Catherine Connolly | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Connolly in 2025 | |
| President of Ireland | |
| Assumed office 11 November 2025 | |
| Taoiseach | |
| Preceded by | Michael D. Higgins |
| Leas-Cheann Comhairle ofDáil Éireann | |
| In office 23 July 2020 – 8 November 2024 | |
| Ceann Comhairle | Seán Ó Fearghaíl |
| Preceded by | Pat "the Cope" Gallagher |
| Succeeded by | John McGuinness |
| Chair of theCommittee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands | |
| In office 4 April 2016 – 15 September 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Niamh Smyth |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office February 2016 – October 2025 | |
| Constituency | Galway West |
| Mayor of Galway | |
| In office June 2004 – June 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Terry O'Flaherty |
| Succeeded by | Brian Walsh |
| Galway City Councillor | |
| In office June 1999 – March 2016 | |
| Constituency | Galway City West |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Catherine Martina Ann Connolly (1957-07-12)12 July 1957 (age 68)[1] Galway, Ireland |
| Political party | Independent (2006–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Labour (until 2006) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Áras an Uachtaráin |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | Presidential campaign website |
Catherine Martina Ann Connolly[2] (born 12 July 1957) is an Irish politician serving as thepresident of Ireland since 11 November 2025. She had been aTeachta Dála (TD) for theGalway West constituency from2016 untilher election as president in 2025.
Born inGalway, Connolly began her political career as a member of theLabour Party, for which she was elected toGalway City Council in1999, and wasMayor of Galway from 2004 to 2005. She left the party in 2006 in a dispute over candidate selection. After unsuccessfully contesting the2007 and2011 general elections in Galway West as an independent, Connolly was elected to theDáil in2016. She became Ireland's first femaleLeas-Cheann Comhairle, serving in the33rd Dáil from July 2020 to November 2024. Connolly ran as an independent candidate in the 2025 presidential election, supported bySinn Féin, theSocial Democrats, theLabour Party,People Before Profit, theGreen Party,100% Redress, and several independentOireachtas members. She defeatedHeather Humphreys andJim Gavin in alandslide victory, becoming the third woman to be elected president of Ireland.[3]
Ideologicallyleft-wing, Connolly describes herself as asocialist andpacifist.[4] A supporter ofIrish neutrality, her foreign policy views were described byPolitico as "oftenanti-Western";[5] she is critical ofNATO, theEuropean Union's increased military and defence spending and general European militarisation.[6] Connolly has condemned theRussian invasion of Ukraine and has also described NATO'sattitude toward Russia as "warmongering".[7] An outspoken supporter ofPalestine, Connolly is a staunchcritic of Israel and has called it a "genocidal state". Connolly advocates forIrish reunification. Domestically, she supported thelegalisation of same-sex marriage and thelegalisation of abortion. Connolly is anIrish speaker and has previously worked as aclinical psychologist and as abarrister.
Catherine Martina Ann Connolly was born on 12 July 1957 and grew up inShantalla,Galway City, the ninth of 14 siblings (seven boys and seven girls).[8][9][10][11] Her father was a carpenter and a shipbuilder, who builtGalway hooker sailing boats.[10] Her mother died at the age of 43, when Connolly was nine years old, her death suspected to have been caused by issues related toasthma.[11] The family grew up in one of Galway's firstsocial housing developments.[10] In the 1970s, Connolly led a campaign to have tennis courts built in Shantalla.[12]
Connolly has stated that she "learned her socialism" growing up through early volunteering. She participated in activities with theLegion of Mary, including house cleaning and hospital visits, and continued volunteering in later years with theOrder of Malta.[13]
Connolly earned abachelor's degree in psychology from theUniversity of Galway in the late 1970s and amaster's degree inclinical psychology from theUniversity of Leeds in 1981 before practising as a clinical psychologist for a number of years.[14]
Connolly subsequently earned a law degree from theUniversity of Galway in 1989 before studying atKing's Inns and becoming abarrister in 1991.[15]
Connolly practised as a barrister, mostly on theWestern Circuit, with a general practice, mainly in the areas offamily law andpersonal injury law, from 1991 until she was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2016.[14][16]
Connolly joined the Labour Party after the1997 general election.[12] She was elected toGalway City Council for Labour in the west cityarea at the1999 corporation election. For the2004 council election, Connolly switched to the south city local electoral area to allow her sister, Colette, to contest the election in the west area of the city;[17][18] both were elected.[19] In the same year, she was electedMayor of Galway, leading Labour into a power-sharing agreement withFine Gael and independent councillors.[12] As Mayor, Connolly successfully advocated for and presided over the awarding (in absentia) of the Freedom of Galway City to Myanmar political activistAung San Suu Kyi in June 2005.[20]
Connolly was a supporter ofMichael D. Higgins's unsuccessful campaign to run in the2004 presidential election;[21] she later voted to nominateDana Rosemary Scallon for that election.[22] Connolly aimed to run in the2007 general election as a running mate of Higgins inGalway West, but the party opted to only run one candidate in the constituency. Higgins had reportedly considered retiring due to health concerns, but he allowed his name to go forward to contest the seat again; Connolly criticised Higgins for "dragging his heels" on the decision,[23][24] describing the decision to only run him as "crazy" and saying the party "lost out on a great opportunity".[25] She left the Labour Party and unsuccessfully contested the2007 general election as an independent candidate, polling just over 2,000 votes.[26]
Connolly contested the2011 general election again in Galway West,[27] where she lost out on the last seat toFine Gael'sSeán Kyne by only 17 votes. She sought a full recount,[28] which concluded after four days but did not change the outcome.[29] Connolly was elected to Dáil Éireann for the Galway West constituency at the2016 general election, when the Labour Party (of which she was formerly a member) lost 30 of its 37 seats, including its seat in Galway West, following an unpopular term in government.[30][31][14] Her sister, Colette Connolly, who had lost her seat as a Labour councillor in2014,[32] was co-opted as an independent to replace Catherine on Galway City Council.[33] Connolly voted forRichard Boyd Barrett forTaoiseach when the32nd Dáil first met.[34] At the 32nd Dáil's second meeting on 5 April 2016, she made her maiden speech in which she criticised theMinister for the Environment, Community and Local GovernmentAlan Kelly's handling of Ireland's homelessness crisis.[35] Connolly sat on the Public Accounts Committee and was Chair of the Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands.
In 2018 Connolly joinedClare Daly,Mick Wallace, andMaureen O'Sullivan on a visit toDamascus,Maaloula, andAleppo inSyria.[36][37][38] When launching her 2025 presidential campaign she defended this trip, commenting that she funded the trip herself and that she did not "utter one word of support forAssad".[39] However,Politico observed that Connolly also refrained from criticising Assad at that time and later called for the removal of sanctions on his regime.[5] Connolly contested the2020 general election and was re-elected on the 12th count.[40]
Connolly was elected theLeas-Cheann Comhairle ofDáil Éireann on 23 July 2020, in a surprise victory over Fine Gael candidateFergus O'Dowd, becoming the first woman to hold the position.[41]
In January 2021, Connolly criticised the Government for their handling of the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters). Referring to theTaoiseach (Micheál Martin),Tánaiste (Leo Varadkar) andMinister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Roderic O'Gorman) as the "three unwise men", she criticised the Government's failure to provide survivors of mother and baby homes the report before it was released to the general public.[42] Connolly stated: "This document I have to hand is what the report looks like. I hold it up to show survivors because they do not have it. It is the executive summary with the recommendations and one or two other things. Not a single survivor has it. I have it since yesterday, when it was put in the pigeonholes of Deputies."[42]
In June 2023 Connolly appeared alongside Clare Daly, Mick Wallace,Mairéad Farrell, andGeorge Galloway in a "neutrality forum" hosted by the organisation "Galway Alliance Against War" where the topic for discussion was theRusso-Ukrainian War.[43]
In May 2024, during the campaign for the2024 European Parliament election, Connolly endorsed Clare Daly in theDublin constituency and spoke at her campaign launch.[44]
 | |
| Campaign | President of Ireland in the2025 Irish presidential election |
|---|---|
| Candidate | Catherine Connolly,TD forGalway West (2016–present) |
| Affiliation | Independent[a] |
| Status |
|
| Slogan | Connolly for President |
| Website | |
| catherineconnollyforpresident | |
Connolly confirmed on 11 July 2025 onRTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta that she had decided to run forpresident of Ireland and believed she had the necessary support.[45] On 16 July, Connolly officially launched her campaign outsideLeinster House and confirmed she had received the minimum of twentyOireachtas nominations required to run for the office.[46] Connolly emphasised giving a voice to ordinary people and tackling issues such as aUnited Ireland,climate change,homelessness, and the normalisation of violence.[39] She signalled interest in scrutinising the €330,000 presidential salary, stating she would "look at it" and consider using it "for the common good" if elected.[47]
In the election on 24 October 2025, Connolly won in alandslide victory, receiving 63.4% of the votes cast, the highest percentage any president has received since the creation of the role in 1938.[2][48] With 914,143 votes, she recorded the highest number of first preference votes ever received by a candidate in Ireland.[49]
Connolly's campaign was backed by theSocial Democrats,[50]People Before Profit,100% Redress, and a number ofindependentOireachtas members.[51] On 31 July, Connolly secured the backing of theLabour Party.[52] However, on 27 August, Labour TDAlan Kelly said he would not support Connolly due to concerns about her policies on international relations.[53] On 4 SeptemberSolidarity TDRuth Coppinger backed Connolly and on 19 September theGreen Party announced it would endorse Connolly's candidacy.[54][55] On 20 SeptemberSinn Féin announced its backing for Connolly's campaign.[56] Connolly was also backed by both theWorkers' Party and theCommunist Party of Ireland, neither of which has any elected representatives.[57][dead link][58]
Holly Cairns (Social Democrats),Marie Sherlock (Labour), independent senatorEileen Flynn,Roderic O'Gorman (Green Party),Paul Murphy (People Before Profit), andMary Lou McDonald (Sinn Féin) all spoke at Connolly's campaign launch on 22 September endorsing her candidacy.[59]
Connolly made a commitment to visit everyCounty in theRepublic of Ireland during her campaign.[60] By 24 October, she had visited:Wicklow on 7 August,[61]Louth on 30 August,[62]Sligo on 5 September,[63]Leitrim on 6 September,[64]Donegal on 12 and 27 September,[65][66]Carlow on 22 September,[67]Cork on 3 October,[68]Dublin on 5 October,[69]Tipperary on 10 October,[70]Waterford andWexford on 11 October,[71]Kildare on 14 October,[72]Meath on 15 October,[73]Kerry on 17 October,[74]Clare andLimerick on 19 October,[75]Cavan,Monaghan,Longford andWestmeath on 22 October,[76][77][78] andRoscommon on 23 October.[79] She attended several agricultural shows in August: the Bonniconlon Show inCounty Mayo, the Ballyshannon Show in County Donegal, and theTullamore Show inCounty Offaly. She came back to Offaly on a higher-profile visit for theNational Ploughing Championships in Screggan on 17 September 2025, where she was interviewed about rural and agricultural life in Ireland and her presidential candidacy.[80]
Connolly visitedBelfast on 28 August 2025; she said that citizens ofNorthern Ireland should be permitted to vote in the presidential election, and the North was a "limb" cut off from the Republic of Ireland.[81][82]
At her campaign launch, Connolly was questioned about her nominatingGemma O'Doherty for the2018 Irish presidential election. Connolly was one of eleven Oireachtas members who did so.[83] Connolly said that she "doesn't regret her decision to sign O'Doherty's papers at the time", adding that she "did not know her personally but saw her as a journalist who had done some very good work in the past".[84] In September 2025, Connolly stated she would not have nominated O'Doherty if it had been a few years later.[11]
During Connolly's campaign, she faced scrutiny for a visit she made toBa'athist Syria in 2018, along withMick Wallace (then aMember of the European Parliament),Clare Daly (also an MEP) andMaureen O'Sullivan (then a TD). Members of the Irish-Syria Solidarity Movement asked theLabour Party not to support Connolly's campaign, arguing that the trip had "provided legitimacy to theAssad regime and its narrative".[85] Connolly said the trip was a "fact-finding mission" to see the harm that EU sanctions were causing to Syrian civilians.[7] She visited a refugee camp inDamascus and travelled toAleppo to meet the Chamber of Commerce andUNICEF. Connolly said she did not support the Assad regime: "On no occasion had I anything to do with the government, nor did I ever utter one word of support for Assad".[7] She added: "Assad's dictatorship committed countless atrocities and human rights abuses, all of which I have criticised".[7]
In a piece forThe Journal during her campaign, Shane Raymond noted that "the Irish tour group was shown around Aleppo by the pro-Assad commentator Fares Al-Shehabi, who ... had been put under sanctions by the EU for supporting the Assad regime". The year before, he had called for the rape and murder of anti-Assad Syrians and journalists.[38] Connolly replied that meeting Al-Shehabi was a "mistake". She said she "had absolutely no respect for that man after listening to him" during the trip, and "In retrospect, when one looks back and sees the comments that he made ... this man is utterly unacceptable to me".[86]
On 1 October 2025,theJournal.ie published the story that, in 2018, Connolly sought to hire Ursula Ní Shionnain, a formerÉirígí member who had served almost four and a half years of a six-year prison sentence for firearms offences, as an administrative support in Leinster House.[87] Ní Shionnain had been convicted by the Special Criminal Court in 2014 after being arrested in a stolen van carrying weapons, one of which had previously been used in a murder, though there was no suggestion she was linked to that crime. Ní Shionnain, who holds degrees in early and modern Irish and in language planning, had been working on a PhD in new Irish language communities at the time of her arrest. Connolly said she assessed Ní Shionnain's suitability through recommendations from prison visiting committees and politicians familiar with her background, and that she understood Ní Shionnain had rehabilitated herself and was no longer active in Éirígí.[88] Ní Shionnain's hiring was intended to support Connolly's work on the Oireachtas committee for the Irish language. Garda vetting was required for employment in Leinster House, but Connolly stated that the process was not completed during Ní Shionnain's six-month tenure, which ended when she left of her own accord.
The hiring drew criticism from senior political figures, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Fine Gael's presidential candidate Heather Humphreys, who raised concerns about parliamentary security and the judgment of employing a former prisoner with pastdissident republican affiliations. Connolly and others, including former Fianna Fáil ministerÉamon Ó Cuív and Sinn Féin leaderMary Lou McDonald, defended the decision as an example of rehabilitation, noting Ní Shionnain's further education and professional work since release, with Ó Cuív stating he had in fact recommended the appointment to Connolly.[89] Connolly also expressed concern about the public disclosure of Ní Shionnain's identity, describing it as damaging to her privacy and questioning how and why the information was released.[88][90]
Following her election victory, Connolly becamepresident of Ireland on 11 November 2025.[91] Winning 63.4% of valid first-preference votes, she became the third woman to hold the office[92]In her inauguration speech she promised to focus on "peace, neutrality and climate change" during her term. She also spoke about the importance of the Irish language to the nation saying that it will be the working language inÁras an Uachtaráin.[93]
Connolly is characterised in the press as aleft-wing[94][95][37][5] tofar-left[96][97][98] independent politician on the Irish political spectrum. In May 2025,The Phoenix magazine described her as a "long-timesocialist" who had been regarded as "left-wing" and an "Irish republican" during her time in Labour,[99] although Connolly clarified in September 2025 that she never supported theProvisional IRA duringThe Troubles and feels that "violence was never justified" during that time period.[11][100] Connolly identifies as apacifist.[100]
Clare Daly andMick Wallace (both former TDs and MEPs) are political allies of Connolly, with Connolly endorsing Daly in her 2024 European re-election campaign;[5][44][101][11] in a 2025 interview withHot Press, Connolly said she had "the greatest of respect" for Wallace and Daly.[11]
Connolly supported the2013 referendum on Irish court reform, saying the passing of the referendum "renewed her faith in democracy".[102] She supported Ireland's2015 referendum on same-sex marriage.[103]
In 2018, Connolly supported therepeal of the eighth amendment which allowed the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion,[104] supporting the legalisation of abortion up to 12 weeks.[105]
In 2025, Connolly stated "OurDefence Forces exist to protect our people, our sovereignty, and ... to foster peace where conflict has broken out". She added: "Ireland needs our Defence Forces. We must value, respect, and support their members. But Ireland does not need anarmy", arguing that "armies fight wars" and are "at odds with a nation's neutrality".[7]
Connolly believes that drug use and addiction should be treated primarily as health issues rather than criminal offences. She has expressed support for moves towarddrug decriminalisation, highlighting the work of politicians such asGino Kenny in advancing this cause. In her view, criminalisation fails to address the root causes of addiction and instead punishes vulnerable people.[11]
Connolly has describedeuthanasia as a complex issue, but stated that she accepts the principle of individual autonomy in end-of-life decisions. She supports allowing people to make such choices provided there are robust safeguards to prevent abuse.[11]
In 2025,Politico characterised Connolly's foreign policy views as pro-neutrality, "oftenanti-Western", and anti-NATO, while also highlighting her "trenchant" criticism ofIsrael.[5]
Connolly has expressed concerns aboutIrish neutrality being challenged;[106] she said that Ireland's peace is threatened by what she called "the war-mongeringmilitary industrial complex" in Europe.[107] In 2025, Connolly remarked that "we certainly cannot trust" countries such as "The US, England and France" because they "are deeply entrenched in an arms industry which causes bloodshed across the world".[7] That September, Connolly linked Germany's increased military spending to the "military-industrial complex" and said there were "some parallels with the ’30s", referring toGerman rearmament under the Nazis.[108] Some academics responded that the two were "fundamentally different". They said that Nazi re-armament was forexpansionism while modern Germany's spending increase was fordeterrence and defence.[109] Germany's ambassador to Ireland,David Gill,[110] and TaoiseachMicheál Martin criticised Connolly in response.[111]
Connolly has criticised the European Union as having a "blatantneoliberal agenda".[10] She opposed the ratification of theTreaty of Nice in the2002 referendum,[112][113] and the ratification of theTreaty of Lisbon in both referendums.[114][115][113] Regarding the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, in a speech in the Dáil shortly after the UK voted toleave the EU, Connolly said the Irish government "took an active part in theproject of fear that sought to scare the British electorate into remaining" and that despite trying "to force a desired result, the electorate was not fooled".[113] Connolly also stated during the speech that there is a "democratic deficit that is an integral part of the EU" and she felt that "dissent is not tolerated" with regards to EU membership.[113]
Connolly said that "The EU has become increasingly militarised under the leadership ofUrsula von der Leyen and theEuropean People's Party", and "has lost sight of its foundations: a project developed to promote and preserve peace".[7] Connolly considers von der Leyen's differing positions of Israel and Russia as hypocritical, saying von der Leyen strongly opposed Russia's actions in Ukraine and was passive over Israel's actions in Gaza.[113] OnEurope Day 2025, Connolly declared that she was "ashamed to be European" because she believed the current EU leadership was pro-Israel.[10] After launching her presidential bid later that year, Connolly said she does not consider herself aEurosceptic and called herself a "committed European".[10]
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A vocal critic of Israel and itswar in Gaza, Connolly has called for solidarity with thePalestinian people;[7] in April 2025, she said in the Dáil "I challenge all of us to stand up and stopthe genocide taking place in our name, because we are complicit",[101] while in July of the same year, she called Israel a "genocidal state".[37] Connolly said the Irish government had been "dragging their feet" in imposing itsplanned sanctions against Israel, urging it not to water down the sanctions under pressure from US corporate interests.[116][dead link]
Connolly has condemned both Russia and NATO over theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[7] She called the invasion "illegal and unacceptable"[117] and said Russia "must immediately end its horrific assault".[7] HighlightingRussian opposition to NATO enlargement, she said that "NATO has played a despicable role inmoving forward to the border and engaging in warmongering. Ireland has been hypocritical on many levels".[101][7] She has called for continued solidarity with the Ukrainian people[7] and supports sanctions against Russia.[118]
While Mayor of Galway from 2004 to 2005, Connolly spoke in opposition to theIraq War.[119] In 2017, she opposed sanctions againstBa'athist Syria during theSyrian civil war, stating that such sanctions were untargeted and only made the situation worse for Syrians.[120][38] As part of a group includingMick Wallace,Clare Daly andMaureen O'Sullivan, Connolly visited Syria in 2018. They touredregime-controlled territory but did not meet members of the regime and according to Connolly "there was no praise for the regime in the company we were in".[10]
Connolly has lived in theCladdagh inGalway since 1988. She married woodwork teacher Brian McEnery in 1992 and they have two adult sons.[14][121][122][123] She has worked asclinical psychologist with the Western Health Board inBallinasloe andConnemara inCounty Galway, and as abarrister. She is anIrish speaker, having done a diploma in Irish at university[11] and also speaks German, having studied psychology in Germany.[124][10] She was raised Catholic, but has described herself asirreligious.[11]
Connolly has completed bothmarathons andtriathlons, revealing in the podcastHow to Gael that she has lost count of how many marathons she has finished. She also recounted that she was five months pregnant when completing the Streets of Galway race in 1995.[125][126]
Sligo-based socialist politicianDeclan Bree is Connolly's brother-in-law.[127] Connolly has two pet cats.[128]
| Elections toGalway City Council | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Election | FPv | FPv% | Result | ||
| Labour | No. 2 LEA | 1999 | 457 | 11.1 | Elected on count 7/8 | |
| No. 3 LEA | 2004 | 1,265 | 15.7 | Elected on count 7/9 | ||
| Independent | City West LEA | 2009 | 1,180 | 13.4 | Elected on count 5/7 | |
| City West LEA | 2014 | 1,513 | 17.6 | Elected on count 1/7 | ||
| Elections to theDáil | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Election | FPv | FPv% | Result | ||
| Independent | Galway West | 2007 | 2,006 | 3.7 | Eliminated on count 8/13 | |
| Galway West | 2011 | 4,766 | 7.9 | Eliminated on count 13/13 | ||
| Galway West | 2016 | 4,877 | 7.6 | Elected on count 14/14 | ||
| Galway West | 2020 | 5,439 | 9.0 | Elected on count 12/13 | ||
| Galway West | 2024 | 6,747 | 11.2 | Elected on count 11/16 | ||
| Irish presidential elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Election | FPv | FPv% | Result | |
| Independent | 2025 | 914,143 | 63.4 | Elected | |
The real threat to Nolan will come from dissident Labourites, principally councillor and barrister Catherine Connolly, who resigned in protest in 2006 when she was denied her wish to run alongside Higgins. Connolly subsequently came 9th, polled 2,006 votes in 2007.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)A fluent Irish speaker, she hails from the far-left of Ireland's political spectrum
And though the role of president may be largely ceremonial, there are a number of reasons Connolly could still make waves, said Pat Leahy in the same paper – her far-left views, for a start.
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Galway 2004–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of Ireland 2025–present | Incumbent |
