By Katie Gallagher
Catherine Connolly was inaugurated yesterday (November 11) as the tenth President of Ireland, the second former Mayor of Galway to take the role.
Born and raised in Shantalla with 13 siblings, President Connolly served as the Mayor of Galway City Council between June 2004 and June 2005 before being elected to Dáil Éireann and the office of Uachtarán na hÉireann, following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Michael D. Higgins.
President Connolly is the tenth President of Ireland and the third woman to hold the office. She was also the first female Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann between 2020 and 2024.
Connolly worked as a barrister and a clinical psychologist prior to her election to Dáil Éireann.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Galway in the late 1970s and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Leeds in 1981.
She later earned a law degree from the University of Galway in 1989 and studied at King’s Inns and qualified as a barrister in 1991.
Guests of Honour
The inauguration ceremony took place in St Patrick’s Hall in Dublin Castle, where every ceremony has occurred since 1938.
Former President Higgins attended the event alongside his wife Sabina, as well as two other former Presidents, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.
Other attendees included Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill, as well as President Connolly’s sons, her husband, and her siblings.
Connolly’s inauguration speech
The President began and ended her speech in Irish and vowed to “ensure that all voices are represented, heard and valued, and promote a public discourse that nourishes inclusivity, tolerance and active citizenship”.
She also addressed each former President who was in the room and commended them for their achievements while in office.
She continued by referring to the 165 million people “currently forcibly displaced from their homes and countries due to war, famine and climate change”, speaking briefly about Ireland’s neutrality and history of colonisation and oppression, and paying tribute to the Good Friday Agreement, saying that it is “recognised far and wide and is a model for peaceful resolution of conflict.”
She concluded by speaking about the lack of status and respect given to the Irish language in the past, stating that it will be the working language of Áras an Uachtaráin, and that she believes “that the President should be a unifying presence- a steady hand yes, but also a catalyst for change reflecting our desire for a Republic that lives up to its name.”
Mayor of the City of Galway, Cllr Mike Cubbard, said, “It is my great pleasure to congratulate former Mayor of the City of Galway, our new President Catherine Connolly, as she assumes her new role as the tenth Head of the Irish State.
“Our new President Connolly succeeds another outstanding representative of the people of Galway City and the West, former Mayor of Galway City Council and the ninth President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.
“It is a great honour for Galway City to have two of our own charged with representing the people of Ireland – nationally, upholding the Constitution of Ireland, and on an international stage.”