{"id":14135,"date":"2025-10-25T14:19:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T13:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/?p=14135"},"modified":"2025-10-25T14:19:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T13:19:46","slug":"statement-from-social-democrats-leader-holly-cairns-td-on-the-election-of-catherine-connolly-as-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/statement-from-social-democrats-leader-holly-cairns-td-on-the-election-of-catherine-connolly-as-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement from Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns on the election of Catherine Connolly as President"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI would like to send the biggest congratulations to Catherine on her resounding election victory, which is a seismic moment in our history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCatherine is someone I have admired since I was first elected to the D\u00e1il, not least because her values so closely align with those of the Social Democrats. I will always be proud that we were the first party to endorse her as a presidential candidate \u2013 a decision that has been validated by today\u2019s decisive result.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe momentum behind Catherine\u2019s presidential bid was incredible, growing from a small campaign run by dedicated volunteers to the grassroots movement it became. From day one, her message of inclusion, equality and social justice resonated with voters in every corner of Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCatherine had a clear vision for the Presidency and was determined to speak out on issues that mattered to people \u2013 housing, cost of living, disability services, climate action, the Irish language and neutrality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCatherine\u2019s considered, focused and compassionate approach to this campaign was hugely impressive. It is an experience that I will always remember.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn electing Catherine as 10th Uachtar\u00e1n na h\u00c9ireann, the people of Ireland have put a President in the park who will always act with courage and integrity and give a voice to the vulnerable; a President who will promote peace over conflict, fairness over injustice. Like her predecessor, I know she will do our country proud both at home and on the world stage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a stunning victory for Catherine which will have ramifications far beyond the Presidency. It shows there is a huge desire out there for a different Ireland \u2013 of fairness, compassion and inclusivity \u2013 and we want to help deliver it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCatherine lit a spark and started a movement \u2013 we are determined to keep that flame burning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>October 25, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI would like to send the biggest congratulations to Catherine on her resounding election victory, which is a seismic moment in our history. \u201cCatherine is someone I have admired since I was first elected to the D\u00e1il, not least because her values so closely align with those of the Social Democrats. I will always be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[775,400,778,779,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catherine-connolly","category-holly-cairns","category-president","category-presidential-election","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Statement from Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns on the election of Catherine Connolly as President - Social Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/statement-from-social-democrats-leader-holly-cairns-td-on-the-election-of-catherine-connolly-as-president\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Statement from Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns on the election of Catherine Connolly as President - Social Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI would like to send the biggest congratulations to Catherine on her resounding election victory, which is a seismic moment in our history. \u201cCatherine is someone I have admired since I was first elected to the D\u00e1il, not least because her values so closely align with those of the Social Democrats. 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