Sinn Féin backs Catherine Connolly for Irish president

Irish presidential candidate Catherine Connolly

Sinn Féin will back Catherine Connolly to be the next president of Ireland, the party has announced.

Party president Mary Lou McDonald made the announcement on social media ahead of a much anticipated press conference in Dublin.

She said the independent TD got their support as someone who would "champion a united Ireland, stand up for Ireland's place in the world as a defender of neutrality and human rights, and speak out for fairness and economic justice".

Connolly has already been backed by some left-wing parties, including Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit.

Mary Lou McDonald said the party would also give financial support to the candidate

McDonald told the press conference in Dublin the person elected president next month would "likely" be in office when a border poll takes place.

She said Connolly would be a president who champions Irish unity.

Stormont First Minister Michelle O'Neill agreed it was the "right call" to back Connolly.

"I think party membership would also agree with that position, that's the Ard Chomhairle's (governing body) view today," she added.

Sinn Féin's backing will come as a boost to the Connolly campaign, and McDonald said the party would also give financial support to the candidate, but it did not know yet how much this will be.

"We don't have precise figures," said McDonald.

"But yes, of course, we will be supporting the campaign financially. We will be supporting it out on the ground. We're in now and we want Catherine to win."

McDonald said Sinn Féin would work collectively with other opposition parties who had already backed Connolly to give voters a "clear choice" and "hope".

"We need a coalition that is about people, focused on making life better for workers, for families and communities, determined to create a future we can be proud of," she said.

"This election provides an opportunity to bring together the widest possible coalition of voters to take on this failed and tired government."

The Sinn Féin leader said it was "wrong" that citizens in Northern Ireland could not vote in the presidential election.

Only citizens living in the Republic of Ireland have the right to vote in Irish presidential elections under current rules.

McDonald said Sinn Féin activists and elected politicians had been consulted "on multiple occasions" and "had the opportunity to contribute" on who the party should back for the presidential election.

"We went about this in a very, very thorough way because we recognise that for a party that is a very large organisation with plenty of talent in our ranks, to support a candidate from outside of Sinn Féin, is a very big deal," she said.

She said Connolly's commitment to the Irish language and history "all indicate her as a very, very powerful advocate of Irish reunification and of Ireland's future".

Who is Catherine Connolly?

Connolly has represented Galway West in the lower house of the Irish Parliament, Dáil Éireann, since 2016.

Connolly has also worked as a barrister and clinical psychologist.

She served as deputy speaker of the Dáil for four years.

The presidential election will take place on 24 October.

Nominations closed at midday on 20 September.

Michael D Higgins' time as president of Ireland will come to an end in November.