No expense spared by MLAs
Conor Coyle, Irish News, July 16th, 2025
STORMONT Assembly members have claimed £1.9 million in expenses in the past year.
Among the MLAs’ operating costs were phone and internet bills, heating, cleaning services and office rents, but also new mobile phones and social media tools.
An increasing number of our politicians are claiming expenses to communicate with the public through online platforms.
Dozens of MLAs claimed for subscriptions to video editing software and graphic design apps.
Other assembly members charged taxpayers for the purchase of a ‘gimbal’ – a device to stabilise your mobile phone while you make videos.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly is among five MLAs who have claimed for gimbals.
The DFM claimed £166 for the gadget and a clamp, while party colleagues Pam Cameron and Diane Forsythe also claimed for a gimbal, as did Alliance’s Sian Mulholland and independent MLA Claire Sugden.
Three Alliance MLAs claimed around £100 per head for subscriptions to mobile video editing apps CapCut and Veed.
Lagan Valley MLA David Honeyford also paid £120 for website hosting services, and is one of the few Stormont MLAs who has his own website.
A total of 15 MLAs have claimed for subscriptions to graphic design website Canva, which also has a free version.
Sinn Féin chairman Declan Kearney claimed 70p for ‘refreshments’ from a Vivo shop.
The figures were released by the Northern Ireland Assembly for the period between April 2024 and March 2025, Stormont’s first fullyear sitting after a two-year absence after the DUP pulled out of the executive over post-Brexit trading rules.
£1.9 million in office and travel expenses paid out by Stormont in last year
Among the operating costs claimed for were phone and internet bills, heating and cleaning services, but items such as new mobile phones and iPads, video editing software and graphic design apps were also claimed for.
Figures Released
The figures were released by the Northern Ireland Assembly for the period between April 2024 and March 2025, Stormont’s first full-year sitting after a two-year absence after the DUP pulled out of the executive over post-Brexit trading rules.
More than £1.5m has been paid out to MLAs for constituency office costs, including rent and rates, as well as operating costs to include bills for utilities, furniture and other office amenities. The expenses are separate to MLAs’ salaries, which begin at £53,000 per year.
The majority of the constituency office costs spent by MLAs in 2024/25 went to rent and rates, a total of £909,000.
In addition to rent, MLAs claimed for a wide variety of office operating costs which totalled £594,000, with each representative able to submit a claim for up to £7,950.
Among the operating costs claimed for were phone and internet bills, heating, cleaning services, but also include other items such as new mobile phones and iPads, video editing software and graphic design apps.
A further £322,000 has been paid by the assembly to MLAs for travel around their constituency and to Stormont.
MLAs can claim set amounts for travel to Stormont if they attend for assembly business on a minimum of 72 days per year.
The travel allowances are capped based on how far the constituency is away from Stormont – with Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLAs able to claim up to £6,780 over the year for travelling to the assembly.
A total of £252,000 was claimed by MLAs for their assembly travel allowance in the last year.
They can also claim for a constituency travel allowance, aimed at costs incurred from travelling within the area they were elected to represent, dependent on the size of the constituency. MLAs from West Tyrone and Fermanagh and South Tyrone can claim the most at up to £1,370.
The total claimed by MLAs for constituency travel this year was just under £70,000.
The expenses data was released after MLAs voted last month to set up a new panel to oversee the setting of salaries and expenses at Stormont.
Opponents of the new law say it could pave the way to bring MLA salaries in line with their counterparts in Scotland and Wales, who earn around £72,000.
Operation Kenova delivers 25 family reports into activity of agent Stakeknife
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, July 16th, 2025
Stakeknife was identified as west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci in 2003, although this has never been confirmed by Operation Kenova, or any other state agency, due to the British government’s Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) approach to naming agents
OPERATION Kenova has handed over 25 family reports to people impacted by the activities of notorious British agent Stakeknife.
The individual documents were delivered after concerns were raised last month that MI5 has attempted to block the release of 13 personal reports.
It is understood one remaining report will be delivered soon by Operation Kenova.
It was established in 2016 to investigate the activities of the British agent known as Stakeknife – identified as Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci in 2003.
A former commander of the IRA’s Internal Security Unit (ISU), Scappaticci has been linked to 14 murders and 15 abductions.
Also known as the ‘Nutting Squad’, the ISU was responsible for hunting down and killing informers during the Troubles.
An interim report into Scappaticci’s activities was published last year, with a final version yet to be made public.
Scappaticci has not been officially identified as Stakeknife by Operation Kenova, or any other state agency, due to the British government’s Neither Confirm Nor Deny (NCND) approach to naming agents.
British officials were urged to review the NCND policy by Operation Kenova in a series of recommendations published in the interim report last year.
Majority of reports now released
As part of the overall investigation, relatives of some victims were promised bespoke family reports, the majority of which have now been released.
Some of those impacted by Stakeknife’s activities have also received personal briefings from the Kenova investigation team.
Lawyer Kevin Winters, of KRW Law, said he has received 13 reports “all of which directly or indirectly implicate Stakeknife in the respective killings”.
“Fred Scappaticci has not been named specifically but it’s clear to us on any reading, that’s who the reports refer to,” he said.
“It simply doesn’t make sense for the government to block Kenova naming Freddie Scappaticci as Stakeknife.
“I therefore call on the state to step away from NCND otherwise people will rightly ask what was the point of it all?”
While Scappaticci worked for the British Army’s Force Research Unit (FRU), documents suppressed by MI5 confirm he was instructed by the spy agency via his military handlers.
Earlier this year it was confirmed that the British Cabinet Office had given the go-ahead for 26 family reports to be handed over.
However, it was later suggested that MI5 had attempted to block the release of 13 of these reports.
Concerns were raised by the family of Eugene Simons (26), from Co Down, who was abducted and killed by the IRA in January 1981.
The remains of the Castlewellan man were accidently discovered buried in a bog near Dundalk, Co Louth, in May 1984.
It emerged last year that MI5 had failed to disclose hundreds of pages including “significant new information” to the Operation Kenova team.
Summer camp cancelled after Orange lodge raised ‘concerns’ over GAA club
Paul Ainsworth, Irish News, July 16th, 2025
A CROSS-COMMUNITY kids’ sports event in Co Down has been cancelled after the hosts faced a backlash over the involvement of a “small group of children from a GAA club”.
North Down Cricket Club planned to host the Sport Summer Camp at their grounds in Comber on Friday, but have axed the event over concerns raised about young participants from East Belfast GAA.
The opposition to Gaelic football and hurling-playing children has been made by a local Orange lodge, along with some Comber residents on social media.
In a statement, a spokesperson for North Down Cricket Club said: “The Sport Summer Camp was created to give young people from different backgrounds a chance to enjoy cricket, try something new, and simply have fun.
“The plan was to involve ten different local sports and community groups – including organisations supporting ethnic minority communities – with the aim of building friendships through shared activity. A small group of children from a GAA club was just one part of that broader mix.
“As reaction to the event grew, we felt the spirit of the camp was at risk of being lost. With regret – and out of respect for all involved – we chose not to proceed.”
Locals did not want GAA
In a statement posted to social media, a spokesperson for the Comber-based Goldsprings Loyal Orange Lodge said residents in the town “had expressed significant concerns regarding the proposed or perceived move of the GAA into the local community”.
“Specifically there is unease regarding aspects of the organisation that have, in the past, celebrated or commemorated individuals associated with paramilitary activity.
“Residents have made it clear that until the GAA takes steps to ensure it is fully inclusive and sensitive to the history and identity of the Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist community, its presence in Comber would be viewed with opposition by many.”
Ards and North Down SDLP councillor Joe Boyle, who also chairs the Ards and North Down Sports Forum, told The Irish News he felt “extreme disappointment” at the opposition to children from a GAA club taking part.
“It’s a real pity that some people have this level of dislike towards the GAA, when it has made tremendous steps to offer a welcoming hand to anyone of any background.”
No 10 says work on repealing legacy act ‘in lockstep’ but minister may quit
Helen Corbett, Irish News, July 16th, 2025
DOWNING Street insisted the government was “working in lockstep” on repealing the Legacy Act amid reports that a defence minister could resign over the changes.
Keir Starmer’s government plans to repeal and replace the legacy act, brought in by the Conservatives in 2023 to halt investigations into all but the most serious allegations involving Troubles-related cases.
Human rights groups criticised the act for providing immunity to British soldiers.
But opponents to scrapping it fear that the changes will open up a “two-tier” system in which IRA members are given immunity but British troops are open to prosecution.
Veterans minister Alistair Carns is expected to quit over plans to repeal the law, The Times reported.
A No 10 spokesman said the government was “working in lockstep” when asked if Mr Carns agreed with Sir Keir’s approach.
“The government is always working in lockstep to deal with issues such as this, and we’re working in lockstep to fix this issue and the mess that we were left,” he said.
“And as I say, we will set out a process that gives veterans and their families confidence and sets out a process that’s proportionate, that’s not malicious, that has safeguards in place, and fixes the mess that we were left with.”
The spokesman said the government was setting out a course that is “lawful with fairness at its heart” and that “we will always protect our veterans”.
A Ministry of Defence source played down the prospect of Mr Carns quitting, but told the PA news agency it was a “tricky issue”.
Little-Pengelly slams ‘fantasy’ of all-island economy claims
Irish News, July 16th, 2025
DEPUTY First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has hit out at her coalition partners for “economic illiteracy” over Sinn Féin’s position that the north is not economically viable.
Ms Little-Pengelly said she is “sick of some who constantly talk down Northern Ireland”, after comments made by Mary Lou McDonald in an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain show on Monday.
The Sinn Féin president told host Richard Madeley that the north was “cut off from its natural political, social and economic hinterland” – the rest of the island of Ireland.
In response to a claim by Mr Madeley that Northern Ireland was economically “close to being a basket case”, Ms McDonald said that since the good Friday Agreement in 1998, “the value of the all-Ireland economy has multiplied six-fold”.
However, in a statement yesterday at the QUB Global Economic Forum, Ms Little-Pengelly condemned Sinn Féin’s claims and those of Mr Madeley.
“We are tasked with the responsibility and the honour of promoting this wonderful place with so much potential,” Ms Little-Pengelly said. “We need champions for the Northern Ireland economy.
“We need champions who recognise the incredible heritage of this place, what has been achieved over recent decades particularly in advanced manufacturing and engineering, creative industries, cyber security and tech and agri-sectors.
“Northern Ireland has attracted the highest levels of FDI for many years in the UK outside of the Greater London area.
Economic illiteracy
“ The economic plans of Sinn Féin as outlined by Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou McDonald in London this week are based on vagueness and fantasy. It is economic illiteracy
“We have over 1,500 international firms operating in NI.
“NI has one of the lowest levels of unemployment across the UK, and one of the highest educated and youngest workforces across these islands.”
She added: “Northern Ireland is far from an economic ‘basket case’, indeed it is a base case for investment, and I welcome that was recognised by the many economists and experts in the Global Economic Forum today.
“The economic plans of Sinn Féin as outlined by Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou McDonald in London this week are based on vagueness and fantasy. It is economic illiteracy.”
In her Good Morning Britain interview, Ms McDonald said a border poll should happen within the next five years.
“I think we have made enormous strides, all of us, and I think Ireland and Britain and all the political leaders and the people deserve great credit for that,” she said.
“Now we’re at a point where we say, ‘What’s the next chapter?’
“For us, logically, in economic terms, in social terms, in democratic terms, Irish unity makes sense,” she added.
Veterans body ‘trying to airbrush British military role in deaths of civilians’
Connla Young, Irish News, July 16th, 2025
A BRITISH army veterans commission has been accused of trying to “airbrush” the military’s role in the killing of civilians after a high-profile prosecution was labelled “vexatious”.
John Pat Cunningham (27), who had learning difficulties, was shot in the back as he ran from British soldiers near Benburb, Co Tyrone, in 1974.
In 2021 former British soldier Dennis Hutchings (80), who denied attempting to murder and causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Cunningham, died in a Belfast hospital after contracting Covid during his trial.
In 2022, Mr Cunningham’s family returned a letter of apology to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after meeting with then Tory secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris after it emerged a memorial to Mr Hutchings had been placed in Palace Barracks in Holywood.
In 2013 the MoD issued relatives with a written apology, at that time describing the shooting as tragic and saying Mr Cunningham had been blameless.
Earlier this week Secretary of State Hilary Benn took part in a legacy debate at Westminster, which was also attended by former British military personnel.
The Labour government has promised to repeal and replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which ended all inquests and civil cases, as well as introducing conditional immunity when it came into force on May 1 last year.
Former British soldier Dennis Hutchings denied attempting to murder and causing grievous bodily harm to John Pat Cunningham, inset, who was shot in the back as he ran from British soldiers near Benburb, Co Tyrone, in 1974
Civil proceedings to be allowed
Mr Benn later said he intends to introduce a remedial order, which amends existing legislation, to remove all provision relating to immunity and that future civil proceedings will be allowed to proceed.
Primary legislation will also be introduced to restore inquests, beginning with those halted by the legacy act, although this has yet to happen.
Speaking during the debate, Mr Benn said “only one soldier” had been convicted over a Troubles related death since 1998.
Speaking later, Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner David Johnstone dismissed Mr Benn’s figures while referencing Mr Hutchings.
“The figure you should be looking at is not those that have been convicted, that’s a false narrative, in terms of numbers,” he told the BBC.
“The figure is those that have been forced to wonder will they get a knock at the door.
“Will they be dragged into, like a Dennis Hutchings, 10 years of vexatious legal processes, an 80-yearold veteran who died in a hotel in Belfast.”
Family says British Army painted in best colours
Mr Cunningham’s nephew Charlie Agnew believes an inaccurate picture is being presented.
“He [Mr Hutchings] died in the Mater Hospital, he didn’t die in a hotel room,” he said.
“Again, what suits, what paints them from a better picture, that’s what you are seeing from that.
“What I’m reading here….is that he is saying that because this guy wore a British uniform he shouldn’t have to adhere to the process of law.”
In relation to Mr Johnstone’s claims about the legal process involving Mr Hutchings, Mr Agnew added “it’s half a century of process where a family have been grieving”.
“Every single thing that was done through that court was done through the proper process, at every junction, at every court, he met the threshold for prosecution,” Mr Agnew said.
“There’s nothing vexatious about it, there’s nothing wrong about it, it’s the process of the court that we are supposed to live under.
“By them saying that, it implies innocence on Dennis Hutchings’ behalf, that itself is a contradiction when the government apologised for his actions on that day.
“It’s all about trying to draw a line, airbrush out the activities of the British military in relation to civilian deaths.”
When contacted the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) reissued a statement first released in 2021.
“We can assure the public that all decision-making in this challenging and complex case was taken impartially and independently and fully in accordance with the PPS Code for Prosecutors,” the statement said.
Mr Agnew was also critical of how his uncle’s case is portrayed by sections of the British media.
The PSNI was contacted.
Equality chief’s comments on ex-RUC officers serving with ICRIR sparks backlash
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, July 16th, 2025
Comments by the NIHRC Chief Commissioner Alyson Kilpatrick about the role of former police officers in a legacy body have been slammed.
Unionist politicians have questioned the independence of the public body set up to safeguard human rights in Northern Ireland, after its chief commissioner said that the position of a top legacy investigator was “untenable” because of his policing past.
Alyson Kilpatrick – Chief Commissioner at the NI Human Rights Commission (NIHCR) – slammed the arrangements for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) – saying its lead investigator Peter Sheridan can’t be independent because of his role in the the RUC, and that his position is “untenable”.
A former senior police officer has told the News Letter the NIHRC should be “upholding the principles of fair employment and not undermining them”.
UUP won’t support ICRIR if former RUC officers barred
The DUP has said the comments lack professionalism and objectivity – while the Ulster Unionists have said they “are highly political and unhelpful” and warned that the ICRIR won’t have the party’s support if RUC officers are excluded.
TUV boss Jim Allister said NIHRC is a “deeply politicised body, driven by an ideological agenda hostile to any approach which might provide balance or fairness to legacy investigations”.
The NIHRC was set up under the Belfast Agreement “to make sure government and other public bodies protect the human rights of everyone in Northern Ireland”. It is now facing accusations of political bias after the chief commissioner’s comments to the Irish News, in which she also said she has concerns about the ICRIR’s “governance arrangements” and the role of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the arrangements.
Alyson Kilpatrick is a former Independent Human Rights Legal Advisor to the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
The ICRIR – led by Sir Declan Morgan – was established under the Legacy Act, and will revisit Troubles-era murders. It was set up under the last Conservative government’s Legacy Act, and while the current government will repeal much of that law – it has said it will keep the investigatory body in place.
Reacting the NIHCR chief’s comments, DUP Leader Gavin Robinson said the High Court, Appeal Court and UK Supreme Court have all confirmed that the ICRIR is legally independent, even with former police officers involved.
“Yet the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commissioner, Alyson Kilpatrick publicly questioned its independence, a move that lacked professionalism, legal rigour or objectivity.
“The courts from Belfast to London have all come to the same conclusion and ruled that the ICRIC is independent. That legal clarity should be respected.
“Her remarks have raised concerns about the impartiality of the Commission’s leadership and whether those views are shared across the NIHRC. If the Human Rights Commission expects to hold others to account, it must start by holding itself to a higher standard”, the East Belfast MP said.
A slur on RUC
Jim Allister said the “latest intervention” by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is “as predictable as it is revealing”.
The TUV leader said: “It is astonishing that a statutory body, funded by the taxpayer, would engage in such open hostility towards a judicial figure of Sir Declan Morgan’s standing and a former senior police officer like Peter Sheridan, simply because they are not prepared to toe the republican narrative on legacy.
“The NIHRC’s manufactured outrage is not about human rights — it is about protecting the campaign to rewrite the history, to demonise our security forces, and to sanitise the actions of terrorists.
“The issue with Peter Sheridan is that he served in the RUC and they are effectively saying that RUC officers cannot be impartial which is a slur in itself.
“Sir Declan Morgan and the ICRIR is not beyond criticism — I have been critical of both in the past — but this is not an issue the NIHRC should be involving itself in.
“It is high time the NIHRC was called to account for its partisan interventions. These comments only further confirms that it has long since abandoned the impartial role envisaged for it.”
Former PSNI officer Jon Burrows has also defended Peter Sheridan’s integrity in the ICRIR. He told the News Letter: “These comments are deeply disappointing and very unfair in my view. Peter Sheridan was a highly respected senior police officer who was appointed to his current role in the IIRC on merit and within the law.
“The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission should upholding the principles of fair employment and not undermining them. It would perverse if former RUC (or indeed PSNI officers) with exemplary service records were excluded from employment opportunities when they offer vital expertise and yet we can have people with serious criminal records in positions such as the Northern Ireland Policing Board”.
Unionist unity is back on the agenda, but such a pact will not be easy to cement
Suzanne Breen, Belfast Telegraph, July 16th, 2025
NEW SURVEY SHOWS GRASSROOTS UNIONISTS WANT GREATER ELECTORAL COOPERATION
It’s 22 months until the next Assembly election, but discussion is already under way about greater unionist unity to return more MLAs and prevent Michelle O’Neill becoming First Minister again.
UUP Ards and North Down councillor Philip Smith, co-founder of pro-Union campaign group Uniting UK, says if unionism gets its act together it can win more seats in Stormont, Westminster and on councils here.
The group has initiated a survey with pollsters in Britain to ask grassroots unionists how mainstream unionism is performing and to gauge their views on a political realignment.
The DUP is clearly keen on that conversation. In a pre-Twelfth message to party members, leader Gavin Robinson said unionist politicians should take note of the Orange Order’s “unifying power”.
“Across towns and villages, it brings together people from every walk of life, reminding us of the strength that comes when we stand side by side,” he said.
“That is a message unionism must learn from. We achieve more together than we do apart. Divided unionism has already cost us dearly.
“As we look ahead to Assembly and council elections in two years’ time, we must explore how to maximise the pro-Union vote and return more unionist representatives, not fewer.
“The need for common purpose and cooperation has never been more obvious or more essential.”
The DUP’s eagerness is unsurprising. The party was on just 18% in the last Belfast Telegraph LucidTalk poll. It’s been languishing around that mark for some time with disillusioned voters switching to TUV and, so far, showing no signs of returning.
With the UUP and TUV both on 12% in the last poll, there is no indication that the continuing three-way split in unionism will disappear anytime soon.
Sinn Fein won 27 seats to the DUP’s 25 in the 2022 Assembly election, and it’s hard to see Mr Robinson’s party overtaking Ms O’Neill’s in 2027. The UUP has nine MLAs, so forming an electoral coalition with the DUP could potentially put Stormont’s top job back in reach for unionism.
Joint Leadership and Single Headquarters
Unionist sources said there would have to be a joint leadership and a single headquarters in order for any coalition to potentially be treated as one entity under Assembly rules. Even then, it’s not straightforward. However, the desire among some to move in that direction is obvious.
The DUP returned five MPs to Sinn Fein’s seven in last year’s Westminster election. Robinson’s party lost three seats, and at least two more are vulnerable next time.
In East Antrim, Sammy Wilson lost 5,000 votes from 2019 with runner-up Danny Donnelly of Alliance only 1,300 votes behind him.
Gregory Campbell shed 4,000 votes in East Londonderry with Sinn Fein’s Kathleen McGurk just 179 votes behind. Sources believe neither Wilson nor Campbell will run again, so those seats are under threat even more.
A three-way unionist split led to Alliance’s Sorcha Eastwood winning Lagan Valley.
While TUV seems potentially up for a Westminster election pact, it’s unlikely to play ball in Assembly and council elections. It argues the proportional representation system means no unionist seats will be lost if voters transfer to other pro-Union parties.
TUV press officer Sammy Morrison explains that there are issues which must be addressed if there is to be unionist unity.
“It was telling that in his speech at the Field in Belfast, Gavin Robinson didn’t focus on the protocol,” he said.
Protocol must be rejected
“Unionism needs to return to the position it adopted on Ulster Day 2021 when all parties took an unalterable position that the protocol must be rejected and replaced by arrangements fully respecting Northern Ireland’s position in the UK.
“That can be the only basis for unionists going forward together. Unionism will be on life support if some continue to adopt a three wise monkeys approach to the protocol — seeing no evil, hearing no evil, and speaking no evil.”
Mr Morrison added: “The DUP’s fundamental problem is it’s haemorrhaging votes because unionists see it as untrustworthy on the protocol.”
He doesn’t see the benefit of a unionist coalition for the Assembly election.
“By going down that route, all you will do is galvanise the nationalist vote around Sinn Fein at the expense of the SDLP,” he said.
“And it does nothing to address the fundamental problem that Northern Ireland is being hived off the rest of the UK by the protocol. That situation won’t change by having a unionist First Minister who will be the same in substance, and have equal power and glory, with a Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister.”
Smith believes an electoral realignment could be a game changer for unionism — creating confidence and positivity, and motivating grassroots not to stay at home on polling day.
“We are distributing our survey through the parties, the loyal orders and community groups,” he said.
“Unionism is still the largest voting bloc in Northern Ireland but it’s underperforming in terms of seats due to having too many parties and candidates.”
He added: “It is time to hear the wider unionist family’s views on the way forward.”
United Ireland ‘very soon’ says Irish presidential candidate as she attempts to woo Sinn Féin
The Independent Galway TD has promised not to take her full salary as she launched her campaign as a Left candidate
Senan Molony, Irish Independent, July 16th, 2025
Catherine Connolly has launched her Independent campaign for the Presidency, promising not to take her full salary - but looking forward to a United Ireland "very soon".
Ms Connolly defended a trip to Syria with Mick Wallace, Clare Daly and Maureen O'Sullivan when dictator Bashir al-Assad was in power, and said she was "right at the time" when she previously backed journalist Gemma O'Doherty for a Presidential run.
The Galway West Independent rejected the idea that she was the "continuity candidate" after 14 years of Michael D Higgins, for whom she wanted to be a running mate.
She left the Labour Party when that bid was rejected, saying it had lost its soul - but refused to answer questions about taking its money for her campaign, which she believes will cost between €500,000 and €1 million.
Ms Connolly, a former leas cheann comhairle, became emotional when she recalled seeing Catholic refugees from Northern Ireland arrive in Galway in the late summer of 1969.
Would welcome Sinn Fein support
“I think Northern Ireland is extremely important. I think we're going to have united Ireland very soon," Ms Connolly said in response to a suggestion from the Irish Independent that she had been described as a republican socialist.
"I think the Good Friday Agreement has set the framework for that," she said, adding that she would welcome the backing of Sinn Féin.
"I think tremendous work has been done on the ground with cross-border bodies, and I look forward to the day when we have a united Ireland," Ms Connolly said.
But she added: "I absolutely value the diversity, and we must value the different backgrounds in Northern Ireland."
Asked if there was any difference between her position and that of Sinn Féin, she said: "I can tell you my position. You're left to kind to compare and contrast that, which will fail.
"But I grew up in Galway and witnessed the refugees coming to Galway. I was young at the time, and they came down, and they were put up in various colleges - and I witnessed their terror, their upset, and their utter desire for peace,” she said.
So far the only other confirmed candidate is former MEP Mairéad McGuinness, who will run for Fine Gael. Neither Fianna Fáil nor Sinn Féin have decided whether they will run a candidate, while Labour is currently deciding whether to back Ms Connolly after she met them earlier this week.
Ms Connolly said she was "fully ready now for the campaign", adding: "We don't have a huge, big machine, and I think we have conviction".
So far backed by Independents and the Social Democrats, she added: "We believe in what we're doing, and I think we are happy to put forward that vision."
Social Democratic support had "come from the ground up, and I understand it's similar with People Before Profit", Ms Connolly said.
She said she was going to discuss the Presidential salary with her team. "There are lots of decisions to make here about the campaign and how I use the salary is one of those,” she said.
"A I can say at this point is I have stood as a woman who speaks bluntly and who speaks as honestly as I can."
She was asked about the war in Ukraine, and said the Russian invasion was "wrong, illegal and unacceptable", adding "we need to find a voice for diplomacy. We need to get peace."
She added, however: "I think could have been prevented beforehand. What they've done is utterly wrong. It's just inexcusable. But I think we could have worked before that in terms of diplomacy."
Ukraine
She said her clapping for a live video address by Volodomyr Zelensky to the Dáil had been scrutinised, and how long it had lasted.
"I stood and I clapped, and the level of interest from certain quarters in the media was that I didn't clap long enough and I didn't clap hard enough," she said.
"I was nauseous at the war. I would have stood in silence."
She refused to comment on rival contender Ms McGuinness, except to say: "My views on the Fine Gael party are well-known.”
Standing outside Leinster House, Ms Connolly added: "I'm going to be presenting myself as a credible candidate for the Presidency with my views, with my track record, and my work ethic.
"That's what I will be presenting before the people, and I would hope the people would respond to that."
Former fighter pilot from Lurgan chosen to lead the RAF
By Adam Kula, Belfast News Letter, July 16th, 2025
Congratulations have been offered to a Lurgan man who is soon to head up one of the UK's three military branches.
Harvey 'Harv' Smyth has been appointed the new head of the Royal Air Force (RAF) the government announced today, taking on the title of Chief of the Air Staff.
The appointment is effective from next month.
The former Lurgan College student joined the RAF in 1991 and then spent 15 years as a Harrier pilot and weapons instructor.
He has flown "hundreds of operational missions over Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan," said the government.
His current title is Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff for Military Strategy and Operations.
His new post of Chief of the Air Staff is answerable to the defence secretary.
His appointment comes as the government plans to ramp up military spending from 2.3% of GDP in 2024 to 2.5% by 2027, and then to 3% thereafter.
In a statement, Mr Smyth said: "I am deeply honoured to have been selected as the next Chief of the Air Staff at such an important time for the Royal Air Force.
"The Strategic Defence Review makes clear the need for us to rapidly evolve and modernise to meet current and future threats and I am enormously proud to lead the Service at such a crucial point in our history.
"I take over from Sir Rich Knighton, who has achieved so much over the past two years, preparing the Royal Air Force for the challenges that we currently face and developing the operational mindset that we need, should we transition to conflict.
‘Unwavering support for NATO’
"I share in his unwavering support for our people and am delighted to have this opportunity to lead our whole force as we deliver outstanding Air and Space Power for the UK and NATO."
Meanwhile current defence secretary John Healey MP said: "I warmly congratulate Air Marshal Harv Smyth on his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff.
"He has outstanding credentials to lead the RAF in a crucial period of transformation for the force.
"Air Marshal Smyth has led a distinguished career to date. From spending 15 years as a frontline Harrier pilot and weapons instructor, to flying hundreds of operational missions from both land bases and aircraft carriers, to holding numerous vital command positions, he has served our nation loyally."
Carla Lockhart, DUP MP for Upper Bann (which covers Lurgan) also extended her congratulations, calling it "a significant moment of pride not only for the town of Lurgan but for the entire Upper Bann constituency and Northern Ireland".
“Harv’s record of service is exemplary," she said.
"Over more than three decades, he has consistently displayed courage, leadership and commitment from the frontline in combat zones to the strategic heart of UK defence planning. His appointment to the highest office in the Royal Air Force is richly deserved.
“At a time when the UK faces growing global threats and an evolving defence landscape, Harv’s experience and calm leadership will be vital in guiding the RAF through the next chapter.
"He brings with him not only operational excellence, but a strong sense of duty and service to our nation.
“This is also a deeply inspiring moment for our young people. Harv Smyth’s journey from the streets and schools of Lurgan to the top of the Royal Air Force is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved with determination and integrity.
"He is flying the flag high for Lurgan, for Upper Bann and for Northern Ireland.
“I know that our whole community joins me in congratulating Air Marshal Smyth and wishing him every success as he takes on this historic role leading one of the most respected air forces in the world.”
