well-known that the current Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, who also maintained a professional practice while serving as an Oireachtas member, also represented clients whose views and values he patently did not share.
“It is utterly wrong and misconceived of Fine Gael to mount this sustained, nasty attack upon Catherine Connolly merely because she practised as a barrister, represented clients professionally and does not speak publicly about those clients.”
Social Democrats leader Ms Cairns said Fine Gael had “sunk to new depths” by putting on a “Trumpian social media attack ad” against Ms Connolly.
“It is clear that Fine Gael have nothing positive to say about their own campaign, and their vision for the Presidency, and are instead resorting to mudslinging in a desperate attempt to damage Catherine Connolly,” she said.
“However, the positive and inclusive campaign that Catherine Connolly is running will not be derailed by these cheap and vicious attacks.
“Fine Gael are clearly in panic mode and are so intent on lashing out that they have not noticed that they are part of a circular firing squad – damaging their own candidate and their credibility.
“This election will be over on Saturday; perhaps then they will realise that the only ones covered in mud are themselves.”
On Monday afternoon, Health Minister Ms Carroll MacNeill said the issue was not the work of a barrister but Ms Connolly’s “lack of transparency when speaking so forcefully as a TD or as a councillor on matters such as repossessions, banks and evictions”.
“Why did she not disclose it?”
“Time and again Deputy Connolly stood in the Dail and spoke on these issues never once declaring her role – she was not silent on the issues, why was she silent on her role?”
She called on opposition parties to comment on why Ms Connolly did not declare her previous work for financial institutions during Dail statements on repossessions.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the choice on Friday was between Ms Connolly, “a champion for human rights, democracy, for peace”, and Ms Humphreys, who she said was “essentially an echo chamber for government”.
Asked about Ms Connolly being ahead in the polls, Ms McDonald said they were not taking the result for granted.
“I am always very, very dubious of any predictions that anybody has anything in the bag before as much as one vote has been cast,” she said in Belfast.
“We’re very clear that we need to keep the momentum of this campaign very, very strong, out on the ground and our job now is to encourage people to come out and cast their vote.
“I hear a lot of people predicting that there will be a low turnout, I hope that we can confound that prediction.”
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