# Catherine Connolly inaugurated as Ireland’s 10th president
On the event date, Catherine Connolly was sworn in at Dublin Castle as the 10th president of the Republic of Ireland, taking over from Michael D Higgins as his 14-year term ended at midnight. The ceremony marked the formal start of a presidency that she has already framed in deliberately civic and inclusive terms.
Connolly told the audience that the country has been undergoing “seismic changes” since the end of the Cold War and that “our actions today will shape the world our grandchildren will inherit.” Those remarks set the tone for a speech that was less about ceremony for ceremony’s sake and more about the role of public life in a changing island. She said she would make sure all voices were nurtured and heard during her presidency and said she looked forward to her first visit to Northern Ireland as president.
The BBC report says Connolly also pointed to the Good Friday Agreement as a model of peaceful conflict resolution, describing it as something the country can and should take pride in. That emphasis matters because the presidency in Ireland is a non-executive role, but one with symbolic weight. It gives the president a platform to speak about identity, unity and the direction of the state without running the government.
The inauguration itself was a large state event. Politicians, judges and invited guests attended, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, former presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese and outgoing president Higgins. Connolly travelled to the castle in a ceremonial motorcade with her husband, Brian McEnery, and was sworn in by Chief Justice Donal O'Donnell in St Patrick’s Hall before receiving the Presidential Seal.
The event also revealed some of the sensitivities that still surround politics on the island. First Minister Michelle O’Neill attended, though Connolly mistakenly referred to her as “Michelle Smith” in the speech. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly did not attend, citing Remembrance Day commitments in Belfast and Windsor, and the DUP did not send a representative. The absence prompted discussion, but DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it was not a snub and said the party would be pleased to meet Connolly when she visits Northern Ireland.
Connolly’s election had already been decisive: she won in a landslide over Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys. Her victory triggered the ceremonial transition now completed in Dublin Castle and opens a new seven-year period in which the presidency will continue to serve as a symbolic and unifying office rather than a governing one. She will now take up the public duties that come with that role, including a visit to a gaelscoil, a family resource centre and a nursing home later in the week.
