Catherine Martina Ann Connolly is an Irish politician serving as the president of Ireland since 11 November 2025. She had been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 2016 until her election as president in 2025.
Born in Galway, Connolly began her political career as a member of the Labour Party, for which she was elected to Galway City Council in 1999, and was Mayor of Galway from 2004 to 2005. She left the party in 2006 in a dispute over candidate selection. After unsuccessfully contesting the 2007 and 2011 general elections in Galway West as an independent, Connolly was elected to the Dáil in 2016. She became Ireland's first female Leas-Cheann Comhairle, serving in the 33rd Dáil from July 2020 to November 2024.