Catherine Connolly was elected as the 10th president of the Republic of Ireland after defeating Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys in a landslide victory last month.
Connolly served 17 years as councillor in Galway, including a one-year term as mayor of her native city.
Standing as an independent, she made two failed attempts to get elected to the Dáil (Irish Parliament) before finally winning a seat in 2016.
Connolly then became the first ever woman elected to chair debates in the Dáil when she secured the post of Leas-Cheann Comhairle (deputy speaker) in 2020.
It was a surprise win in which she managed to unite opposition parties against the sitting government’s candidate.
She united them again with her presidential bid, securing the support of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and her own former party, Labour.
Outside politics, Connolly is a passionate Irish speaker and a keen sportswoman who ran marathons and played badminton competitively in her younger years.
Connolly has said she would “love to see a united Ireland” in her lifetime.
But she has also emphasised that, under the Irish Constitution, Irish unity can only be achieved by peaceful means and the consent of voters in both parts of the island.
