Connolly Leads Amid Repossession Attacks

With the election scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24, the presidential contest has entered its final phase and independent Catherine Connolly is running ahead in polls as Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys mounts a last push. The campaign has been dominated this week by Fine Gael attacks on Connolly’s past work as a barrister in repossession cases; Connolly and the Bar Council say the cab‑rank rule obliged her to accept instructions and called the attacks a “new low,” while several opposition TDs defended her. In a recent Prime Time debate both candidates targeted undecided voters: Humphreys stressed unity, experience and a pro‑EU stance, and Connolly presented a left‑wing alternative, raising foreign‑policy and social issues. In the closing days Humphreys is focusing canvassing in Cork and Clare, while Connolly is campaigning in Cavan, Monaghan and Westmeath as each seeks to sway late and youth voters ahead of the vote.