Catherine Connolly’s rise to the Irish presidency marks a progression in global politics we ought not miss. A critical mass is gathering against the Zionist state.
Ireland’s President-Elect Catherine Connolly on Saturday. (Connelly for President, Twitter/X)
By Patrick Lawrence
The Floutist
Catherine Connolly has such a sweet Irish face — broad and open, bright eyes with a touch of sadness about them, always either smiling or about to give the world one. She has Irish politics, too, this daughter of Galway: Ireland’s 10th president, elected last Friday, draws directly from the collective memory of Britain’s long, cruel colonization of her people when she condemns apartheid Israel’s long, cruel colonization of Palestinians. So do her voters: She had the support of 63 percent of them.
History does this sometimes, providing power does not bury it: Its bleak, violent chapters can induce among the living a heightened consciousness of and commitment to justice. This is among the many things that distinguish the Irish.
Connolly calls the Zionist regime’s genocide just what it is and recognizes Hamas as “part of the fabric of the Palestinian people” — a liberation movement by any other name. Could she have expressed such an understanding so forthrightly had the Irish Republican Army not been part of the fabric of the Irish people all those years?
Catherine Connolly who is set to become the next president of Ireland, is defying an intense media backlash over her outspoken support for Palestine.
Connolly, a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights, faced fierce criticism for describing Hamas as part of the fabric of… pic.twitter.com/C7P7QbRqgH
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 25, 2025
I read Connolly’s rise from the Dáil (where she was deputy speaker) to the Irish presidency as marking a progression in global politics we ought not miss. How to put this? The world has been turning against the Israeli terror regime since it began its spree of murder and starvation two Octobers ago. Now it is doing so decisively, so finding its collective voice at last.
What you have heard ever more loudly on many streets these past two years you now hear at the highest levels of government. There is momentum, I mean to say, and it is in the right direction. Only in America is this not so — a point to which I will return.
Connolly’s election has reportedly prompted many Israelis to pledge never to set foot on the Emerald Isle. Brilliant: Israeli Zionists are joining in the urgent work of isolating Israeli Zionists. However many stay away, Ireland will be better off for each one.
There is a fleck of history here, too. As you may recall, the Irish were very quick to denounce the Israelis’ campaign of terror two autumns ago. By the end of 2023 there were left-wing calls in the Dáil to expel Dana Erlich, Tel Aviv’s predictably repellent ambassador. A few months later, in May 2024, Ireland formally recognized Palestinian sovereignty. At the end of that year the Netanyahu regime finally gave up. Its Foreign Ministry cited “the extreme anti–Israel policies of the Irish government” as it recalled Erlich and closed its embassy in Dublin.
Swell of Objection
Italian general strike for Gaza at the port of Ancona on Sept. 19. (Ukrain4Pal/Wikimedia Commons/ CC0)
Ireland’s anti-colonial, anti-imperialist tradition and its reflexive sympathy for the oppressed are impossible to miss and, notably, never seem to bend in the wind. This makes me think Connolly’s voice is likely to prove especially strong — is “acute” my word? — on the Palestine question. But she jumps onto a moving train, let us not forget. The momentum just noted has been gathering for some time and now appears to be reaching critical mass.
My routine wanderings around “X” are a daily reminder of this reality. Here is a catalog — random, of greater and lesser magnitude, incomplete, in no particular order — gathered just over the past few days:
— Norway and Bibi’s arrest warrant. Twenty-two hours before I began this piece Norway reportedly issued “a strong call for the immediate arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.” I do not know who constitutes “Norway” in this case, but I think we can count this so: The Foreign Ministry has put out a statement confirming Oslo’s commitment to the rulings of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last November. Reminder: The Ministry announced in August, as Bibi was preparing to overfly Europe en route to the U.N. General Assembly, that it would arrest him if he set foot in Norway.
— Starmer is named. In Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime, a report issued by the U.N. on Oct. 20 and signed by Francesca Albanese, the British prime minister is specifically cited for his complicity in Israel’s terror campaign against the Palestinians of Gaza. “On 9 October 2023, immediately after Israel announced a tightened siege on Gaza,” the report reads, “key Western leaders expressed support for the ‘self-defence’ of Israel … British opposition leader Keir Starmer defended Israel’s right to cut off water and power to civilians.”
— Spain’s arms embargo in action. Spain just opened a criminal investigation into Sidenor, the Spanish steelmaker, for selling product to Israel Military Industries, a subsidiary of the infamous Elbit Systems. This is the first major enforcement of the comprehensive arms embargo the Spanish Parliament just passed into law.
A Sidenor factory in Bassauri, Spain. (Zarateman/Wikimedia Commons/CC0)
The noose tightens. Late last week Banco Sabadell, a major Spanish institution, began freezing the accounts of Israelis, requiring them to sign declarations confirming they do no business with Israeli settlements. A bank official said all transactions involving Israelis must henceforth be approved by the bank’s compliance department.
B.D.S. in action. Pizza Hut U.K. has announced it has closed 68 shops and 11 delivery sites: A boycott of the company in response to its business in Israel has forced it into a restructuring.
The dual-loyalty scam. “People who serve in the Israeli military should be deported,” Tucker Carlson declared in an interview Wednesday. “You can’t fight for another country and remain American.” Finally it is said.
A critical mass. Priests Against Genocide, which represents 1,200 Roman Catholic clerics, recently organized a march on the Italian Parliament, where one priest said Mass while draped in a Palestinian flag. His sermon matched his vestments.
‘Priests Against Genocide,’ a group representing more than 1,200 priests from 34 countries, gathered in Rome to pray for an end to the massacre in Palestine’s Gaza.
The demonstration coincided with a nationwide strike, where tens of thousands protested in solidarity with… pic.twitter.com/EexpA1MRgB
— TRT World (@trtworld) September 23, 2025
If these items seem a touch all-over-the-place, this is by design. My intent is simply to suggest what shapes up as a sort of all-of-society swell of objection we find in one or another form in many places. Any reader can add many of his or her own simply by skating around social media.
The South African Case
Anti-apartheid demonstration in Amsterdam, June 1988. (Rob Bogaerts / Anefo /Wikimedia Commons/ CC0)
Catherine Connolly joins others in the highest offices — notably but not only Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s Socialist prime minister, and the wonderful Gustavo Petro, the former liberation fighter now serving so honorably as Colombia’s president. Connolly’s ascent to their ranks signals that we are at the brink of a takeoff point, to borrow a term from the economists. This is my judgment. When we speak of a worldwide anti–Israel movement, we speak of one that begins to accumulate the power of nations behind it.
As we assess the current circumstance, we ought to bear the South African case in mind. When the Afrikaner regime finally fell, in 1994, it was primarily because its internal contradictions had become too many and too formidable. The apartheid system was no longer sustainable. The anti-apartheid movement accumulated its power gradually over many years — the movement against the Zionist state has gathered force much faster, if not fast enough — but the anti-apartheid cause eventually proved its effectiveness. The international pressure it exerted was among the stresses the Afrikaners could no longer bear.
Let us take the lessons this history offers.
The empty chairs at the table belong to the Americans. While Connolly joins Petro, Sánchez, et al. in high office, look at the Trump regime. The president, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and the others on Trump’s foreign policy “team” are by comparison monsters diametrically out of touch with the world, the zeitgeist, of another time, of another cause — a cause other than the human cause.
Do I have to admit that most Americans are similarly detached? I suppose I do. All praise to those who take to the streets as millions of others elsewhere do. But our numbers are small, reflecting many years of incessant propaganda, social atomization, the privatization of the collective consciousness, induced apathy. I see no other way to understand this and no persuasive reason to think the case will change.
To live so out of sync with the world, so indifferent to what the world announces that it cares about, will not serve America and Americans well over time. Our power elites stumble around the world, from one mess to another, accumulating the rest of humanity’s contempt. And the rest of us other than the conscientious few? Will international banks one day vet our accounts? It is far-fetched, but it is bitter even to pose the question.
When Irish eyes are smiling, all the world is bright and stands against Zionism. Isn’t that how the song goes?
Patrick Lawrence, a correspondent abroad for many years, chiefly for the International Herald Tribune, is a columnist, essayist, lecturer and author, most recently of Journalists and Their Shadows, available from Clarity Press or via Amazon. Other books include Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century. His Twitter account, @thefloutist, has been restored after years of being permanently censored.
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“Everybody, One. Everybody, Two. Everybody, FREE!”
…. There’s good reason “Everybody” raise a glass & drink in honor of: 1) “A Worldwide Anti–Israel Movement” lives! 2) Catherine Connolly “scores” a landslide win! Will be Ireland’s 10th President, 3) The perfect Timing & Receipt of Ralph Nader’s “gift,” i.e., “the Past Is History. The Future Is a Mystery. Today Is a Gift. That’s Why It’s Called the Present” i.e., “Civic Self-respect,” by Ralph Nader, 2025.
“We will always, Stand w/the Occupied against the Occupier. We are with them! Palestinians oughta pick their own Leaders. We are with them!” Save the Date: *”Ms Connolly becomes President following an inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, November 11th, at Dublin Castle”.
…. “When Irish eyes are smiling, sure, ’tis like the morn in Spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter you can hear the angels sing. When Irish hearts are happy, All the world seems bright and gay; &, when Irish eyes are smiling; Sure! They steal your heart away.” Chauncey Olcott & George Graff, Jr., published in 1912 for Olcott’s production of “The Isle O’ Dreams”.
“A film score is a musical composition that plays during the filming of a movie. The film score is how composers can bring more emotion to the movie.” “WE BELIEVE, it’s far better, if we all come together as one hand. One hand that can be seen, felt; and, CANNOT be confused.” George Galloway 4.15.24, “Revolt in Northern England: No Ceasefire, No Vote”.
…. *“Hark now, hear the sailors cry. Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic”. This is for Gaza, photo, above,“Italian general strike for Gaza at the port of Ancona on Sept. 19.” (Ukrain4Pal/Wikimedia Commons/ CC0)
“Ladies & Gentlemen,” imo, Ralph Nader has written & published, the ‘SCORE,’ i.e., “Civic Self-respect.” Basically, “living & loving, out loud” i.e.,“Connelly’s rise to the Irish presidency” [MARKING] a progression in global politics we ought not miss.” Patrick Lawrence.
… FFReal, my husband, carrying a bottle of wine, says to me, “So you think you know” how to snuff-out the WH’s “white noise?” Savignon Blanc?!? “I’m told, the answer is written @ the bottom of the bottle. Do ya wanna, know, the answer?” “Sure!” I said, “Pop the Cork!! We just got the other “Answer,” signed by Ralph Nader, our copy of *“Civic Self-respect”!!!
…“Civic self-respect is another way of describing civic self-motivation: how to achieve that crucial state of mind that propelled Ben Franklin, Frederick Douglas, Helen Keller,” [Catherine Connelly, Clare Daly, Francesca Albanese, Arundhati Roy, Ralph Nader, Patrick Lawrence, Chris Hedges, George Galloway, Gerald Celente & Friends, Joe Lauria, Consortium News dot com, the list is endless] “to demonstrate the triumph of the human spirit; advocating for socioeconomic justice & peace.”
Imo, like marriage, “through thick and thin” working together, navigating a 21st Century exit from “swimming w/the sharks.” “All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” ‘Nader says “the quotation is misattributed to” Edmund Burke, 1729-1797.
There’s reason to believe, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be Free. It will. Keep your eye on your calendar. Not on your clock. That’s how the people – not the generals – the people fighting for their liberation measure time.” Arundhati Roy. “Congratulations, Catherine Connelly!” TY, Patrick Lawrence, CN, et al. “Keep It Lit”.
* hxxps://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/10/26/qa-what-next-for-president-elect-catherine-connolly/
* Van Morrison, a Northern Irish singer-songwriter & musician
* hxxps://scheerpost.com/2025/09/29/its-time-to-fight-back-against-trumps-fascist-regime-w-ralph-nader-the-chris-hedges-report/
* hxxps://pentransmissions.com/2024/10/15/no-propaganda-on-earth-can-hide-the-wound-that-is-palestine-arundhati-roys-pen-pinter-prize-2024-speech/
There’s an app called Boycat where we can all in a small way boycott companies who deal with Israel. It scans barcodes of products and the user can see if it has links to the apartheid regime. Please download today.
I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Lawrence that time is nearly up for genocidal “Israel”.
“The anti-apartheid movement accumulated its power gradually over many years — the movement against the Zionist state has gathered force much faster, if not fast enough — but the anti-apartheid cause eventually proved its effectiveness. ”
This is true, but we should not neglect to remember — not to suggest that Mr. Lawrence has — that those of us that have stood against apartheid “Israel” for many years and long before October 7, 2023, especially those that have protested and actively fought against the tyranny, have helped to set the stage for the current turnabout in attitudes about the hateful Jewish supremacist state and its supporters.
Professor Ilan Pappe said recently that he believes the end of “Israel” is coming soon. I have felt that way for some time, despite the “Israeli”/American horrors perpetrated in Gaza (or perhaps partially because of those horrors). States like Nazi Germany, Apartheid South Africa and Genocidal “Israel” cannot last and eventually collapse, implode or are put down by outside forces with the exception, of course, to this point anyway, of the USA.
Palestine will be free and far sooner than most people think.
Make “Israel” Palestine Again!
Sounds as if we are experiencing some growth in social policing on a global basis, with no help from a very large country called America. Something one would believe in the best interest of our many corrupted political relationships incestuous in nature.
Maybe it’s time to understand if our country is not part of the solution it is part of the problem. The problem the U.S. created.
Not hard to. understand why so many countries are fed up with the B.S. which flows like a firehose from D.C! Stay tuned thing are about to get very interesting UK released to Epstein files.
Have a nice weekend folks.
The Irish government (a deeply conservative duopoly) and corporate media fully support Israel. Trade has increased with Israel and arm shipments fly through Irish airspace with the full blessing of the political and media establishment. Despite all the performative posturing the Irish ruling class are deeply complicit in the Zionist genocide of Palestinians.
For me, Patrick Lawrence keep a candle burning in a very dark world. When you are in the U.S. it is easy to fall into despair over the unspeakable crimes my country, the U.S., and Zionist Israel commit in Gaza. Each of us need to add our names to the momentum Lawrence speaks about. If we do, sooner or later all the grains of sand will be on one side of the scale. If the human cause is to survive, we can’t give up and can’t give in.
South Africa, long top the list for wealth inequality, is now in third place behind Brazil and Russia, but
economic apartheid still persists for millions. More than three decades after South Africa ousted a racist apartheid system that trapped the vast majority of South Africans in poverty, more than half the country still lives below the national poverty line and most of the nation’s wealth remains in the hands of a small elite.
Anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said of the ANC:: ‘They stopped the gravy train just long enough to get on themselves.’ He went on describe the Zuma administration as ‘worse than the apartheid government’ and that he would ‘pray for the downfall of the ANC.’
Brilliant, Patrick! Just when I had lost all hope. Catherine Connolly’s ‘sweet Irish face’ and her words, her principals give me hope. Imagine the concept of a people being allowed to determine their own destiny! All those folks in Ireland standing up against Israel’s ongoing genocide and in support of Palestine and Palestinians gives me hope. I cannot thank you enough for bringing Catherine Connnolly into our awareness and conversations!
Thank you for this good news. We are in Canada, western Canada, where the Maple Maga group is growing…….but I can no longer walk with the Palestinians during their weekly marches. I have grown old in this resistance and by the numbers that come out, the same stalwarts week after week, with the only sign of progress being the Zionists across the street from our gathering place finally gave up….it has been very sad and depressing.
We are not who we like to think we are in the west…….and Canada is not superior to her American big brother……only more circumspect in her loyalty to the bums. We look away, turn away……….and find trivial battles over who knows better how to save our own fossil fueled economies.
But this story gives me hope. I read a little book called SOMEDAY EVERYONE WILL HAVE BEEN AGAINST THIS…about the genocide. Perhaps we are moving more quickly than I imagined to that position.
But in Gaza, things aren’t much better…..and in the West Bank the Zionists are gobbling up most of the land…..so I still fear:
This is a Crime against our Common Humanity the West will have to wear………perhaps to the end of our current civilization. Luckily for the virtue signallers………we’ll be able to blame it on Trump
Patrick what are we to expect from a country that so totally and savagely eradicated the peoples of Turtle Island and then tried t a repeat anywhere in the world the Marines figuratively could open up a beachhead. The banality of evil is so entrenched in our national psyche that we no longer can distinguish our connection to our own humanity or even what civilization actually means. This has extended to our terror client state Israel.What are we to make of a soldier that snipes a 2 year child in the head and heart and then dances exultingly to a Tik Tok video What are we to make of an army that chases mothers and their babies with 2000 lb bombs thru a destroyed Guernica. During Viet Nam our soldiers revolted on a scale that left the US military paralyzed.Not in Israel. That society wants more bloodshed more carnage. Even the German army had to be given sedatives to continue the killing fields in Poland. Israel god willing is the last manifestation of this terror project to control the world and its resources by any means necessary. Hopefully Zionism and the roots of terror that nourished it will be brought to justice. And Ireland all I can do is drop to my knees Drop to my knees and give thanks to you heroic people.
Israeli government does not care about world opinion. It only needs unwavering US political and financial support to survive.
Out of Canada, Avi Lewis, who is running for the leadership of the NDP, one of the three main parties, is outspoken about Canada’s stand on Israel:
Jewish Scholars Expose CIJA’s Anti-Palestinian Racism | Avi Lewis:
hxxps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-npbjwA5Qo
Lawrence’s prose is singable (metaphorically speakin’) and his sentiments hit in the center of the target. And as Ireland is frequently poorly represented in media [mawkish and overly sentimental, as well as historically confused], it was a delight to read.
It makes me, as an American, ashamed to realize that Patrick Lawrence’s observation at the Trump regime, including the president, Marco Rubio, Pete Hogsett, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and the others on Trump’s foreign policy “team are monsters diametrically out of touch with the world, the zeitgeist, of another time, of another cause — a cause other than the human cause.
The US and Israel have stood alone for decades in the Security Council against the rest of the world declaring Israel’s violation of International Law. Now they stand alone in supporting genocide. You would think it would dawn on them they are going in the wrong direction. Perhaps they have been allowed to commit atrocities without being held accountable for so long they believe they are invincible. I hope I live to witness them being disabused of that notion.
Hi Lois, do I recognize your name from possible commentary on OpEdNews ?
You do though I have not visited that site in years. I could not abide the anti-Russian Putin bashing direction it took when Russia intervened in the slaughter of innocent citizens of Donbass. Has it improved?
This is also true with regard to lifting the sanctions on Cuba…..illegal things that make no sense, given Cuba is no threat at all to the American gulag. I didn’t realize it was mainly America and Israel that voted against lifting those sanctions….FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS…until the genocide in Gaza got me paying more attention.
But it is so……..and people are going hungry in that little island now, because of monsters who bully whoever doesn’t bow down before their capitalistic, militaristic god.
Onwards world till the genocidal monster called israel is annihilated once and for all!