President Connolly commences three-day Official Visit to London and Leeds

President Connolly commences three-day Official Visit to London and Leeds

Date: Mon 18 May, 2026 | 07:00

Uachtarán na hÉireann, Catherine Connolly, will commence a three-day Official Visit to London and Leeds this morning.

The Visit marks the first engagements by President Connolly in Britain following her Inauguration as the tenth President of Ireland on 11 November 2025, when the President spoke about the Irish Diaspora and her commitment to engaging with Irish communities abroad.

This Visit will provide a number of opportunities for the President to meet with a range of representatives of the community and to listen to the experiences and insights of those with whom she will meet.

The President's engagements will commence this morning with a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, where she will deliver an address, as well as meet with those participating in an Irish language class and other work in the Centre. The President will also view musical and dance performances there.

The Irish Ambassador to Britain, Martin Fraser and Deirdre Fraser will this evening host a reception in honour of President Connolly and her husband, Brian McEnery, at the Irish Embassy in London where they will meet with a wide range of representatives of the community.

The President's Visit will continue tomorrow when the President visits the Chelsea Flower Show and the London Irish Centre in Camden. The Visit will conclude on Wednesday with visits to Leeds University and the Leeds Irish Centre. In Leeds, the President will be briefed on the work of the Irish Health Centre there and will also meet with many representatives of other Irish Centres in the region. This is the first such visit by the President to the Irish abroad during her Presidency.

The Visit is the third Official Visit which President Connolly has undertaken since commencing her term of office.

In line with a commitment made in her Inauguration Address, the President made her first Visit as President to Northern Ireland in February.

The President subsequently visited Spain in April, where she joined a number of fellow Heads of State and Heads of Government in addressing the 'In Defence of Democracy' summit in Barcelona at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, and the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.