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The successor to Michael D Higgins as the Republic’s head of state comprehensively defeated rival Heather Humphreys – a former government minister whose family connections to the Orange Institution became a major feature of the election. Ms Humphreys said that her and her family “were subjected to some absolutely awful sectarian abuse” during the campaign. Early in the contest, questions were raised about her husband’s previous membership of the Orange Order. The family are Presbyterians from County Monaghan, but the former Fine Gael minister says she is a committed republican, in the Wolfe Tone United Irishmen tradition. Despite that, she faced repeated questions about her husband’s relationship to the loyal order – and whether she had attended Orange events herself. In the wake of the result, DUP MLA David Brooks told the News Letter: “Catherine Connolly’s win tells us more than who leads Ireland. It tells us who Ireland still refuses to accept. “For all the rhetoric about reconciliation, the campaign revealed a deep and enduring prejudice. The most notable feature was not about any vision or policy priorities of any candidate, it was about a family link to the Orange Institution. “Whilst the Connolly campaign was not responsible for that, there can be no doubt that it benefitted from it. “That one detail was enough to brand a family as unacceptable in public life. It was the subject of questions from journalists and to dominate a newspaper front page. “Beyond the post-election handwringing about sectarianism there was silence at the time when the questions were being asked as if they related to some dark secret that needed to be exposed. “This result should serve as a wake-up call for anyone in Northern Ireland who bought into the myths peddled about how they would be accepted in an all-Ireland state. The so-called ‘new Ireland’ is riddled with the prejudices of old Ireland.” After losing the election, Heather Humphreys told Irish public broadcaster RTE: “My family and I, but especially my family, were subjected to some absolutely awful sectarian abuse and I was disappointed because, as a country, I thought we had moved on from that. “I think there needs to be a greater understanding of other traditions in this country, and perhaps that’s something that maybe I can contribute towards because there is a lot of misunderstanding out there, and if we are ever to have a united Ireland we have to respect all traditions.” Asked about the abuse directed at Heather Humphreys during the campaign, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said there is a “piece of work to be done” on inclusivity. Ms McDonald, whose party supported Catherine Connolly said: “Sectarian abuse is never acceptable, it’s never okay.” She told BBC Northern Ireland: “We have to conduct ourselves in a way that is respectful and not just tolerant but inclusive and genuinely open to people all across the island of all traditions. “I think there is a piece of work to be done now, and I feel very sure that Catherine as Uachtarain (President) will lead substantially on this in having those open, respectful conversations.” Heather Humphreys held a number of ministries in the Irish government, including justice, rural development and arts during a 13 year parliamentary career. Fine Gael has faced criticism for choosing the Monaghan woman as the party’s candidate. Former former TD and Senator Michael Finucane said that his party leadership had made a “cardinal mistake” by putting her forward – and that grassroots members had “no say” in the nomination. Mr Finucane told the news website BreakingNews.ie that MEP Sean Kelly, who “is fluent in Irish” should have been the party’s nomination. He also said the result had reinforced signs of a political “sea-change” from the progressive centre to the left. “There's a message in that in relation to how the electorate think out there. But the fact is this, certainly, left-parties will be a lot more joyful as a result of this election than the mainstream parties”, Mr Finucane said.
