Catherine Connolly’s inauguration as the 10th President of Ireland took place on a day of ceremony, celebration and a firm assertion of principle. She enters office with a strong mandate from those who voted, the culmination of a campaign that connected with a broad swathe of voters who were impressed by her conviction and authenticity.
Her inaugural address, delivered in both English and Irish, did not shy away from the positions that have defined her political career. She spoke again of geopolitics, human rights and Irish neutrality, and she did so without apology. She also promised to place the Irish language at the centre of her presidency, pledging that Irish would not be spoken in a low voice in Áras an Uachtaráin.
All of this signalled continuity with a campaign in which her insistence that people felt unheard was central to her appeal.
The question for any new president is what they can actually do in office. The Constitution grants few formal powers, but it is silent on many aspects of the role, and the examples of Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese and Michael D Higgins, all of whom were present at the inauguration, show how much can be achieved through soft power. Each expanded the symbolic possibilities of the presidency through moral authority, creative interpretation and a keen understanding of timing. Higgins pushed at the perceived boundaries of the office, and had the political intuition to know just how far he could go.
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On early evidence Connolly may prove a more low-key orator than her immediate predecessor, though that does not imply timidity. She brings a firm set of beliefs on domestic and international issues into the Áras, so the first months will be instructive. The choices she makes will reveal what her agenda of a “new republic” actually means in practice. Will it be a guiding ideal or an operating principle? If it is the latter, that could place her at odds with Government policies on issues such as social services, housing or neutrality.
Foreign policy may prove the sharpest testing ground. Ireland will assume the presidency of the European Council next summer. European defence and security will dominate discussions. In that context any intervention by a President known for strong views has the potential to cause discomfort for the Coalition.
For now her immediate task is simply to define the tone and scope of her presidency. Before her commanding election victory she was relatively little-known at national level and she remains in some respects an unknown quantity. Whether the quiet charisma that served her well on the campaign trail can translate into the often mundane routines of office is a question that only time will answer. She begins, however, buoyed by the hope of her supporters and the goodwill of the public as a whole.
