Quietly and without fuss or fanfare, President Catherine Connolly moved into Áras an Uachtaráin after the Christmas break, finally taking up residence in the official residence nearly two months after her inauguration.
There was no announcement, no photocalls. No posts on Facebook, or X, or Instagram, no video on YouTube. Many people in the political world were this week unaware she had moved in, though they all knew that her predecessor Michael D Higgins didn’t move out until the night before she replaced him. Some painting and refreshing work had been necessary, meaning a few weeks (which turned into two months) in the Steward’s Lodge at Farmleigh for the new President. (Áras staff had firmly rebuffed suggestions that Michael D’s dogs were responsible for the need for touching up.)
The move across Chesterfield Avenue from one side of the Phoenix Park to another, was in keeping with the character and profile of her first 100 days in office, the milestone of which is reached next Thursday, February 19th. No fuss, no drama, just getting on with business. No Michael D-style friction with the Government, no walking up to the line of presidential propriety (and occasionally hopping over it), no headlines. It’s all been quite... low-key.
This isn’t what some people expected. Connolly’s advocacy for Palestine, for neutrality, her criticism of what she called the European “military industrial complex” and her vocal opposition to Government policies in a range of areas led to some expectations – both among her supporters and opponents – that she would enter into open conflict with Government Buildings.
READ MORE
In her inaugural address at Dublin Castle on November 11th, she spoke about how she had a “powerful mandate” from voters “to articulate their vision for a new Republic. A Republic worthy of its name where everyone is valued and diversity is cherished, where sustainable solutions are urgently implemented and where a home is a fundamental human right.”
She promised to be “a steady hand yes, but also a catalyst for change reflecting our desire for a Republic that lives up to its name”.
The tone of her address was less of the “Now is the time to come together” variety and more: “We won – now let’s crack on”.
There was much hot talk on the left about how Connolly’s election was a game-changer. Calling for a “major conference” on left unity in the online magazine Rupture, the People Before Profit TD, Paul Murphy, wrote: “Catherine Connolly will represent our values in the presidency well and will prove to be a thorn in the side of the political establishment.”
In anticipation of exactly this, some people in Government talked about making it clear from the outset that they would not let behaviour deemed to be overstepping the mark to go unchallenged. “If she wants to criticise the Government,” said one source at the time, “then she should be prepared for us to answer back”.
But that’s not how it has panned out so far.
In fact, most people in Government – who spoke to The Irish Times this week on condition of anonymity to enable them to discuss sensitive issues – were both pleased and relieved not to have that problem to wrestle with. The President has had one “article 28 meeting” – the constitutional provision under which the Government keeps her informed about its work – with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the pair are said to have got on famously.
But supporters of Connolly reject the idea that her presidency has had a sort of soft launch.
“So far Catherine has fulfilled the mandate on which she was elected,” says Paul Murphy, a key early supporter of Connolly’s campaign.
“Her election slogan was ‘raising your voice’ and she has gone across the country, meeting community groups and assisting them to raise their voices. She has spoken out in defence of neutrality, and international law and highlighted the climate crisis. She has visited the North – that was another election promise she has kept.”
[ Catherine Connolly touches upon Irish unity in first official visit to the NorthOpens in new window ]
Green leader Roderic O’Gorman says he always “expected her to work within the limits of her office so I’m not surprised she has. I expected her to work hard on the small stuff and she has. For us in the Greens, we are pleased she has kept climate on the agenda.
“I wouldn’t have a sense she’s been quiet – she has made a couple of targeted interventions,” O’Gorman adds.
“I don’t have a sense of, you know, where is she?” says Cian O’Callaghan, deputy leader of the Social Democrats and a key campaign strategist. “I expect she will make an impact on key issues.”
But other TDs and observers who spoke privately acknowledge that they have not heard as much from the new President as they had expected.
“The transition from backbench TD to head of State is bigger than you think,” says one senior official. “It’s been a bigger leap for her than any of her supporters might have imagined.
“I think she should be given time to adjust,” the official adds.
The President’s official diary is published by the Áras and reveals a busy schedule of engagements both in the Áras and at venues around the country. She has been back home a lot; of the 80 engagements listed earlier this week, a quarter (20) were in Galway. A further 30 were in Dublin, divided between the Áras (16) and venues around the capital. There are eight in Sligo, five in Kerry, two each in Clare, Monaghan and Meath and one each in Carlow and Louth. During her three-day visit to the North, she had nine official engagements.
The Áras says there are visits to Waterford, Donegal and Cork planned over the coming weeks.
The visit to Northern Ireland was the fulfilment of a campaign promise to make it her first trip outside the State. She got tangled up with the DUP’s Gregory Campbell when he complained to her at a reception in Derry that she had not once referred to “Londonderry”, nor acknowledged how the Protestant community of the city had suffered during the Troubles. She apologised.
Either way, falling foul of the DUP is seldom bad politics for a southern politician. It certainly won’t have upset her supporters in Sinn Féin, keen to see Irish unity at the centre of this presidency.
Eoin Ó Broin, a Sinn Féin TD who advocated for Connolly when the party was making up its mind on the presidential election last summer, said her visit to the North would “be seen by republicans as very significant, very positive”.
Several Connolly supporters also pointed to a number of “signals” she has sent, among them greeting runners on a “Run for Palestine” who passed by the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin in December. The runners included Naoise Ó Cairealláin, aka Móglaí Bap, of Kneecap.
Among the visitors she has hosted at the Áras are climate activist Greta Thunberg, Eoin Ó Broin (he presented her with his book on housing) and Senator Frances Black, a member of pro-unity group Ireland’s Future and promoter of the Occupied Territories Bill. These, supporters say, are signals of support on issues that the Government finds uncomfortable.
“These are the steps of a President feeling her way into her portfolio,” says one source supportive of her.
Government sources are unconcerned; perhaps the signals were too subtle.
Her attendance at the annual reception for foreign diplomats based in Dublin at the Áras in early January, one of the events most valued by her predecessor, was cut short because her husband took ill and she left with him. But her circulated script was a clear reproach to the new Trumpian world order.
“The consequence of ‘might is right’ is now crystal clear before our eyes – countries can be invaded at will, or threatened with invasion and the UN organisations doing invaluable work in extremely dangerous locations can be demolished on a whim,” she said.
But there was no overt mention of Trump, and the speech did not make headlines.
Several sources, both supportive and more critical, wonder what Connolly will do when the Government brings forward the legislation to abolish the triple lock – a move she has previously campaigned against and to which many of her supporters are fiercely opposed. Some online chatter suggests she will somehow block the legislation, prompting one senior official to note drily that some people may be in for a civics lesson.
The President can, after consultation with the Council of State, refer any Bill to the Supreme Court to review its constitutionality. The court will then decide.
If she is thinking about referring the Bill – or any Bill – she will need to appoint a Council of State to consult first. The Áras says she is “currently considering appointments” to the council.
Discussions on her first overseas trip are also ongoing. Some supporters hoped she would visit Palestine, though that is not going to happen in the current climate. Instead, a visit to Britain is on the cards, though it would not be a full bells-and-whistles State visit.
Elsewhere, initiatives are planned on the Irish language and to “give voice to those with caring responsibilities in the community and to young people”, the Áras says. Progress on making Irish the “working language” is being advanced through Irish classes for existing staff and recruiting Irish speakers.
One person who knows her well expects to see her presidency become more activist and more visible, but says this will be done carefully and methodically.
“What’s her style? She doesn’t go into anything all guns blazing. She’s careful, she’s considered, she’s steady.”
