"The lights dimmed and the youthful crowd packed into Vicar Street, a concert venue in inner-city Dublin, eyes locked on the stage. The emcee made barbed jokes about Ireland's government, but there was little need to warm up the audience. The atmosphere was already electric. He launched a chant. I say Catherine. You say? The roared response could have lifted the roof. Connolly!"
"What we have achieved together, I cannot put a value on that. Her voice was soft, the accent pure Galway. We want a republic that we can be proud of, a republic that will never stand over the normalisation of genocide, or the normalisation of homelessness, or obscene waitings lists. But enough of that. This is a night to celebrate."
Catherine Connolly, a 68-year-old independent leftwing candidate, is widely expected to become Ireland's next president after a presidential election on Friday. Anger over a housing crisis and the cost of living, campaign blunders by the centre-right coalition of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, unity among leftwing opposition, and effective social media use have propelled her candidacy. Supporters packed Vicar Street in Dublin for a celebratory concert with performers like Christy Moore and the Mary Wallopers. Connolly spoke in Irish and English, condemning normalisation of genocide, homelessness, and obscene waiting lists, and promising a republic to be proud of.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]