AN X ACCOUNT using the handle of President Catherine Connolly’s former personal profile has been suspended after being taken over by an imposter, a spokesperson has confirmed.

The account (@catherinegalway) appeared to share a video of Connolly’s Christmas address on Monday before being suspended by X (formerly Twitter), prompting speculation that the president’s personal account had been removed by the platform.

However, a spokesperson for President Connolly said the account had been shut down by her team following the election in October, and was no longer under her control.

“Someone opened it up again, not Catherine,” the spokesperson said.

It is understood that the Áras an Uachtaráin communications team reported the account to X after becoming aware that it had been reactivated and was posting content while purporting to represent the president.

Connolly’s original account had been deleted on the day of her presidential inauguration, allowing an imposter to subsequently claim the username. The account was not verified, however.

The suspended account is distinct from President Connolly’s official presidential profile (@PresidentIRL), which remains active.

Impersonation breaches X’s platform rules and commonly results in account removal.

X has been contacted for comment.