PRESIDENT CATHERINE CONNOLLY will fulfil one of her election commitments today as she embarks on a three-day visit to Northern Ireland. 

Upon taking office, President Connolly pledged that Northern Ireland would be the location of her first official visit as Uachtarán na hÉireann.

The visit will begin with a meeting with First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Castle this morning.

Later today, Connolly will deliver an address at Ulster University in North Belfast.

Across the day, she will also visit a number of community initiatives in Belfast.

On Thursday and Friday, the President’s official visit to Northern Ireland will continue with engagements in Derry.

Connolly became the 10th President of Ireland on 11 November 2025. 

The inauguration ceremony, held at Dublin Castle,  was attended by First Minister Michelle O’Neill but not Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.

Little-Pengelly, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said she was unable to attend due to “a number of other commitments in Belfast and Windsor” to mark Remembrance Day.

It marked the first time since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that a serving first or deputy first minister has not attended the inauguration in Dublin Castle.