Catherine Connolly
Catherine Martina Ann Connolly is an Irish politician serving as the president of Ireland since 11 November 2025. She had been a Teachta Dála for the Galway West constituency from 2016 until her election as president in 2025.
Born in Galway, Connolly began her political career as a member of the Labour Party, for which she was elected to Galway City Council in 1999, and was Mayor of Galway from 2004 to 2005. She left the party in 2006 in a dispute over candidate selection. After unsuccessfully contesting the 2007 and 2011 general elections in Galway West as an independent, Connolly was elected to the Dáil in 2016. She became Ireland's first female Leas-Cheann Comhairle, serving in the 33rd Dáil from July 2020 to November 2024. Connolly ran as an independent candidate in the 2025 presidential election, supported by Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, People Before Profit, the Green Party, 100% Redress, and several independent Oireachtas members. She defeated Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin in a landslide victory, with her 914,143 first-preference votes being the largest personal mandate in the history of the Republic of Ireland. She is the third woman to hold the office after Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.
Ideologically described as left-wing or far-left, Connolly describes herself as a socialist and pacifist. A supporter of Irish neutrality, her foreign policy views were described by Politico as "often anti-Western"; she is critical of NATO, the European Union's increased military and defence spending and general European militarisation. Connolly has condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has also described NATO's attitude toward Russia as "warmongering". An outspoken supporter of Palestine, Connolly is a staunch critic of Israel and has called it a "genocidal state". Connolly advocates for Irish reunification. Domestically, she supported the legalisation of same-sex marriage and the legalisation of abortion. Connolly is an Irish speaker and has previously worked as a clinical psychologist and as a barrister.
Early life and education
Catherine Martina Ann Connolly was born on 12 July 1957 and grew up in Shantalla, Galway City, the ninth of 14 siblings. Her father was a carpenter and a boatbuilder, who built Galway hooker sailing boats. Her mother died at the age of 43, when Connolly was nine years old, her death suspected to have been caused by issues related to asthma. The family grew up in one of Galway's first social housing developments. In the 1970s, Connolly led a campaign to have tennis courts built in Shantalla.Connolly has stated that she "learned her socialism" growing up through early volunteering. She participated in activities with the Legion of Mary, including house cleaning and hospital visits, and continued volunteering in later years with the Order of Malta. Connolly earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University College, Galway in the late 1970s and a master's degree in clinical psychology from the University of Leeds in 1981 before practising as a clinical psychologist for a number of years. Connolly subsequently earned a law degree from University College, Galway in 1989 before studying at King's Inns and becoming a barrister in 1991.
Pre-presidential career
Connolly practised as a barrister, mostly on the Western Circuit, with a general practice, mainly in the areas of family law and personal injury law, from 1991 until she was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2016. Connolly joined the Labour Party after the 1997 general election. She was elected to Galway City Council for Labour in the west city area at the 1999 corporation election. For the 2004 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; both were elected. In the same year, she was elected Mayor of Galway, leading Labour into a power-sharing agreement with Fine Gael and independent councillors. As Mayor, Connolly successfully advocated for and presided over the awarding of the Freedom of Galway City to Myanmar political activist Aung San Suu Kyi in June 2005.National politics (2004–present)
Connolly was a supporter of Michael D. Higgins's unsuccessful campaign to run in the 2004 presidential election; she later voted to nominate Dana Rosemary Scallon for that election. Connolly aimed to run in the 2007 general election as a running mate of Higgins in Galway 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, describing the decision to only run him as "crazy" and saying the party "lost out on a great opportunity". She left the Labour Party and unsuccessfully contested the 2007 general election as an independent candidate, polling just over 2,000 votes.Connolly contested the 2011 general election again in Galway West, where she lost out on the last seat to Fine Gael's Seán Kyne by only 17 votes. She sought a full recount, which concluded after four days but did not change the outcome. Connolly was elected to Dáil Éireann for the Galway West constituency at the 2016 general election, when the Labour Party lost 30 of its 37 seats, including its seat in Galway West, following an unpopular term in government. Her sister, Colette Connolly, who had lost her seat as a Labour councillor in 2014, was co-opted as an independent to replace Catherine on Galway City Council. Connolly voted for Richard Boyd Barrett for Taoiseach when the 32nd Dáil first met. At the 32nd Dáil's second meeting on 5 April 2016, she made her maiden speech in which she criticised the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Alan Kelly's handling of Ireland's homelessness crisis. 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 joined Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, and Maureen O'Sullivan on a visit to Damascus, Maaloula, and Aleppo in Syria. 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 for Assad". However, Politico observed that Connolly also refrained from criticising Assad at that time and later called for the removal of sanctions on his regime. Connolly contested the 2020 general election and was re-elected on the 12th count.
Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann (2020–2024)
Connolly was elected the Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann on 23 July 2020, in a surprise victory over Fine Gael candidate Fergus O'Dowd, becoming the first woman to hold the position. In January 2021, Connolly criticised the Government for their handling of the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation. Referring to the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth 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. 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."In June 2023 Connolly appeared alongside Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Mairéad Farrell, and George Galloway in a "neutrality forum" hosted by the organisation "Galway Alliance Against War" where the topic for discussion was the Russo-Ukrainian War. In May 2024, during the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament election, Connolly endorsed Clare Daly in the Dublin constituency and spoke at her campaign launch.
2025 presidential election and campaign
Connolly confirmed on 11 July 2025 on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta that she had decided to run for president of Ireland and believed she had the necessary support. On 16 July, Connolly officially launched her campaign outside Leinster House and confirmed she had received the minimum of twenty Oireachtas nominations required to run for the office. Connolly emphasised giving a voice to ordinary people and tackling issues such as a United Ireland, climate change, homelessness, and the normalisation of violence. 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.In the election on 24 October 2025, Connolly won receiving 63.4% of the votes cast, the highest percentage any president has received since the creation of the role in 1938, in what was widely described as a landslide victory. With 914,143 votes, she recorded the highest number of first preference votes ever received by a candidate in Ireland.
Endorsements
Connolly's campaign was backed by the Social Democrats, People Before Profit, 100% Redress, and a number of independent Oireachtas members. On 31 July, Connolly secured the backing of the Labour Party. On 27 August, Labour TD Alan Kelly said he would not support Connolly due to concerns about her policies on international relations. On 4 September, Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger backed Connolly and on 19 September the Green Party announced it would endorse Connolly's candidacy.On 20 September, Sinn Féin announced its backing for Connolly's campaign. Connolly was also backed by both the Workers' Party and the Communist Party of Ireland, neither of which has any elected representatives. Holly Cairns, Marie Sherlock, independent senator Eileen Flynn, Roderic O'Gorman, Paul Murphy, and Mary Lou McDonald all spoke at Connolly's campaign launch on 22 September endorsing her candidacy.