26/10/2025
Catherine Martina Ann Connolly[3] (born 12 July 1957) is an Irish independent politician who is the president-elect of Ireland, following her election in 2025. She has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 2016 until her election as president. 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 the highest number of first-preference votes in Irish history.