Connolly addresses pro-Palestine rally outside Dail

Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has encouraged pro-Palestinian demonstrators for their repeated rallies outside Leinster House, as she addressed a small crowd that gathered to mark the return of the Dail.

A heavy security cordon was erected along the main routes outside Leinster House on Wednesday as politicians returned from the summer recess.

Amid the resulting traffic disruption, gardai were stationed along steel barriers in a large-scale operation enacted as a precaution given the history of major protests on the day.

However, only two small group of protesters had gathered by lunchtime.

The larger group contained dozens of demonstrators, some carrying Palestinian flags, that gathered on Molesworth Street, which leads up to one of the main entrances to the grounds of Leinster House.

Ms Connolly joined the group to give a short address, where she said there had been a “misuse of language” around Israel proclaiming its right to defend itself.

She said: “Every country is entitled to self defence, that goes without saying.

“But it is not self defence, what is happening is genocide and it has been going on for a very long time.”

Ms Connolly praised the protesters for their action, stating they had “forced” the Irish Government to recognise Palestinian statehood.

She went on to read findings from a team of independent experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council which concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Nearby, a smaller group of demonstrators calling for Minister of State Kevin “Boxer” Moran to restore M4 motorway access to the Castletown House area in Co Kildare.

A separate anti-Government demonstration was held on Merrion Street Upper later in the afternoon.

Elsewhere in the presidential race, Independent Ireland said that it had yet to be formally asked to nominate Maria Steen.

Ms Steen claims to have the backing of 10 members of the Oireachtas, halfway to the threshold of 20 TDs or senators required to formally contest the election.

However, only nine of those politicians have so far been publicly named.

Independent Ireland has said it may be willing to help Ms Steen’s campaign over the line if she had already secured 16 other nominations and had “some synergy” with the party.

However, party leader Michael Collins and chairman Ken O’Flynn said they had not had a formal request for backing.

Mr Collins reiterated that she still needed further support before coming to the party and said: “Knock on our door and we’ll give it serious consideration but not until then.”

Aontu leader Peadar Toibin, who is among those facilitating Ms Steen’s campaign, said that if politicians “believe in something” they should not have to wait to be asked.

He said there was a lot of “anger” over the nomination process and argued that larger parties were limiting the “breadth of debate” by not enabling independent candidates to proceed.

Instead of securing 20 nods from the Oireachtas, prospective candidates can also proceed to the race if they are nominated by four local authorities.

Mr Toibin said he would tell his party councillors to back millionaire entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan if it seemed likely that Ms Steen could not get the necessary numbers, or if she would not need the council route.

Mr Sheridan is leading the independent hopefuls on the local authority path, having secured nominations from Kerry and Tipperary county councils.

Despite Fine Gael imposing a whip on its councillors to vote against nominating an independent as a presidential candidate, a Tipperary Fine Gael councillor was among those who voted to nominate Mr Sheridan.

Asked what sanctions she would face, Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon said that party’s executive council would “deal with matters directly like that”.

Mr Heydon, who is Heather Humphrey’s director of elections, said they consulted with its party’s local authority groups and agreed Ms Humphreys should be the candidate.

“She has the full backing and support of every arm of this party,” he said at the National Ploughing Championships.

Fine Gael Offaly councillor Neil Feighery said that Fine Gael councillors in Offaly would be backing Ms Humphreys, ahead of Offaly County Council meeting Mr Sheridan on Monday.

“We are going through this process on Monday next, and we are very clear in our mind, we have a wonderful candidate in Heather Humphreys, and we certainly won’t be facilitating any other candidates to get through that process. From our point of view.”

When asked if there was a chance Mr Sheridan would be nominated by Offaly County Council, Mr Feighery said: “To some extent Fianna Fail would be the king makers here. It depends on what decision they make.”

When it was put to him should Mr Sheridan not be given a chance to run, he said: “The whole summer has gone passed, if I was running for president, I certainly would have put in a lot better effort to try and meet and greet councillors.

“I haven’t been approached by any single candidate other than Heather Humphreys.

“So I mean, if they were serious about trying to get on the presidential ballot, they should have a lot more work in advance of this deadline that’s coming in the next couple of weeks.”

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein representative Darren O’Rourke said his party’s ard chomhairle would announce on Saturday about whether it will run its own candidate or back an independent hopeful such as Ms Connolly.

Mr O’Rourke defended the party’s strategy and said it had always been clear that it would make its intentions known on September 20, four days before the nomination window closes.

The election will then be held on October 24.