As it happened

As it happened: How the final debate of the Áras campaign played out

Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys clashed on Prime Time in the last set-piece event of the Áras campaign.
7.03pm, 21 Oct 2025
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LAST UPDATE | 21 Oct 2025

IT’S ALL OVER bar the voting. 

The final debate of the 2025 Áras campaign took place tonight in the studios of RTÉ’s Prime Time as Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys faced off, with Miriam O’Callaghan and Sarah McInerney on hosting duties. 

Here’s what happened. 

Updates by Andrew Walsh, Daragh Brophy, Cliodhna Travers, Christina Finn at RTÉ and The Journal team. 

21 Oct 2025 7:04PM

Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the presidential debate on RTÉ’s Prime Time.

We’ll be bringing you all the standout moments as they happen.

If you’re feeling a bit worn out after seven (!) debates already, you’re not alone.

But sure, what’s the harm in one more?

21 Oct 2025 7:17PM

Both candidates were once again out on the campaign trail today.

Heather Humphreys was out and about in Dublin city centre, where she was pictured with former Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

She was later joined at a press event in Merrion Square by independent TDs Michael Healy-Rae, Marian Harkin, Noel Grealish and Kevin Boxer Moran.

Humphreys faced questions on her comments suggesting that Catherine Connolly has “capitalised” on people’s “misfortune” by representing banks in repossession cases.

21 Oct 2025 7:20PM

Catherine Connolly was also in Dublin for the day, where she took part in a number of media interviews – including a conversation with The Journal’s political podcast, The Candidate.

She faced questions on a number of topics ranging from her campaign’s origins, controversies, and future, to the strength of her movement beyond the election, as well as her views on the media and her time as a barrister.

Listen to Connolly’s full conversation with The Candidate here.

21 Oct 2025 7:43PM

You can watch the Prime Time debate at 9.35pm on RTÉ One, the RTÉ News channel and RTÉ player.

The debate will also be streamed across RTÉ One’s social media channels.

21 Oct 2025 8:03PM

Want to know more about the two presidential candidates ahead of the debate, or read the latest news about the campaign?

Check out our presidential election centre here.

Election Centre 2025

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21 Oct 2025 8:27PM

There was no pit stop for Heather Humphreys on her way in to RTÉ Studios this evening – she did ask reporters outside to wish her luck though

21 Oct 2025 8:33PM

Our Political Editor Christina Finn will be providing live updates from Donnybrook this evening

21 Oct 2025 8:45PM

Political Editor Christina Finn reports from the RTÉ press room:

The candidates are in the building, but neither stopped for questions from reporters standing outside the RTÉ reception this evening.

Reporters here to cover the live debate are now all waiting in the press room, where there are TVs for us to view all the action.

Thankfully, there are a few snacks too.

IMG_1709 Christina Finn / The Journal Christina Finn / The Journal / The Journal

21 Oct 2025 9:22PM

Catherine Connolly leads Heather Humphreys by 38% to 20% according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll, the first since Jim Gavin’s withdrawal from the race.

With many voters still undecided, tonight’s debate offers Humphreys a vital chance to win support and Connolly a chance to cement her lead.

21 Oct 2025 9:26PM

There’s only a few minutes to go before the debate gets underway – if you fancy a cuppa, now is the time to put the kettle on.

21 Oct 2025 9:33PM

The candidates are officially in the studio – the debate will be kicking off very shortly 

3D05DRC Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

21 Oct 2025 9:41PM

The debate has kicked off, and Humphreys has been asked the first question – what would make her a better president than the woman standing beside her?

Humphreys first takes a moment to address the ongoing riots in the Dublin suburb of Saggart.

“What we’re seeing unfolding on our television screens this evening is absolutely awful, and we’re seeing members of our gardaí have been attacked with stones and with such things,” Humphreys said.

She asks viewers: “If anybody knows anybody at those riots tonight, please tell them to go home. This is not what we are as a country.”

A Garda van was set alight and gardaí were targeted with missiles outside the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, following a protest organised in the wake of the alleged sexual assault of a young girl in the area in recent days.

In a statement earlier this evening, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said that the scenes outside the Citywest site “must be condemned”.

O’Callaghan added that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area and that no correlation exists between crime levels and the presence of asylum seeker accommodation centres. 

21 Oct 2025 9:43PM

Answering the question on what would make her more qualified president than Connolly, Humphreys says she brings “a lot of experience” to the role and appeals to voters as a mother and grandmother who wants an inclusive, safe, and respectful country.

Screenshot 2025-10-21 at 21.42.08 RTÉ RTÉ

She describes herself as a “central ground” candidate – “I’m not to the far left, I’m not to the far right,” she adds.

She then promises honesty, compassion, and service, and urges people to “come out to vote” for her on Friday.

21 Oct 2025 9:45PM

On the same question, Catherine Connolly says she would be a better president than Heather Humphreys, highlighting her commitment to care, compassion, and solidarity.

She adds that she would bring a fresh approach compared with “more of the same” from past governments and pledges to serve the country in both Irish and English to the best of her ability.

21 Oct 2025 9:52PM

Catherine Connolly insists she has “never avoided a question in my life” when pressed about her past work as a barrister representing banks in repossession cases.

She adds that her life “would be easier if I were less blunt, less straight, and less direct.”

“I take my roles very seriously. I worked as a barrister for over 20 years, and actually had a lot of different briefs from different clients, I have a duty of confidentiality to the court,” Connolly said.

Humphreys then challenged Connolly over her past legal work, asking whether she “represented banks to help repossess Irish homes.”

She said that Connolly should clarify the issue, adding that while she respects the role of a barrister, politicians “have to be straight, we have to speak up, and we have to tell people our position.”

Connolly adds that, during her time as a Galway city councillor, she “could not go into details of clients I represented”.

After a short interruption from Humphreys, Connolly added that “there’s absolutely no basis to [declaring her work as a barrister]”

21 Oct 2025 9:57PM

Catherine Connolly defends her past legal work, saying the courts made decisions based on government policy and that judges “bent over backwards” to avoid granting possession orders.

She argues that successive governments – including Heather Humphreys – failed to act by refusing to support eviction bans.

Hitting back at Fine Gael’s criticism of her record as a barrister, she says she has been “accused of doing something that there’s absolutely no basis for,” calling the attacks “very low.”

21 Oct 2025 9:58PM

So Connolly’s past barrister work was the first controversy to be raised in tonight’s debate.

Who had that one on their bingo card? 

If you need a primer on what it’s all about, Fine Gael has, in the last week, focused attacks on Connolly’s work as a barrister in which she represented financial institutions in repossession cases. 

Humphreys and other Fine Gael politicians have claimed over recent days that Connolly has shown hypocrisy in being a critic of the banks and landlords while not saying that she had worked on the cases. 

In her defence Connolly has said barristers cannot refuse cases and that she was simply doing her job as a lawyer within the rules of her profession.

Connolly has said she took “all types of work” during her career.  

The Bar Council of Ireland has said that the principle governing this is the ‘cab-rank rule’. This means barristers are precluded from refusing instructions on the grounds that the nature of the case, or the conduct, opinions or beliefs of a client may be unacceptable to themselves.

As criticism of Connolly over her work as a barrister continued in recent days Humphreys also faced questions from reporters over the credit union that she formerly managed taking legal proceedings over loan defaulting. 

Humphreys said that “legal proceedings took place but only as a matter of last resort”.

21 Oct 2025 9:59PM

The debate has moved to foreign affairs.

Connolly defends her past comments that Europe has “lost its moral compass,” saying Ireland must “speak truth to power” on issues like genocide and the militarisation of Europe.

She says, as president, she would use her voice “diplomatically and in line with the constitution” to call out injustice, warning that rising military spending comes at the cost of welfare, housing, and essential services.

21 Oct 2025 10:02PM

Humphreys, pressed to name a time she had criticised the EU, initially struggled to give an example.

She said she is “very pro-European” and has always supported EU treaties, “unlike Catherine”.

After further questioning, Humphreys said Europe “should have acted sooner in terms of Gaza” and added that she had previously raised concerns about “overregulation in certain areas” at cabinet level.

She stressed that EU membership has been vital for Ireland, particularly during Brexit.

21 Oct 2025 10:06PM

Humphreys was asked for her thoughts on the US’s role in the genocidal war in Gaza.

She says what has happened there is “absolutely terrible and horrific” and that Ireland “stands behind the people of Gaza.”

She notes she was part of the government that recognised Palestine as a state, adding that the US is now “helping to bring about a ceasefire,” which she says is crucial.

While acknowledging Europe was “slow to react,” she stops short of directly saying that the US enabled genocide in Gaza.

21 Oct 2025 10:08PM

Asked if she would tell the US president that she believes America enabled genocide in Gaza, Connolly said that she would meet anyone invited by the government as part of her role as President.

“I’m giving you a clear answer, but it’s a speculative question,” Connolly said.

“If it’s just a meet and greet, then I will meet and greet. If the discussion is genocide, that’s a completely different thing.”

Connolly added that she doubted the issue of the genocide in Gaza would be on the agenda if she were meeting Trump as President of Ireland.

She said the genocide “was enabled and resourced by American money, along with other countries,” and criticised Ursula von der Leyen for “standing shoulder to shoulder with Netanyahu.”

Connolly added that any such meeting “depends on how I’m meeting them, what the subject is,” saying she would represent “the people of Ireland as best I can.”

21 Oct 2025 10:10PM

Analysis from Political Editor Christina Finn in the RTÉ press room:

So far, we see Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys probably at their most energetic in a debate.

Connolly landed the first jibe, saying that ‘unfortunately Heather is more of the same’, linking her back to the government.

Humphreys went on the attack when it came to Connolly’s work as a barrister, but the Independent candidate was not for moving in terms of providing any details. While she said she worked for credit institutions, she never uttered the word ‘repossessions’.

This could be so as to avoid any social media clipping of the utterance.

Connolly repeats what she told us in our podcast earlier, that her voters understand that she is not going to be a politician in the Áras, but she will have to fulfil the role of president – if that means that she has to just have a ‘meet and greet’ with the likes of Donald Trump, then that is just what she will do.

This might appease some of the people fearful of voting for Connolly, but it might prove to be a disappointment to some of her supporters.

Listen to Connolly on our podcast here

21 Oct 2025 10:14PM

Heather Humphreys is asked about the Shane O’Farrell case.

Humphreys says: “My heart goes out to the O’Farrell family. I can just say that I am sorry that I wasn’t able to deliver what they wanted. I really am sorry. I’m sorry they lost their son, and I’m glad they got a state. I really am.”

Asked why she “didn’t bother” to meet the O’Farrell family, Humphreys: “I did speak at length with Lucia, and when I was finished that phone conversation, I can tell you there was tears in my eyes because her son was around the same age as one of my children, and that could have been any of us.”

Defending her actions on the calls for an inquiry, Humphreys says: “I did speak to [Shane's mother] on a number of occasions. I wrote to ministers on her behalf. I did everything I could, and as I said, I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to deliver for them what they wanted.”

“I genuinely did, and I did send her out the correspondence that I received from the ministers at the time, so I did my best.”

21 Oct 2025 10:19PM

Connolly was pressed on her controversial 2018 trip to Syria, where she was pictured with a militia leader linked to war crimes against Palestinian refugees.

She defended the visit as a fact-finding mission on the Palestinian refugee crisis, saying: “I was far from naive, in relation to Assad’s dictatorship… I’ve never had any doubts about the Syrian dictatorship.”

Connolly also addressed criticism over using a taxpayer-funded parliamentary allowance for the trip, saying: “First of all, we’re all paid in taxpayers’ money. Our salaries are paid in taxpayers money.”

She highlighted that the visit involved multiple activists and TDs and that many people came in and out during their tour, including pro-Assad figures, but insisted she had no control over them.

Humphreys pressed on who organised the trip and told Connolly the “taxpayer paid for the trip,” asking her to “tell the taxpayer the facts around it.”

Connolly responded by stressing the mission’s purpose and the context of her visit to the Yarmouk refugee camp.

21 Oct 2025 10:20PM

Some context on two of the issues that have come up in the debate in the last few minutes…

Heather Humphreys’ dealings with the family of hit-and-run victim Shane O’Farrell has been one of the key issues that has followed her throughout this campaign.

23-year-old O’Farrell was killed in 2011 in a hit-and-run by a man who should have been in State custody at the time.

For years, O’Farrell’s family have campaigned for justice and answers for Shane.

Humphreys was a local TD for Monaghan at the time of Shane’s death.

Last month, Shane’s mother Lucia, said that she believes Humphreys is “not capable of being the president for the people of Ireland, when she can’t represent her own people in Monaghan”.

Humphreys has repeatedly said during the campaign that she is “sorry if Lucia felt I didn’t do enough” and claimed she did make representations on behalf of the family.

She was questioned on the issue by reporters earlier this afternoon. 

Separately, questions about Catherine Connolly’s fact-finding trip to Syria have dogged her throughout the presidential campaign, particularly regarding which officials she met while visiting the civil-war-torn country while it was still ruled by recently ousted president Bashar al-Assad. 

Connolly travelled to Syria in June 2018 with TDs Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, and Maureen O’Sullivan. They visited the city of Aleppo and the ruins of Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus that was destroyed during the civil war.

A recent Irish Times article revealed that one of the people the TDs met in Syria was the military leader of a pro-Assad militia called the Palestinian Freedom Movement, which alongside government forces laid siege to the camp for years.

In Aleppo, Connolly and the three now former TDs were shown around by a supporter of Assad: the chair of the city’s chamber of commerce Fares Al-Shehabi, who was under EU sanctions. 

While critics of Connolly have pointed to this as an example of poor judgement, she has said the trip left her with a reinforced sense of the horrors of war. 

She also said of Al-Shehabi: “I had absolutely no respect for that man after listening to him for the duration that I listened to him.”

21 Oct 2025 10:24PM

The candidates clashed on fox hunting.

Humphreys once again defended fox hunting as a “rural pursuit”, saying she supports it as part of Ireland’s heritage and noting that no minister has banned it.

She added that cruelty to animals, in her view, is “somewhat different” from fox hunting.

“There’s a lot of foxes around, as we know, and people go hunting the foxes. And once the controls are in place, and once the rules are abided by, I support rural pursuits,” Humphreys said.

Connolly said she has “great difficulty” with the practice and called for a broader ecological perspective, focusing on humane ways to manage fox populations and their impact on wildlife and farming.

21 Oct 2025 10:24PM

Political Editor Christina Finn from the RTÉ press room:

Probably the first cringeworthy moment there, as Humphreys leans into her opinion that foxhunting is a “rural pursuit”.

It’s been a term repeated ad nauseum in the campaign.

She stumbled on the question about whether it is animal cruelty in her eyes, merely stating that it is something that is governed by rules and it is something that has been around for years.

This is a clear last-ditch attempt to appeal to the rural voter base by Humphreys.

She is clearly setting herself apart from Connolly on this issue, and sees those in rural Ireland as potentially boosting her vote.

“I want to speak up for rural Ireland … and highlight all the good things of rural Ireland,” she said.

21 Oct 2025 10:30PM

Connolly has been asked again about her hiring of convicted criminal Ursula Ní Shionnáin.

She said it mattered what Ní Shionnáin intended to do with the guns, but added that the Special Criminal Court had given her a conviction and prison sentence, which she had served “… not in its entirety because she was a model prisoner”.

Connolly added that the hire came highly recommended by former minister and TD Eamon Ó Cuív and Ní Shionnáin was for a brief period, stressing that “she had already been convicted in the court … and she was rehabilitated.”

She defended her decision, saying it “goes to the heart of what rehabilitation is” – noting that TDs regularly sign people in and out of Leinster House and that Ní Shionnáin was always accompanied.

On whether she would invite her to the Áras, Connolly said carers would be the first visitors, and other visits are “speculation”.

Humphreys argued that the Dáil is not the place to rehabilitate someone convicted by the Special Criminal Court, saying such rehabilitation should happen in a less sensitive setting.

As revealed by The Journal at the start of this month Ní Shionnan, who also goes by Shannon, was hired to work with Connolly on Irish language issues shortly after her release from prison in 2018.

Ní Shionnáin was sentenced to six years in jail in 2014 after being found guilty by the Special Criminal Court of unlawful possession of firearms and possession of ammunition.

The trial heard how she and three others had been wearing wigs and disguises when they were arrested by armed gardaí outside the home of a firearms dealer on 27 November 2012.

Originally from Clonsilla in Dublin, Ní Shionnáin was, at the time, a prominent member of the socialist republican group Éirigí.

She was an accomplished student prior to her prison sentence.

Connolly has defended her appointment stressing she was the best candidate for the job. 

21 Oct 2025 10:34PM

Heather Humphreys was asked yet again about her failed promise to learn Irish when she was Minister for the Gaeltacht.

She said she “would love to be able to speak Irish” but lacks confidence, noting that although she learned the language at school, she didn’t have many opportunities to use it in work life.

She highlighted that a week spent in the Gaeltacht helped her “brush up” on her Irish and said she commits to returning to Donegal to continue learning.

Humphreys also mentioned that her church gifted her a Bible as Gaeilge, which she would “love to be able to read.”

Asked a question as Gaeilge, Catherine Connolly responded in kind, saying she has never criticised anyone for their level of Irish and that she is “still learning” herself, understanding the challenges involved in mastering the language.

21 Oct 2025 10:35PM

Take a breath, we’ve finally hit a break.

There’s about 10(ish) minutes left in the debate.

21 Oct 2025 10:43PM

We’re back again – the candidates have now been asked about the riot which broke out in Saggart this evening.

“This is not what we are as a country, this is not what we are as a people,” Heather Humphreys said.

Asked whether the anger reflects failures of previous governments she was part of, she said: “We need immigrants in this country, there’s no question about that.”

“I agree that people should be able to come here on work permits and come here legally, and that is… but for those people who shouldn’t be here, who are coming here illegally, we need to process them quickly. And if they shouldn’t be here, they need to go back to their own countries or where they came from.”

Connolly called the Saggart riot “very, very upsetting” and said she had received detailed verbal reports of the incident.

She stressed the need for political leadership, saying it is time “to use our voices to show leadership and to actually analyse what’s happening here and stop conflating things”.

Connolly highlighted the importance of distinguishing between issues in the direct provision system and legal immigration, noting that “it’s extremely difficult… to get into the country; you have to get a work permit, and you go through the hoops to get it”.

21 Oct 2025 10:49PM

Humphreys said that, if elected President, she would appoint more women to the Council of State.

Her appointees would include both younger and older people and experts on climate change.

She also proposes setting up a ‘Council of Youth’ to represent young people, noting that she has met many “wonderful women in all different walks of life” and would have no difficulty finding the right skill set, though she has no specific names in mind.

Connolly, asked the same question, said that she would seek a diverse group for her appointees, including consideration for disability, age, and experience, as they would advise her on a range of issues.

21 Oct 2025 10:52PM

Both candidates were asked if they have any regrets.

Humphreys said she regrets the Covid-19 restrictions that prevented people from being with dying loved ones.

“What really hits me hard… is the fact that there were regulations… you couldn’t hold their hand, you couldn’t whisper something in their ear. I think we could have found some way around that, and I regret that genuinely,” she said.

Connolly added to this, saying: “My personal regret is that I agreed in the first place to the restrictions.”

“I did it in good faith, and I actually articulated that in the Dáil that I did it in good faith and when the trust was broken… I watched what was happening at nursing homes. It was the most appalling thing to watch,” Connolly added.

She said that she lost trust in the government after they failed to review the restrictions as promised.

Both agreed that lessons should be learned for the future.

21 Oct 2025 10:57PM

And that’s it – the final debate between Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys is over.

Did it make any difference to either candidate? We’ll have to wait until Friday to truly find out.

21 Oct 2025 11:10PM

An interesting note from earlier (about 20 minutes into the debate) – Connolly stated “when I become president” during an answer about a hypothetical Trump visit to Ireland.

Was that a slip of the tongue, or a brazen show of confidence given the polling this week?

21 Oct 2025 11:16PM

Asked how she thought the debate went during her departure, Heather Humphreys reiterated that she is a “middle-of-the-road person”.

“I’m not to the far left and I’m not to the far right, I represent common sense, pro-European values and I made my case tonight.

“It’s going to be up to the people on Friday,” she added.

She did not take any other questions from reporters.

21 Oct 2025 11:27PM

That’s a wrap on tonight’s liveblog – thanks for following along with us.

If you want to rate the performances of Catherine Connolly and Heather Humphreys (and hosts Miriam O’Callaghan and Sarah McInerney) out of ten and see how your thinking compares with other readers, you can do it here.

We’ll keep you posted on all things presidential as we hurtle toward polling day (which, in case you need a reminder, is this Friday).

With no more debates to sway you, it’s all on the voters now, so make it count!

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