LAST UPDATE | 12 Nov

IT’S A BUSY day for President Catherine Connolly, who is spending her first full day in office travelling across the country for a number of engagements.

She also undertook her first piece of official business as President this morning in signing the Letter of Credence to the President of Italy for the Irish Ambassador to Italy Elizabeth McCullough. 

President Catherine Connolly signs Letter of Credence to the President of Italy for the Irish Ambassador to Italy Elizabeth McCullough TONY MAXWELL TONY MAXWELL

From there, President Connolly visited a gaelscoil in Dublin.

It’s a symbolic first engagement that reflects her long-standing commitment to the Irish language.

The visit marked Connolly’s first official public appearance since being sworn in as Ireland’s tenth president at Dublin Castle yesterday.

President Catherine Connolly with her husband Brian McEnery Gaelscoil Inse Chór for her first official engagement as President of Ireland TONY MAXWELL TONY MAXWELL

During her presidential campaign, Connolly repeatedly pledged to make Irish the working language of the Áras, saying she wanted to bring the language in from the margins.

The school, Gaelscoil Inse Chór, is located in Inchicore, roughly 4km from Connolly’s new home, Áras an Uachtaráin.

Speaking yesterday, Colm Ó Nualláin, the principal of Gaelscoil Inse Chór, said the school community is “over the moon and very excited” by the visit.

President Catherine Connolly visiting Gaelscoil Inse Chór on her first official engagement as President of Ireland TONY MAXWELL TONY MAXWELL

Connolly, who learned Irish as an adult, said Gaelscoil Inse Chór was an exemplary school.

She said students without any Irish arrive at the school and are immersed in the language, before being taught English in first class.

As she arrived at the school, located in the Irish National War Memorial Gardens, students from the school chanted her name.

She was asked questions by the students, including about how many solos she can do.

“I can do around 10, but I used to be able to do a hundred,” she replied in Irish.

“Out of practice.”

President Catherine Connolly catches a football during a visit to Gaelscoil Inse Chór Damien Eagers / PA Damien Eagers / PA / PA

Addressing the school’s staff, students and teachers in Irish, she said that during the election campaign she had been accused of misusing the language, which she said she had never done in her life.

She said Irish was an advantage and “a gift” that gives you a different perspective on life, as it is a language infused with hope and nature.

“For too long we have looked upon Irish as if it was a problem. It is not a problem, it is a complete gift.”

She said that while she is president she will do her best to promote the language “at every level” and to “bring it in from the edge”.

President Connolly added that the world was “in trouble” due to climate change, wars and genocide and there was a need to build on skills in Irish and English to tackle those issues.

She also said that a mantra painted on the side of one of the school buildings had made a significant impression on her.

“‘Every small step answers the big question’,” she said as she completed her speech in Irish to applause.

President Connolly also met with students from the nearby St John of God Special School.

After the Dublin stop, President Connolly travelled to Trim, Co Meath, to visit a local family resource centre.

The centre, which is entirely run by volunteers, also acts as a food bank.

Connolly then headed west to her home county of Galway for her final engagements of the day at two nursing units in Merlin Park University Hospital.

President Connolly and husband Brian McEnery visit Merlin Park Community Nursing unit TONY MAXWELL TONY MAXWELL

It’s a packed schedule for Connolly’s first full day in office – her predecessor, Michael D. Higgins, did not schedule a Presidential engagement until his second full day in the gig.

Connolly was formally inaugurated yesterday in a ceremony at Dublin Castle, attended by government leaders, dignitaries, and outgoing president Michael D. Higgins.

In her 10-minute address, she spoke about the “challenges of our time“, including housing, immigration, and Irish unity.

While today’s events are firmly community-focused, the President’s role is also defined by the formal constitutional powers of the office.

President Connolly and husband Brian McEnery meet Michael Lynskey, also known as King of Claddagh, as they visit Merlin Park Community Nursing unit TONY MAXWELL TONY MAXWELL

As Head of State, the President appoints the Taoiseach and members of the government, signs legislation into law, and represents Ireland at home and abroad.

Connolly now also has certain discretionary powers, such as the ability to refer a bill to the Supreme Court or refuse a Dáil dissolution – though none of these are expected to feature in Connolly’s early days in the Áras.

-With additional reporting from Press Association