Hopes of Irish language revival in public life as Catherine Connolly takes office

"The Irish language has scored cultural breakthroughs with the film The Quiet Girl and the controversial rap trio Kneecap and is now about to acquire a new talisman: Catherine Connolly. When the independent leftwing politician is inaugurated as Ireland's president on Tuesday, she will carry hopes of a transformational Gaelic revival. The former barrister from Galway made Gaelic a central part of her election campaign and has indicated she wishes to make it the working language of the presidency."

"I will do my best to bring Irish in from the margins and use it, Connolly told the Irish language station Raidio na Gaeltachta. The 68-year-old shocked the centre-right political establishment last month when she won a landslide in the election to succeed Michael D Higgins as Ireland's 10th president. Her candidacy united opposition leftwing parties, energised young voters and won 64% of the vote."

"Catherine Connolly meets her immediate predecessor, Michael D Higgins, at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin last Wednesday. The inability of her centrist rival Heather Humphreys to speak Irish, in contrast to Connolly's fluency, bolstered the latter's appeal. The presidency is a largely symbolic post but Connolly is expected to use it as a platform for social and international issues and the promotion of Irish."

Catherine Connolly will be inaugurated as Ireland's president and intends to make Irish the working language of the presidency. Connolly made Gaelic a central part of her campaign and won a landslide victory with 64% of the vote, uniting leftwing parties and energising young voters. Her fluency contrasted with a centrist rival's inability to speak Irish, strengthening her appeal. The presidency is largely symbolic but can serve as a platform for social and international issues and the promotion of Irish. Conradh na Gaeilge describes her approach as genuine belief and part of solidarity with indigenous struggles against decolonisation. Less than 2% of people converse in Irish daily.

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