LAST UPDATE | 17 Sep

PRESIDENT CATHERINE CONNOLLY met with King Charles for dinner at a private event in Dumfries House, in Ayrshire, Scotland, on Wednesday evening, a meeting she described as “very interesting”.

Connolly is currently on a four-day official visit to Scotland, accompanied by her husband Brian McEnery.

A spokesperson for the President said that other guests were in attendance at Wednesday’s event at Dumfries House, which is the headquarters of the King’s Foundation. 

She said: “It was a very interesting meeting. It was a private meeting. It followed on a particular conference.”

A reception on Harmony in Food and Farming had taken place at Dumfries House earlier on Wednesday, hosted by the King’s Foundation.

Connolly said the King’s Foundation, which was set up in 1990, “encompasses so much”, adding: “Agriculture, sustainability, flooding, AI, democracy and the importance of democracy.

“It was very, very interesting.”

Connolly last met with King Charles at Buckingham Palace during an official visit to London and Leeds in May, where she invited the king to make a state visit to Ireland.

Connolly will meet today with Provost of Glasgow Jacqueline McLaren, before visiting the town of Coatbridge, which historically has a large Irish community.

The President will attend a GAA training at St Patrick’s Primary school and deliver an address while in Coatbridge.

The official visit began on Wednesday morning with a meeting with First Minister John Swinney at Bute House in Edinburgh, and also included a visit to the Royal Society of Edinburgh where Connolly received an Honorary Fellowship.

In a statement ahead of the visit, Connolly said: “I am very pleased to have the opportunity of making an Official Visit to Scotland and building on my engagement with the First Minister in the opening weeks of my Presidency.” 

“Ireland and Scotland are bound by strong ties of friendship, culture and language, with people moving between our countries for centuries,” she said.

“I am very much looking forward to meeting with those involved in many of the projects bringing our people together over the coming days, as well as meeting with members of the Irish community in Scotland.”

Additional reporting by PA