Catherine Connolly has said she welcomes scrutiny on her as a presidential candidate as she submitted her nomination papers on Tuesday. Ms Connolly has garnered the backing of Sinn Fein, the Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit and the Green Party as a joint left-wing candidate. What I’ve said about Hamas, I’ve condemned them without hesitation, but I’ve repeatedly said history did not start on the seventh of October. “I would like to know what other candidate has made themselves available for such scrutiny, and I welcome that scrutiny. “It is the reason I stood when I did, to allow that scrutiny to take place.