Humphreys, Gavin, And Connolly Campaign Updates As Race Moves Through Kildare

Fianna Fail's candidate Jim Gavin will be campaigning in the county tomorrow.

Fine Gael's Presidential Candidate Heather Humphreys will be on the campaign trail in Kildare today.

She said she’s not concerned about what impact next week’s budget may have on her campaign, saying the Presidency is above the business of politics.

She is expected to make a short stop in Naas this afternoon.

Fianna Fail's candidate Jim Gavin will be campaigning in the county tomorrow.

He has been deleting some content from his social media accounts, including an image of him with Defence Forces Chief Of Staff Rossa Mulcahy.

Mulcahy cannot be seen endorsing a political candidate. 

Gavin has also been forced to remove campaign footage of Defence Forces members clapping as he took part in a run.

The video was captured during an event organised by ONE, a group which advocates for the needs of former members of the Defence Forces.

Meanwhile, its unclear when Independent Presidential Candidate Catherine Connelly will visit the county.

Kfm has reached out to her campaign team for comment.

She is dealing with the fallout of attempting to hire a woman convicted of a gun crime.

The Journal reports that in 2018, while serving on the Oireachtas committee for the Irish language, Connolly sought to appoint Ursula Ni Shionnáin as an administrative assistant.

Ni Shionnáin had previously been sentenced to six years in prison in 2014, after the Special Criminal Court convicted her of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

During the trial, it was heard that she and three others had been wearing wigs and disguises when armed gardai intercepted them outside a firearms dealer's home on 27 November 2012.

In a statement issued this afternoon, Catherine Connolly said: “I abhor all violence, and I abhor hypocrisy. I took careful time to reflect on this hire. I discussed this with TDs, who were part of a committee that visited Republican prisoners. I believe in rehabilitation. I believe in giving someone a chance in life. My whole life, public life, has been devoted to raising my voice for those that didn't have a chance and those that committed crimes and then a chance for rehabilitation." 

She added: This person realised what they had done was utterly wrong, rehabilitated themselves with the help of the services in the prison, and has gone on to greater things. I absolutely regret that she's been dragged into this in such a public way. This is a very good example of rehabilitation and of the prison service working in this case to give somebody a second chance. The fundamental issue here is that we cannot claim to believe in rehabilitation while permanently excluding people who have completed their sentences and shown that they wish to contribute. This does not diminish victims, it reaffirms a basic principle of fairness and reintegration within the law.”