Catherine Connolly to be inaugurated as Ireland’s 10th president at a ceremony at Dublin Castle

She has pledged to be an "inclusive" president for all, and said she would return to the communities she visited during the election campaign.

She has also said she will make Irish the working language of the official residence of the president, Aras an Uachtarain.

The 68-year-old, who lives in Claddagh, has been an elected politician for more than 25 years and is a former psychologist and barrister.

She is married to Brian McEnery and they have two sons, Stephen and Brian.

Ms Connolly grew up as one of 14 siblings - seven boys and seven girls, five of whom were younger than her - in Shantalla, Co Galway .

Her mother died when she was nine years old, which she said may have influenced her becoming a "shy" child.

She said she experienced a "seminal" moment during her childhood when a protest was organised against a Traveller family moving into her locality.

She said her father, a "very principled" man who made traditional Galway sailing boats, kept her and her siblings away from the protest, but she said she understood then the idea of being both an insider and an outsider.

She went on to hold a teaching role for a Traveller horticultural project in Oranmore for three years while she was studying law.

"It gave me a great insight into a minority that were not treated very well by society, and yet their resilience, their sense of humour, their sense of fun, we got a whole perspective on that," she told PA.

She said she learned her socialism from being a member of the Legion of Mary and entered competitions as part of the Order of Malta as a young woman.

She said she was also involved in a meals on wheels service for older people.

As a student, she worked as a cleaner, a nurse's aid in Germany , and a hotel chambermaid, all of which she said helped shape her as a person.

She went on to become a clinical psychologist, a barrister until 2016, a Galway mayor from 2004/5, and is now an independent TD.

She left the Labour party after it opted to run just one candidate in the Galway West constituency for the 2007 general election, where Michael D Higgins was a sitting TD.

In 2020, she became the first female deputy speaker of the Irish parliament's lower house in a surprise result that saw her beat the government's candidate.

She has been vocal on the issue of Palestine and protecting Ireland's military neutrality, and has criticised the US military's use of Shannon Airport .

Since declaring her campaign for the presidency in July, Ms Connolly's campaign has focused on helping citizens to "find their voice".

Fundraising music sessions and community forums were held as part of her campaign, with her branding aiming to pay homage to traditional craftspeople and shopfront signage.

During the campaign, she was asked about her judgment over giving a woman with a gun possession conviction access to the Irish parliament for six months.

She was also asked about a 2018 trip to Syria , her work as a barrister, and about her criticism of the EU.

She also gained attention for her footballing skills after a video was posted online of her doing keepy uppies.

The former marathon and triathlon participant said she gained the skill from her "athletic" family and from skipping - adding that she used to be able to do 100 solos a go.

In one of the many podcast interviews she did as part of her electoral campaign, she said that, in 1995, she took part in a 10K run in Galway while five months pregnant.

In keeping with her athletic campaign, she cycled to and from her local polling station on the day of the presidential election, after going for a swim at her local leisure centre.

During an interview on Raidio na Gaeltachta after her election win, Ms Connolly said she was getting used to the additional security detail and said she would still like to use her bike while on official business.