Heather Humphreys is trying to defend herself. Unfortunately for her, she’s also defending the Government at the same time.

It’s Thursday morning and the Fine Gael presidential candidate is in her kitchen at home in Newbliss, Co Monaghan – a short drive from the Border – being interviewed over the phone by a local radio station.

Pitted against Independent Catherine Connolly on Friday’s presidential ballot, Humphreys has been on the back foot as the establishment candidate, forced to account for the record of her party, which has been in Government since 2011.

The presenter is grilling her on a range of topics – from the lifting of a ban on no-fault evictions to the current Government’s commitment to cut childcare fees.

Humphreys’s Ulster drawl carries through the back door of the kitchen to the yard outside where The Irish Times and her Yorkshire terrier Rusty are listening in.

Humphreys has agreed to a wide-ranging interview. (Catherine Connolly cancelled a previously arranged interview last Monday and has repeatedly declined requests to reschedule since.)

[ In Heather Humphreys country: ‘It was hard to find a Protestant not in the Orange Order’Opens in new window ]

The local radio interview has run a little late and this reporter has arrived a little early, agitating a watchful Rusty, who starts to bark.

“There was no political interference in this case ... Oh sorry, there’s a dog barking here,” Humphreys says in the live radio interview, as a campaign aide captures Rusty and casts him outside.

Heather Humphreys at home in Co Monaghan

This busy morning is typical of Humphreys’ home. An aide says Humphreys likes a busy house as the hub of her family; her daughter Eva and granddaughter Charlotte also drop by.

But there is a feverish edge in the house this Thursday morning