'I was at charity event in Garda probe' 'I was in Syria with Assad pal'

Candidates back on campaign trail and in TV studio

- BY CIARA O'LOUGHLIN

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Heather Humphreys has confirmed she attended a charity event under Garda investigation while rival Catherine Connolly has faced more questions over her Syria trip.

While canvassing yesterday, Fine Gael hopeful Ms Humphreys said she was contacted by gardai about a charity event in Monaghan, and said she attended in "good faith". She hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing.

The Irish Independent revealed that a high-profile politician had been contacted by the Garda fraud unit in relation to a charity event.

It reported that gardai are formally probing allegations that not enough funds raised from the event were passed on to charity.

Speaking to reporters in Cavan, Ms Humphreys said: "I attended an event in Monaghan. It was a charity event, and I attended that event along with many others, and there was concern that perhaps the money that we had contributed to that event may have been defrauded.