FORMER LABOUR LEADER Brendan Howlin has confirmed he is backing Catherine Connolly in the presidential election, despite Heather Humphreys sharing a photograph with him over the weekend.

With under two weeks to go until voters go to the polls in the presidential election, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys has been keen to highlight her ties with supporters of her competitor, Catherine Connolly. 

Connolly, the Independent candidate, has the backing of Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and the Greens. 

Over the weekend, Humphreys shared two photos of herself with Labour Party members on social media. 

Great to bump into my former ministerial colleague and friend @BrendanHowlin while campaigning in Wexford this weekend. pic.twitter.com/zxs1TSabwX

— Heather Humphreys (@HeatherH) October 11, 2025

While Humphreys did not explicitly state that she had the backing of either former Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin or former TD Willie Penrose, the two Labour individuals with whom she posted pictures, many social media users interpreted the photos as endorsements.

Labour TD Conor Sheehan wasn’t all too convinced by the photo of Howlin and Humphreys, however. Retweeting the photo, he sarcastically said: “Never seen Brendan look happier!”

When contacted by The Journal, Howlin said he was happy to meet his former Cabinet colleague Humphreys in Wexford, but that he will be supporting Connolly, the “official candidate of the Labour Party”.

It was great to meet my former Dáil colleague, Willie Penrose, in Westmeath today. Willie was always a rock of common sense in the Dáil and a gentleman to work with. pic.twitter.com/bSN2YVH0H1

— Heather Humphreys (@HeatherH) October 3, 2025

The Journal has also contacted Penrose to ask if he is supporting Humphreys in the election, but we have not yet received a response. 

Humphreys’ social media posts come as former Labour Party leader Alan Kelly confirmed today that he will be voting for her, the Fine Gael candidate, in the election.

Kelly confirmed his intentions this morning on his local radio station, Tipp FM.

The Tipperary North TD was leader of the Labour Party from 2020 to 2022. Alamy Alamy

His decision will not come as a shock to his Labour colleagues, given that he already refused to nominate Connolly.

The Labour Party’s split on Connolly has been well-documented in recent months.

After the party decided to back Connolly in early August, one Labour TD told The Journal that it was “some of the old guard” who were least pleased with the decision.